Preface: Solomon, as a young king, begins his reign, after his father David has died. After offering up sacrifices in Gibeon, God comes to him and tells Solomon to ask for anything that he desires. Solomon asks for wisdom. The second half of this chapter is a court case—an application of the wisdom Solomon received from God.

Alexander MacLaren: The new king was apparently some nineteen or twenty years old on his accession. He stepped at once out of seclusion and idleness to bear the whole weight of the kingdom. The glories of David’s reign, his brother Adonijah’s pretensions to the crown, the smouldering hostility of Saul’s old partisans, made his position difficult and his throne unsteady. No doubt, ‘the weight of too much dignity’ pressed on the youth, and this dream found a point of origin in his waking thoughts.

This should be the most extensive examination of 1Kings 3 available, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text.

Outline of Chapter 3:

Introduction

         vv.     1–4           Solomon’s Early Independent Acts as King (Marriage Offerings in Gibeon)

         vv.     5–15         Solomon’s Dream—He Asks God for Wisdom

         vv.    16–28         Solomon Applies His Wisdom in Court (2 Women and a Baby)

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Preface               George Bernard Shaw Graphic/Quotation

         Introduction         Wisdom Graphic

         Introduction         The Principals of 1Kings 3

         Introduction         The Prequel of 1Kings 3

         Introduction         The Abbreviated Timeline of the Kings

         Introduction         A Synopsis of 1Kings 3 (Mostly from College Press Bible Study)

         Introduction         Adam Clarke’s Synopsis of 1Kings 3

         Introduction         Matthew Henry’s Outline of 1Kings 3

         Introduction         The Summarized Bible on 1Kings 3

         Introduction         LXX Insert

         v.       1              Solomon’s Wife is the Daughter of Which Pharaoh (Various Commentators)

         v.       1              Egyptian/Israel Parallel Timeline

         v.       1              Israelites Taking a Foreign Wife

         v.       1              21^st Century Application of Israel and the Canaanites

         v.       1              February 2016 Wars in the World Map

         v.       1              Was Solomon Wrong to Marry the Egyptian Princess?

         v.       1              Egypt and Israel’s Relationship, Based upon this Marriage

         v.       1              The City of David (Various Commentators)

         v.       1              Solomon’s Egyptian Wife and the House Built by Solomon

         v.       1              Foreign Wives and the King of Israel

         v.       2              The Confusing of Tabernacle Worship in Israel

         v.       2              Keil and Delitzsch on the High Places

         v.       2              Tabernacle Worship After King Saul

         v.       2              The Movement of the Ark and the Tent of God in the Time of David and Solomon

         v.       2              Why David Did Not Restore the Ark of God to the Tabernacle

         v.       2              The Possible Typology of the Ark, the Tent and the Tabernacle

         v.       3              Various Commentators on Solomon’s Worship in the High Places (1Kings 3:3)

         v.       3              The Controversy: Is Worship Limited by Solomon or Solomon Limited by Religious Practices of the time?

         v.       3              John Lange on the High Places

         v.       4              Guzik on the Movement of the Ark and Tabernacle

         v.       4              The Tabernacle of God in Gibeon

         v.       5              Chiasmic Approach to 1Kings 3:5–15 by Peter Pett

         v.       5              The Third Millennium Bible Chiasmos of 1Kings 3:6–14

         v.       5              What Would You Ask For? 1Kings 3:9 by Several Commentators

         v.       5              Prayer Promises from Scripture

         v.       5              1Kings 3:4–5 (a graphic)

         v.       7              1Kings 3:9—the New Living Translation (a graphic)

         v.       7              1Kings 3:9—the ESV (a graphic)

         v.       7              Solomon’s Age

         v.       9              How to be full of wisdom and the Spirit? ASK (a graphic)

         v.       9              Taking Scripture out of Context

         v.       9              Many Commentators on Solomon’s Request for Wisdom

         v.       9              Summing up Solomon’s Request (1Kings 3:7–9) (Several Commentators)

         v.       9              1Kings 3:9—The Message (a graphic)

         v.      12              Solomon’s Wisdom in the Scriptures

         v.      12              1Kings 3:12 (a graphic)

         v.      12              Solomon’s Superior Wisdom (Many Commentators)

         v.      12              Your Spiritual Triad

         v.      13              1Kings 3:13—the New Living Translation (a graphic)

         v.      13              1Kings 3:13a (a graphic)

         v.      14              The Extremely Abbreviated Doctrine of The Way of God

         v.      14              1Kings 3:14 (edited) (a graphic)

         v.      14              1Kings 3:10–14 (graphic)

         v.      15              Commentators on, Solomon After the Dream

         v.      15              Solomon’s Wisdom and What Happened to it

         v.      15              Theories on why David did not reunite the Ark and the Tent of God

         v.      15              Solomon in Gibeon and Jerusalem

         v.      16              Peter Pett Presents a Chiasmos of 1Kings 3:16–28

         v.      16              Many Commentators Introduce 1Kings 3:16–28—Proof of Solomon’s Wisdom

         v.      16              Solomon’s Judicial Wisdom (several commentators)

         v.      16              Solomon immediately had the wisdom of God

         v.      16              What Sort of Women are These (from several commentators)

         v.      16              The Importance of Individuals to God

         v.      16              The Doctrine of Prostitution

         v.      25              Solomon Applies his Wisdom to the Disputed Baby Case (Various Commentators)

         v.      25              The Judgement of Solomon, by Peter Paul Rubens

         v.      25              King Solomon’s Wise Judgment (a graphic)

         v.      25              The Judgment of Solomon by Raffaello Sanzio

         v.      26              The Two Women React to Solomon’s Judgment (a graphic)

         v.      26              The Judgment of Solomon, Wallfahrtskirche Frauenberg (de) Frauenberg, Styria

         v.      28              The People Saw the Wisdom of God in Solomon (Commentators on 1Kings 3:28)

         Addendum          Why 1Kings 3 is in the Word of God

         Addendum          What We Learn from 1Kings 3

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          Edersheim Summarizes 1Kings 3

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of 1Kings 3

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of 1Kings 3

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of 1Kings 3

——————————

An Introduction to 1Kings 3

I ntroduction: 1Kings 3 begins with Solomon forming an alliance with Egypt through marriage. Some things are alright at this time and some things are not. Israel was not in deep reversionism, nor was Solomon. He travels to Gibeon to offer up sacrifices and it becomes clear that the Ark of God and the Tent (Tabernacle) of God have not been reunited yet (we are very early in Solomon’s reign). It has been this way for nearly 3 generations now.

