1 Kings 9:16
in 1 Kings 9Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire, killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a portion unto his daughter, Solomon’s wife.
KJV
For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon’s wife.
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This verse in 1 Kings 9
Commentary
5 notes on this versePharaoh - had gone up, and taken Gezer - This city Joshua had taken from the Canaanites, Jos 10:33; Jos 12:12, and it was divided by lot to the tribe of Ephraim, and was intended to be one of the Levitical cities; but it appears that the Canaanites had retaken it, and kept possession till the days of Solomon, when his father-in-law, Pharaoh king of Egypt, retook it, and gave it to Solomon in dowry with his daughter.
This site's exposition
the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor
on 1 Kings 9:15-19
This is the reason of the levy names the building program plainly: the house of the Lord, Solomon's own house, Millo, Jerusalem's wall, and the fortress cities Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer, a list that puts the temple first and the frontier last. Gezer's history explains why it needed rebuilding: Pharaoh had burned it and given it as dowry with his daughter, so an Egyptian king's campaign becomes Solomon's construction project. The list closes with store cities, chariot cities, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and every part of his dominion, the same acquisitive reach the law of the king had already warned against.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Solomon was not himself a warlike prince, but the king of Egypt, who was, took cities for him to build. Then he built cities for convenience, for store, for his chariots, and for his horsemen,
For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
this is the reason of the levy--A levy refers both to men and money, and the necessity for Solomon making it arose from the many gigantic works he undertook to erect.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And this is the review of the tax. Described at the end of this topic, “All the people that remained, etc., 12 Below v. Shlomo levied a tax of labor.” 13 Below v. The tax levy was to build all these [structures].
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
19 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| פַּרְעֹ֨ה | paroh | Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מִצְרַ֜יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| עָלָ֗ה | ʾalah | he had gone up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| וַיִּלְכֹּ֤ד | vaiyilkod | and he had captured | H3920 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| גֶּ֙זֶר֙ | gezer | Gezer | H1507 → | 15 times |
| וַיִּשְׂרְפָ֣הּ | vaiyisrefah | and he had burned it | H8313 → | 117 times |
| בָּאֵ֔שׁ | baesh | with <the> fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֛י | hakenaani | the Canaanite[s] | H3669 → | |
| הַיֹּשֵׁ֥ב | haiyoshev | who was dwelling | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בָּעִ֖יר | bair | in the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| הָרָ֑ג | harag | he had killed | H2026 → | 167 times |
| וַֽיִּתְּנָהּ֙ | vaiyitenah | and he had given it | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| שִׁלֻּחִ֔ים | shiluchim | dowri<es> | H7964 → | |
| לְבִתּ֖וֹ | levito | to daughter his | H1323 → | 588 times |
| אֵ֥שֶׁת | ʾeshet | [the] wife of | H802 → | 781 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹֽה׃ | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
פַּרְעֹ֨הPharaoh
parohH6547 →274 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
מִצְרַ֜יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
עָלָ֗הhe had gone up
ʾalahH5927 →890 times
וַיִּלְכֹּ֤דand he had captured
vaiyilkodH3920 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
גֶּ֙זֶר֙Gezer
gezerH1507 →15 times
וַיִּשְׂרְפָ֣הּand he had burned it
vaiyisrefahH8313 →117 times
בָּאֵ֔שׁwith <the> fire
baeshH784 →378 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֛יthe Canaanite[s]
hakenaaniH3669 →
הַיֹּשֵׁ֥בwho was dwelling
haiyoshevH3427 →1079 times
בָּעִ֖ירin the city
bairH5892 →1090 times
הָרָ֑גhe had killed
haragH2026 →167 times
וַֽיִּתְּנָהּ֙and he had given it
vaiyitenahH5414 →2011 times
שִׁלֻּחִ֔יםdowri<es>
shiluchimH7964 →
לְבִתּ֖וֹto daughter his
levitoH1323 →588 times
אֵ֥שֶׁת[the] wife of
ʾeshetH802 →781 times
שְׁלֹמֹֽה׃Solomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Kings 7:8And the palace where Solomon would live, set further back, was of similar construction. He also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 8:11
Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh up from the City of David to the palace he had built for her. For he said, “My wife must not live in the house of David king…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 3:1
Later, Solomon formed an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt by marrying his daughter. Solomon brought her to the City of David until he had finished building his palace and the house of the…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Chronicles 8:11
Through
1 Kings 3:1Later, Solomon formed an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt by marrying his daughter. Solomon brought her to the City of David until he had finished building his palace and the house of the…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 9:24
As soon as Pharaoh’s daughter had come up from the City of David to the palace that Solomon had built for her, he built the supporting terraces.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 9:24
Through
Joshua 16:10But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. So the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day, but they are forced laborers.
it leads to
- Judges 1:29
Ephraim also failed to drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer; so the Canaanites continued to dwell among them in Gezer.
- Deuteronomy 7:1–2
When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to possess, and He drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations…
- Joshua 17:13
However, when the Israelites grew stronger, they put the Canaanites to forced labor; but they failed to drive them out completely.
- Judges 1:29
Through
1 Kings 9:24As soon as Pharaoh’s daughter had come up from the City of David to the palace that Solomon had built for her, he built the supporting terraces.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 7:8
And the palace where Solomon would live, set further back, was of similar construction. He also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.
- 1 Kings 11:27
and this is the account of his rebellion against the king. Solomon had built the supporting terraces and repaired the gap in the wall of the city of his father David.
- 1 Kings 7:8
About 1 Kings

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