While at Gibeon offering up sacrifices, God speaks to Solomon, and Solomon asks God for wisdom. God indicates that He is very pleased with Solomon’s choice and offers him riches and fame as well, promising long life if Solomon follows the mandates of God.

This is the first of 4 appearances of God to Solomon. You may recall that God did not directly interact with King David at all. God used mediaries when speaking to David: the High Priest (1Samuel 23:9-12 30:7 2Samuel 2:1); and the prophets Nathan and Gad (2Samuel 7:2-17 12:1-14 24:11-14). Why this change will be answered when we come to that passage.

When God appears to Solomon, He offers Solomon the chance to ask for anything. This is certainly not a typical opportunity for the average believer; but, if we think about it, often, that describes our lives, if we are growing believers. Every day I am thankful for the life that God has given me—and I am not some great believer by any stretch of the imagination. But I would be a fool to see my life as anything other than incredibly blessed by God.

Solomon seized this opportunity to ask for wisdom, which God granted him. However, God gave him a great deal more than just wisdom, because Solomon asked for wisdom.

Armed with this great wisdom from God, we proceed to the final section of this chapter. An example of Solomon’s great wisdom is given, which is based upon a court case that comes before him of two women with two infants—one living and one dead—and both women claim to be the mother of the live child. Solomon’s decision here is brilliant and it earns him a reputation throughout the land. Standing before Solomon would be like standing before God in judgment—nothing would be hidden.

Wisdom Graphic from Chidinma Inspirations; accessed March 12, 2016.

The Third Millennial Bible: Solomon's wisdom served the writer's larger interest in the establishment of Temple worship. The construction of the Temple was the epitome of Solomon's wisdom at work. The writer idealized Solomon in four episodes: (1) his gift of wisdom (1Kings 3:4-15), (2) his judicial wisdom (1Kings 3:16-28), (3) his domestic political wisdom (1Kings 4:1-28), and (4) his international renown for his wisdom (1Kings 4:29-34).

Whereas the co-reign of David and Solomon has parallel passages in 1Kings 1–2 and 1Chron. 23–29, Solomon’s singular reign begins partway through 1Kings 2 and in 2Chron. 1. The history written in Kings appears to be written not long after the events take place. It is very possible that King David recorded much of 2Samuel and that Solomon recorded his reign at the first half of 1Kings (or there may have been prophets who recorded this history). On the other hand, Chronicles appears to have been compiled from official court records and written down possibly centuries later. Therefore, Kings will be much more personal and immediate Chronicles will be more distant and related more to nation Israel. In Kings, Solomon is a man who became king over Israel in the first part of Chronicles, Solomon is the royal king of Israel. In a way, we see the two natures of Solomon in these two parallel accounts.

This certainly is a foreshadowing of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is presented primarily as a man in the first 3 gospels and primarily as the Son of God in the gospel of John. There is overlap, and no doubt, the Lord’s Deity is to be found in the synoptic gospels but His deity is most clearly revealed by the Apostle John.

Interestingly enough, this is the first time since the exodus that Egypt is named as an important foreign power in relationship to Egypt. Up until this time, we have not had any wars, alliances, disputes between Egypt and Israel. No doubt trade between this countries was going on but we do not have any record of that (to the best of my memory).

The New American Bible: [1Kings 3:1–15] The third major unit of the Solomon story depicts the bright beginning of his reign. It includes the narrator’s remarks about Solomon’s marriage and his building projects, and a divine appearance to Solomon. Compare 11:1–13, where the same themes recur, but in negative fashion. The story of the divine appearance is told also in 2 Chr 1:1–13.

There will be very little commentary in the final section of 1Kings 3; it is fairly self-explanatory.

——————————

Solomon's Early Independent Acts as King (Marriage Offerings in Gibeon)

2Chronicles 1:1–6

The Pulpit Commentary: In the preceding chapter we have seen the establishment of Solomon’s rule (verse 46) by the removal of internal foes, i.e of disaffected and rebellious subjects. In this [verse] we see him strengthening his position by an external alliance, by a marriage with an Egyptian princess. This event, however, is related here, not because the historian had this connexion of ideas in his mind, but probably because the marriage came next in order of time.

Although a couple commentators suggest that this verse is not in chronological order, Solomon began building his house, the Temple and the Jerusalem wall almost immediately after becoming the sole king of Israel (after his father David died).

Alexander MacLaren does a very nice job setting the table for this narrative: The new king was apparently some nineteen or twenty years old on his accession. He stepped at once out of seclusion and idleness to bear the whole weight of the kingdom. The glories of David’s reign, his brother Adonijah’s pretensions to the crown, the smouldering hostility of Saul’s old partisans, made his position difficult and his throne unsteady. No doubt, ‘the weight of too much dignity’ pressed on the youth, and this dream found a point of origin in his waking thoughts. God does not thus reveal Himself to men who seek Him not; and the offer in the vision is but the repetition of what Solomon felt in many a waking moment of meditation that God was saying to him, and the choice he makes in it is the choice that he had already made. He who seeks wisdom first is already wise. Whereas, I think that Solomon might have even been younger than 19 or 20, this is still an outstanding introduction.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac (= Aramaic) and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

I will only list the translation from the Dead Sea Scrolls if it exists and if it is different from the Masoretic text.

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so makes himself a daughter’s husband Solomon with Pharaoh a king of Egypt. And so he takes a daughter of Pharaoh and so he brings her unto a city of David as far as his completing to build his house and a house of Y^ehowah and a wall of Jerusalem round about.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   Only portions of two verses of this chapter remain.

Revised Douay-Rheims         And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon, and he made affinity with Pharao the king of Egypt: for he took his daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    AND Solomon became the son-in-law to Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaohs daughter and brought her into the city of David, until he had finished building his own house and the house of the LORD and the wall of Jerusalem round about.

Septuagint (Greek)                This verse does not appear to be in the Greek Bible.

Significant differences:           The Latin Bible takes the last half of 1Kings 2:46 and brings it into this chapter. This may have some merit. These words certainly sum up the previous chapter but they may also tie the previous chapter to this one.

There is a lot of text added in the Greek Bible at the end of 1Kings 2 which is not found in the Hebrew. But none of it could be brought into this chapter as v. 1.

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             Solomon became the son-in-law of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter as his wife, keeping her in the town of David, till the house he was building for himself, and the house of the Lord and the wall round Jerusalem, were complete.

Easy English                          Solomon prays for wisdom

Solomon made a covenant with Pharaoh, who was the king of Egypt. Solomon married Pharaoh’s daughter. He brought her to the city of David. Then Solomon finished the things that he was building. (They were these buildings:)

· his palace

· the temple of the LORD

· the wall round Jerusalem.

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  Solomon made a peace treaty with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, by marrying his daughter. Solomon brought her to the City of David. This was when Solomon was still building his palace, the Temple of the LORD, and the wall around Jerusalem.

Good News Bible (TEV)         Solomon Prays for Wisdom

Solomon made an alliance with the king of Egypt by marrying his daughter. He brought her to live in David's City until he had finished building his palace, the Temple, and the wall around Jerusalem.

The Message                         Solomon arranged a marriage contract with Pharaoh, king of Egypt. He married Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her to the City of David until he had completed building his royal palace and God’s Temple and the wall around Jerusalem.

Names of God Bible               Solomon’s Marriage

Solomon became the son-in-law of Pharaoh (the king of Egypt). After marrying Pharaoh’s daughter, Solomon brought her to the City of David until he finished building his own house, Yahweh’s house, and the wall around Jerusalem.

NIRV                                      Solomon Asks God for Wisdom

Solomon and Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, agreed to help each other. So Solomon married Pharaoh’s daughter. He brought her to the City of David. She stayed there until he finished building his palace, the Lord’s temple, and the wall around Jerusalem.

Thought-for-thought translations paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Solomon first meets God

Solomon became the son-in-law of Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, when he married Pharaoh’s daughter. He brought her to David’s City until he finished building his royal palace, the Lord’s temple, and the wall around Jerusalem.

Contemporary English V.       Solomon signed a treaty with the king of Egypt and married his daughter. She lived in the older part of Jerusalem until the palace, the LORD's temple, and the wall around Jerusalem were completed.

The Living Bible                     Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and married one of his daughters. He brought her to Jerusalem to live in the City of David until he could finish building his palace and the Temple and the wall around the city.

New Century Version             Solomon Asks for Wisdom

Solomon made an agreement with the king of Egypt by marrying his daughter and bringing her to Jerusalem. At this time Solomon was still building his palace and the Temple of the Lord, as well as a wall around Jerusalem.

New Life Version                    Then Solomon made a marriage agreement with Pharaoh the king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her to the city of David. She stayed there until he had finished building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall around Jerusalem.

New Living Translation           Solomon Asks for Wisdom

Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and married one of his daughters. He brought her to live in the City of David until he could finish building his palace and the Temple of the Lord and the wall around the city.

Tree of Life Version                Solomon Asks for Wisdom

Then Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt by marriage, taking Pharaoh’s daughter, and bringing her to the city of David, until he finished building his own house, the House of Adonai, and the wall around Jerusalem.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Well, under Solomon, the kingdom was united.

Then Solomon contracted a marriage with PharaOh, the king of Egypt. He took the daughter of PharaOh and brought her to the city of David. However, before that, he completed the building of his palace, the Temple of Jehovah, and the wall around JeruSalem.

Beck’s American Translation Solomon Marries Pharaoh’s Daughter

Solomon became the son-in-law of Pharaoh of Egypt by marrying Pharaoh’s daughter. He brought her to David’s city to live there till he finished building his own house, the LORD’s temple, and the wall around Jerusalem.

International Standard V        Solomon Prays for Wisdom

(2Chronicles 1:2-13)

Later, Solomon intermarried with the family of [Lit. The Heb. lacks the family of] Pharaoh, the king of Egypt by taking his daughter and bringing her to the City of David to live until he had completed building his own palace, the LORD’s Temple, and the wall around Jerusalem.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       By now, Solomon’s power was firmly established, and he allied himself by marriage to the king of Egypt, whose daughter he wedded. He took her to live in the Keep of David not yet had he built his own palace, or the Lord’s house not yet had he finished walling in Jerusalem.

Translation for Translators     Solomon requested wisdom

Solomon went to see the king of Egypt. Solomon made an agreement to marry the king of Egypt's daughter, and they both made an alliance/agreement that their armies would not attack each other. Then Solomon brought the king's daughter to live in the part of Jerusalem called 'The City of David.' She lived there until Solomon's workers had finished building his house and the temple of Yahweh and the wall around Jerusalem.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                Solomon marries Pharaoh’s Daughter

Solomon afterwards contracted a treaty of marriage with Pharoh king of the Mitzeraim, and married Pharoh’s daughter, and brought her to the City of David, until he completed the building of his palace, and the House of the Ever-living, and the walls around Jerusalem.

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           Then Salomon drew affinity with Pharao king of Egypt, and took Pharaos daughter and brought her into the city of David until he had made an end of building his own house and the house of the Lord and the walls of Jerusalem round about.

HCSB                                     The Lord Appears to Solomon

Solomon made an alliance [Lit Solomon made himself a son-in-law] with Pharaoh king of Egypt by marrying Pharaoh’s daughter. Solomon brought her to live in the city of David until he finished building his palace, the Lord’s temple, and the wall surrounding Jerusalem.

Jubilee Bible 2000                  And Solomon became a relative of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, for he took Pharaoh’s daughter to wife and brought her into the city of David until he had finished building his own house, and the house of the LORD and the wall of Jerusalem round about.

Lexham English Bible            Solomon’s Walk with Yahweh

Solomon intermarried with Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and he took the daughter of Pharaoh and brought her to the city of David until he finished building his house, the house of Yahweh, and the walls of Jerusalem all around.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  Solomon entered into a marriage alliance with Pharaoh, king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her to the city of David until he had finished building his own palace, Yah weh’s House and the wall around Jerusalem.

The Heritage Bible                 God appears to Solomon Solomon asks for discernment God promises wisdom and wealth

And Solomon gave a daughter in marriage to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter, and brought her into the city of David until he had finished building his own house, and the house of Jehovah, and the wall of Jerusalem all around.

New American Bible (2002)   With the royal power firmly in his grasp, Solomon allied himself by marriage with Pharaoh, king of Egypt. The daughter of Pharaoh, whom he married, he brought to the City of David, until he should finish building his palace, and the temple of the LORD, and the wall around Jerusalem.

New American Bible (2011)   Early Promise of Solomon’s Reign.

Solomon allied himself by marriage with Pharaoh, king of Egypt. He married the daughter of Pharaoh and brought her to the City of David, until he should finish building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall around Jerusalem. 1 Kgs 7:8 9:24.

New Jerusalem Bible             Solomon became the son-in-law of Pharaoh king of Egypt he married Pharaoh's daughter, and took her to the City of David until he could complete the building of his palace, the Temple of Yahweh and the ramparts of Jerusalem.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           Shlomo formed an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt by marrying Pharaoh's daughter. He brought her into the City of David, [where she lived] until he had finished building his own palace, the house of ADONAI and the wall around Yerushalayim.

exeGeses companion Bible   SHELOMOH REQUESTS WISDOM

And Solomon made affinity Shelomoh intermarried

with Pharaoh Paroh, king sovereign of Egypt Misrayim ,

and took Pharaoh's Paroh's daughter,

and brought her into the city of David,

until he had made an end of finished

building his own house,

and the house of the LORD Yah Veh ,

and the wall of Jerusalem Yeru Shalem round about.

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               Solomon allied himself by marriage with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He married Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her to the City of David [to live there] until he had finished building his palace, and the House of the Lord, and the walls around Jerusalem.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And Sh’lomo made an alliance with Pharaoh Melech Mitzrayim, and took Bat Pharaoh as isha, and brought her to Ir Dovid, until he had completed building his Bais (palace), and also the Beis Hashem, and the surrounding chomat Yerushalayim.

The Scriptures 1998              And Shelomoh joined in marriage with Pharaoh sovereign of Mitsrayim, and took the daughter of Pharaoh, and brought her to the City of Dawi until he had completed building his own house, and the House of יהוה, and the wall all around Yerushalayim.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                Solomon’s Rule Consolidated

Now Solomon became a son-in-law to Pharaoh king of Egypt [and formed an alliance] by [a]taking Pharaoh’s daughter [in marriage]. He brought her to the [b]City of David [where she remained temporarily] until he had finished building his own house (palace) and the house of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem.

The Expanded Bible              Solomon Asks for Wisdom

Solomon made an ·agreement [alliance] with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, by marrying his daughter and bringing her to the City of David [^CJerusalem]. At this time Solomon was still building his ·palace [^Lhouse] and the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord, as well as a wall around Jerusalem.

Kretzmann’s Commentary    Solomon at Gibeon

And Solomon made affinity, he entered into a family alliance through marriage, with Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, making her his wife chiefly for political reasons, for the two kingdoms mere now equally powerful, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, for he was desirous of erecting his own palace, and the house of the Lord, the Temple, and the wall of Jerusalem round about, David having fortified only the upper city.

NET Bible®                             The Lord Gives Solomon Wisdom

Solomon made an alliance by marriage with Pharaoh, king of Egypt he married Pharaoh’s daughter. He brought her to the City of David [The phrase City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2Sam 5:7.] until he could finish building his residence and the temple of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem.

The Voice                               Solomon then arranged a marriage alliance with Pharaoh, Egypt’s king. He married Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her to the city of David. He kept her there while he constructed his own house and the Eternal One’s temple and completed the wall surrounding Jerusalem.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Concordant Literal Version    And Solomon joins in marriage with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and takes the daughter of Pharaoh, and brings her in unto the city of David, till he completes to build his own house, and the house of Yahweh, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.

Context Group Version          And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of YHWH, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.

Emphasized Bible                  And Solomon contracted an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt,—and took the daughter of Pharaoh, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of Yahweh, and the wall of Jerusalem, round about.

English Standard V. – UK       Solomon's Prayer for Wisdom

Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of the Lord and the wall round Jerusalem.

Green’s Literal Translation    And Solomon made an alliance by marriage with Pharaoh the king of Egypt. And he took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into the city of David, until he finished building his own house, and the house of Jehovah, and the wall of Jerusalem all around.

Katapi New Study Bible         Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt he took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had finished building his own house and the house of Yahweh and the wall around Jerusalem.

Modern English Version         Solomon Asks for Wisdom

Solomon made a treaty with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He married Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her to the City of David until he finished building his palace, the house of the Lord, and the wall around Jerusalem.

NASB                                     Solomon’s Rule Consolidated

Then Solomon formed a marriage alliance [Lit made himself a son-in-law of Pharaoh] with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her to the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem.

New King James Version       Solomon Requests Wisdom

Now Solomon made a treaty with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and married Pharaoh’s daughter then he brought her to the City of David until he had finished building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall all around Jerusalem.

Webster’s Bible Translation  And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem on every side.

World English Bible                Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter, and brought her into David’s city, until he had finished building his own house, Yahweh’s house, and the wall around Jerusalem.

Young’s Updated LT             And Solomon joins in marriage with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and takes the daughter of Pharaoh, and brings her in unto the city of David, until he completes to build his own house, and the house of Jehovah, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.

The gist of this passage:     Solomon, by marriage, forms an alliance with Egypt and brings the daughter of Pharaoh back to Jerusalem. He had not yet completed building his own house, the Temple of God or the wall of Jerusalem.

Translation: Solomon aligned himself in marriage with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Solomon is not yet the wise king that we know him as. He has been taught from his father David and he has been given guidance in the previous chapters by David as to how to deal with several people in his kingdom. However, he is now on his own. He can no longer turn to his father for insight, wisdom or guidance.

David was at war with many of the surrounding nations. It was not that David was belligerent or greedy but that these other countries were anti-Israel (and therefore, anti-Israel’s God). They expressed their negative volition toward the God of the Universe by attacking Israel (as many in the Islamic religion do today). So that there is no confusion about this: any nation which attacks Israel or the Jewish people with words, with stealth or outright with weapons is a nation expressing its hatred of God.

David was brought up as a warrior from a very young age. Solomon was not brought up as a warrior, insofar as we know. In fact, it is questionable if any of David’s sons were brought up to fight as he was.

Egypt, for many centuries, has not been a world power, having been decimated by God in the exodus. However, they are clearly back as a powerful nation at this point in history. Although it is not clearly stated, my guess is that Egypt made the overtures to Solomon to make peace between the countries. The power and effectiveness of Israel’s army is known throughout that part of the world. Bear in mind, Israel did not just have a successful army, but they had been annexing land and expanding their influence over a larger territory. If there are no reasons for mutual aggression, a marriage like this solidifies a peace between these two great national powers. The Pharaoh of Egypt offers his daughter in marriage to Solomon in order to establish an alliance between the two nations.

Lange: After David’s great victories over the surrounding nations, and especially after the Philistines were rendered powerless, Egypt was the nearest and most powerful neighbor of the kingdom of Israel. As the latter had increased so much in extent and power, the king of Egypt may also have desired an alliance with the king of Israel (Ewald, Gesch. Isr., iii. s. 279) but such an alliance secured Solomon against other nations, and was even productive of an enlargement of his territory (1Kings 9:16).

We do not know if Solomon decided to do this on his own, if he father encouraged him to do this (which is not recorded), or if this was the advice of some of his counselors. In any case, Egypt will invade Israel in the next generation, 5 years after the end of Solomon’s rule (1Kings 14:25). At that point in time, Israel would have been splitting into two nations, and Egypt may have seen this as a once in a lifetime opportunity.

College Press: Solomon’s marriage was strictly political, an arrangement between two families in which any courtship was out of the question. Treaties between nations were customarily sealed by intermarriage of the two royal houses. Solomon needed the recognition of the prestigious and once powerful Egypt to help make his claim to the throne secure. Pharaoh needed trade concessions from the king who now controlled the important north–south highways, as well as assurance that his powerful neighbor would not attempt to expand his domain southward. Albeit, this alliance must have been very shocking to the average Israelite since Egypt was the ancestral foe of Israel. Solomon brought his new wife to the city of David and there she lived in the palace formerly occupied by David (2Chron. 8:11) until Solomon was able to complete his building projects on Mt. Moriah—his own house, the Temple and the rest of the wall of the city (1Kings 3:1). He began building the Temple in the fourth year of his reign (1Kings 6:1) and his own house in his eleventh year (1Kings 7:1).

We actually know little more than the names of the kings during this time period and, for some of them, the length of time that they reigned. The circumstances surrounding this alliance are mostly guessed at.

Interestingly enough, Egypt has not played any significant role in the narrative of nation Israel since the book of Exodus. The references to Egypt after that book are historical (referring back primarily to the exodus of the Jews from Egypt—Deut. 29:2 Judges 11:13 and to their mental attitude towards Egypt—Deut. 16:12 Joshua 24:14) and geographical (sometimes the location of a place is explained with a reference to Egypt—1Sam. 15:7). But there are no references to Egypt as a world power not so far away from Israel until now. The defeat of the Egyptian military by their slaves, the people of Israel, not only left them decimated for many decades; but Egypt thought it best not to mess with Israel after that. So, even though the book of Judges is littered with a dozen or so skirmishes between Israel and various countries, Egypt plays no role here, presumably because God, on behalf of Israel, devastated them. See 1Kings 3:1 4:30 9:16.

This sort of alliance with Egypt was quite rare. They did not practice this sort of treaty; and this suggests that Egypt felt weak before Israel, and did this for their own benefit.

Egyptian/Israel Parallel Timeline from Pharaohs of the Oppression accessed February 26, 2016. This particular page is quite interesting from an historical perspective. I cannot vouch for its accuracy, however. There are apparently two very different chronologies of Egypt in relationship to Israel (how worthwhile this second link is, is questionable, as the page it comes from is kind of weird).

1Kings 3:1a Solomon aligned himself in marriage with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Now, this might rub you the wrong way and you may think to yourself, what is Solomon doing? Why is he marrying an Egyptian woman? Didn’t God tell the Jews not to do this? God does not oppose intermarriage and we have quite a number of instances of intermarriage which appear to be very approved by God: Rahab the Prostitute Ruth the Moabite Moses’ first wife was a Midianite (Ex. 2:21); and his second wife, the Cushite. Joseph married the daughter of an Egyptian priest (Gen. 41:45). What God did warn the Israelites about was intermarriage with Canaanites (Ex. 34:16). The problem is, Canaanites had become so degenerate and self-destructive that God allowed Israel to destroy them and to take their land (and there were 2^nd and 3^rd chances given, by the way, to Sodom, for instance). So, there was not a blanket mandate against marrying non-Israelites. The Israelites were generally forbidden to marry Canaanites and they were not to marry anyone who would take them away from their God, the Revealed Lord, to worship other gods.

People who think that the Bible preaches segregation because of the purity that God demanded of the Israelites do not understand what this purity was all about. God expected Israel to remain separate from heathen worship and the pursuit of other gods—that purity was what was important to God. The skin color or eye color of men or women married by Israelites is not any kind of an issue.

Translation: He took the daughter of Pharaoh [as his wife]... This was often done in alliances. A younger king might marry an older king’s daughter (from another country). This daughter would remain with the younger king and they would have children, which children have ties to both countries. In effect, an alliance is struck between the two countries.

It will be no easy task keeping track of Solomon’s early marriages. At this point, he is already married to the Ammonitess Naamah. We know this because Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, is age 41 (1Kings 14:21) when beginning his reign and Solomon’s reign will be for 40 years (1Kings 11:42). Therefore, Solomon was married a year before he began to reign in Israel. Rehoboam’s mother is named elsewhere as Naamah of the Ammonites (1Kings 14:21, 31 2Chron. 12:13). Interestingly enough, Naamah is called the mother of Rehoboam in these 3 passages we do not have a reference to her as the wife of Solomon.

College Press: [This] is a political occurrence without parallel, not only in Israelite, but also in Egyptian history. No other example has yet been found of a Pharaoh’s daughter being given in marriage to a foreign royal house. But never before had a power comparable to the kingdom of David and Solomon arisen on Egypt’s frontiers, and this perhaps explains the sudden change in the long-standing Egyptian policy of refusing to give Pharaoh’s daughter in marriage to foreign royalty. At least with regards to ancient records, we are unaware of any other alliance with Egypt like this. College Press adds this persuasive citation: Abraham Malamat, “The Kingdom of David and Solomon in its Contact with Egypt and Aram Naharaim,” BAR, II, 91–92. Kadashmanenlil, king of Babylon, asked for the hand of Amenhotep III’s daughter and was refused in the following terms: “From of old, a daughter of the king of Egypt has not been given to anyone.” 

John Stevenson: It is of particular significance that it was Solomon who took the Pharaoh’s daughter and not the Pharaoh who took Solomon’s daughter. The significance was that when a wedding alliance took place, it was normally the vassal who gave the daughter and the sovereign who took the daughter. In this wedding, Solomon was in the role of the sovereign or at least the equal of Egypt. This was no small thing. For several thousand years Egypt had been one of the superpowers of the ancient world. And in a single generation, the tiny Kingdom of Israel had risen to the point where her king was considered to be an equal to the great.

Let’s bring this into the 21st century:

21st Century Application of Israel and the Canaanites

1.      When studying this events of 4000 years ago, it is reasonable to stop and make some kind of application to our lives in the 21st century. 2.      The problem with the Canaanites was their rejection of Yehowah and their horrible religious practices (they had sex in “church” and they sacrificed children as a part of their religious practices). 3.      For this reason, they needed to be destroyed and Israelites were warned against intermarriage with them. 4.      This describes the radical elements of Islam. They commit atrocities all over the entire world. They murder Christian children, they behead, burn alive and drown those who stand in their way. 5.      Nearly every war today is based upon the Islamic caliphate. February 2016 Wars in the World Map from Wars in the World, accessed February 25, 2016. This map shows where all armed conflicts are presently occurring. Almost all of these conflicts are related to the Islamic issue wars. A few of them are communist aggression wars.   6.      Our current president, Obama (I write this in 2016), gave humanitarian reasons for going into Libya and destroying their leadership there, opening them up to great political upheaval. What the president ought to have done, based upon humanitarian reasons, is sent troops into Iraq and similar places to guide the complete and total destruction of ISIS forces. As long as the Libyan dictator was not threatening American allies or interests, then we had no reason to depose him. 7.      Similarly, whatever prisoners of ISIS are taken on the battlefield ought to have been eventually shipped to Guantanamo Bay to be incarcerated until the end of the Islamic wars (yes, that could be a life sentence). 8.      Now and again, the United States has to have a foreign policy based upon moral judgments made against other groups and nations. ISIS and other radical Muslim groups are among the worst offenders of crimes against humanity in human history. For this reason, steps ought to be taken to destroy such a movement and these steps should be led by the United States. 9.      In general, we need to understand good and evil, and there will be, at any given time, great movements of evil out in the world. Sometimes, the United States needs to step in and destroy such movements. God has allowed the United States great military power—the greatest military in all of human history—and this is not simply for our own protection. God blesses us with such a military because we have a responsibility in this world. 10.    There is certainly a balance that must be struck. The world is filled with evil rulers and movements with bad intent. We need to take careful stock of what is occurring in the world and judiciously apply our military power.

Several suggest that the Song of Solomon was written for the occasion of their marriage, along with Psalm 45. I lean toward R. B. Thieme, Jr.’s interpretation of Canticles, that this was Solomon chasing after yet another woman, despite having many wives. The shepherd-lover is her lover he is not another name for Solomon. I will reserve my opinion concerning Psalm 45—a brief read-through does not confirm or deny this theory.

Translation: ...and brought her to the city of David while he was completing the building of his house,... There is a problem of priorities here suggested in the text. The city of David is Jerusalem. David’s house had been built for him. Solomon had decided what his house would be like, and it was being built to his specifications (I am assuming this, as he seems to understand such things).

Lange: The dwelling for the queen was but temporary when the new palace was built she inhabited it (1Kings 9:24).—“He made,” says Josephus, “the walls wider and firmer than they had been.” David had only fortified the upper city (2Sam. 5:7 2Sam. 5:9).

Why does it not say that Solomon and his wife lived in the house of David? Let me suggest that many of David’s wives and mistresses are still alive, and that they all lived in the house of David. The Bible, insofar as I can tell, is never clear exactly on these living arrangements. There are passages which suggest that the wives of Jacob had their own separate tents so perhaps there were apartments—possibly adjacent apartments—near or connected to David’s house.

Since polygamy is not God’s plan for the believer in Jesus Christ, it would make little sense for the Bible to lay out a clear living arrangement for those who have more than one wife. We understand the reason for the careful description of the Tabernacle and later on, the Temple of God. These represent God in the land, on the earth. However, at the same time, we have very little detail on the homes of David and Solomon (or whatever adjacent buildings that there may have been) apart from the fact that these were built and were important to David and Solomon. There is a limited description of this house in 1Kings 7:1, 8 (Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished his entire house. ...His own house where he was to dwell, in the other court back of the hall, was of like workmanship. Solomon also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh's daughter whom he had taken in marriage.—ESV). It appears that he built separate quarters for his Egyptian wife. We can infer from that, that king’s wives were given their own quarters.

I do not recall any information about David’s 20 women—exactly where they lived in relation to him. Perhaps this was written without great detail so that I don’t consider, “Hmm, David had 10 wives and 10 mistresses. How did he make that work? How did he design his home to accommodate them?” Instead, we have recorded ample evidence that David’s many wives and all of his many sons ended up being quite problematic to him. At least 3 of David’s sons were killed because David did not properly bring them up (and there may have been more we have enough killed in the pages of Scripture to indicate that polygamy can be quite problematic).

In any case, Solomon’s wife from Egypt will live in the city of David presumably for the 13 years of Solomon’s building projects (which include his own house—1Kings 7:1). And, unlike David’s wives and mistresses, her quarters, separate from Solomon’s, are discussed briefly.

All of 1Kings 6–7 and 2Chron. 2:1–4:22 will be all about the Temple as well as the personal house built by Solomon. This suggests to me that Solomon wrote the early chapters of 1Kings and that the structure and beauty of his house was known far and wide. I understand this fully. I added some square footage to my home and have taken enough pictures of the process to qualify that addition as my own child. Since pictures could not be taken, Solomon instead opted to give it a careful description, which is preserved for us in the Word of God.

The similarities between Kings and Chronicles suggests that Kings was used as reference material to write Chronicles but that it was not the only reference book available to them. It also suggests an organic development of the concept of inspiration. My guess is, at this time, the books of Samuel Kings were not understood to be inspired of God else, how could they be used, referred to and edited in another historical book, Chronicles?

Translation: ...the house of Y^ehowah... Second on the list of Solomon’s building projects is the house of Y^ehowah. King David had the idea—an original idea—he wanted to build a house dedicated to the worship of God. Up until this time, for the past 400–500 years, worship had been taking place in or around a tent. It seemed to David that a more permanent structure ought to be built now, as Israel now completely controlled of Land of Promise, as a result of the many wars of David.

But, bear in mind, this is listed 2^nd, which at least implies that this was not the first thing on Solomon’s mind.

The Temple was begun in Solomon’s 4^th year (1Kings 6:37) and Jewish chronology places his Egyptian marriage after this point in time. However, given the plain text of 1Kings 3:1, it sounds as if Solomon married the Egyptian woman and then commenced with these building projects.

Translation: ...and a wall around Jerusalem. Solomon was going to take a more defensive position, surrounding Jerusalem with a wall. David was more aggressive when it came to dealing with the various armies around him.

Keil and Delitzsch: By the building of “the wall of Jerusalem” we are to understand a stronger fortification, and possibly also the extension of the city wall (see at 1Kings 11:27).

Matthew Poole: The wall of Jerusalem round about which though in some sort built by David, 2Sam. 5:9, yet Solomon is here said to build, either because he made it higher, and stronger, and more beautiful and glorious in which or the like sense Nebuchadnezzar is said to have built Babylon, Dan. 4:30 or because he built another wall besides the former, for greater security for after this time Jerusalem was encompassed with more walls than one.

Solomon has 3 things which he needs to complete: his own house, the Temple of God, and a wall around Jerusalem. At this point, we might reasonably assume that he is not quite able to assigned priorities here. The house (palace) is strictly for himself and his new wife the Temple would be for all of Israel to have a righteous relationship with God and the wall, of course, would protect Jerusalem. What does young Solomon need right now? He needs to wisdom to decide what does he do first how does he allocate his time and resources?

Solomon will first engage in these building projects, and then he will construct a palace for his Egyptian wife. 1Kings 7:7–8 And he made the Hall of the Throne where he was to pronounce judgment, even the Hall of Judgment. It was finished with cedar from floor to rafters. His own house where he was to dwell, in the other court back of the hall, was of like workmanship. Solomon also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh's daughter whom he had taken in marriage. 2Chron. 8:11 Solomon brought Pharaoh's daughter up from the city of David to the house that he had built for her, for he said, "My wife shall not live in the house of David king of Israel, for the places to which the ark of the LORD has come are holy." (ESV)

Mike Smith on where Solomon’s Egyptian wife probably lived: On his marriage with the Egyptian princess at the beginning of his reign, he assigned her a temporary abode in the city of David, that is, Jerusalem, until a suitable palace for his wife could be erected. While its construction was in progress, he himself lodged in the palace of David. But he did not allow her to live there because she was a pagan who had been taken away from her own country along with her pagan maidservants, and it would have been improper to have them live in such close proximity with the ark. The Ark of the Covenant was located in a tent that David had constructed in Jerusalem, probably near or next to his palace (2Sam. 5:17 6:16 1Chron. 15:1 2Chron. 1:4).

Solomon eventually did marry way, way too many women and this caused him to go astray from God. Whether we can blame this choice to marry the Egyptian wife is uncertain.

——————————

This verse suggests some confusion in the worship protocol of Israel. The books of Exodus and Leviticus set up a pretty detailed system of worship for Israel. However, it is apparent that, as Israel began to be ruled by kings, that this system was set aside to some degree. There were many factors associated with this, but Solomon, at a young age, simply came into a time when there were worship protocols established which did not match what was found in Scripture.

You may recall that, when Eli was the high priest, Israel was going to war against the Philistines, and the army of Israel decided that they needed some really good luck, so they grabbed up the Ark of God to take into battle with them. They lost that battle and the Ark was captured. However, the Ark caused chaos in the lives of the Philistines, and they returned it. The Ark was then mishandled by the Israelites, so it was finally garaged, so to speak, and never returned to the Tabernacle. So, for most of the life of Samuel, and the reigns of Saul and David, and part of the reign of Solomon, the Ark was kept separate from the Tabernacle, even though this was not how things were designed to be. See the Movement of the Ark and the Tabernacle (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

The Tabernacle is a fascinating study. If you were to look at the furniture of the Tabernacle from above, it would have the form of a Roman cross. However, most of the furniture was hidden within the Tabernacle (worshipers did not generally enter into the Tabernacle) and the Ark of God was kept in the Holy of Holies, where no one but the High Priest was to go, and that but once a year, on the great Day of Atonement.

All of that was laid aside for perhaps a century and the focus was upon the kings of Israel rather than upon the Ark of God.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        Only the people are sacrificing in the high places for had not been built a house for a name of Y^ehowah as far as the days the those.

Revised Douay-Rheims         But yet the people sacrificed in the high places: far there was no temple built to the name of the Lord until that day.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    The people sacrificed only in high places, because there was no house yet built to the name of the LORD, until those days.

Septuagint (Greek)                Nevertheless the people burnt incense on the high places, because a house had not yet been built to the Lord.

Significant differences:           None.

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             But all this time the people were making their offerings in the high places, because no house had been put up to the name of the Lord till those days.

Easy English                          But the people still sacrificed in high places, because they had not yet built a temple for the LORD’s Name.

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  The Temple to honor the LORD had not yet been finished, so people were still making animal sacrifices on altars at the high places.

The Message                         Meanwhile, the people were worshiping at local shrines because at that time no temple had yet been built to the Name of God.

Names of God Bible               The people were still sacrificing at other worship sites because a temple for the name of Yahweh had not yet been built.

NIRV                                      But the people continued to offer sacrifices at the high places where they worshiped. That’s because a temple hadn’t been built yet where the Lord would put his Name.

Thought-for-thought translations paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Unfortunately, the people were sacrificing at the shrines because a temple hadn’t yet been built for the Lord’s name in those days.

Contemporary English V.       At that time, there was no temple for worshiping the LORD, and everyone offered sacrifices at the local shrines.

The Living Bible                     At that time the people of Israel sacrificed their offerings on altars in the hills, for the Temple of the Lord hadn’t yet been built.

New Century Version             The Temple for the worship of the Lord had not yet been finished, so people were still sacrificing at altars in many places of worship.

New Living Translation           At that time the people of Israel sacrificed their offerings at local places of worship, for a temple honoring the name of the Lord had not yet been built.

Tree of Life Version                The people, however, were still sacrificing on the high places, because there was no House built for the Name of Adonai until those days.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Now, before the Temple was built, the people were burning incense [to Jehovah] in the high places.

Beck’s American Translation Solomon Asks for Wisdom

The people were sacrificing on the high places because the temple to honor the LORD’s name had not yet been built.

International Standard V        The people were sacrificing at various high places because the Temple had not yet been built and dedicated to [Lit. built for the name of] the LORD.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       In those days, the Lord had no temple built for him, and men used to sacrifice on hill-tops.

Translation for Translators     During that time the temple of Yahweh had not yet been built, so the Israeli people were still offering sacrifices at many other places of worship.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                ...for the people had altars on the hills, because a House had not been built to the name of the Ever-living until these times.

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           Only the people sacrificed in altars made on hills, because there was no house built unto the name of the Lord until those days.

HCSB                                     However, the people were sacrificing on the high places, because until that time a temple for the Lord’s name had not been built.

Jubilee Bible 2000                  Until then the people sacrificed in high places because there was still no house built unto the name of the LORD until those days.

NIV – UK                                The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of the Lord.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  Mean time, the people were sacrificing at the high places because the house for the Name of Yahweh had not yet been built.

New American Bible (2011)   The people were sacrificing on the high places, however, for up to that time no house had been built for the name of the LORD.

New Jerusalem Bible             The people, however, were still sacrificing on the high places, because at that time a dwelling-place for the name of Yahweh had not yet been built.

Revised English Bible            The people however continued to sacrifice at the shrines, for up to that time no house had been built for the name of the LORD.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           The people, however, were still sacrificing on the high places, because no house had yet been built for the name of ADONAI.

exeGeses companion Bible   Only the people sacrificed in high places bamahs ,

because there was no house built

unto the name of the LORD Yah Veh , until those days.

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               The people, however, continued to offer sacrifices at the open shrines, because up to that time no house had been built for the name of the Lord.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           However HaAm were sacrificing in the high places, because there was no Bayit built unto the Shem of Hashem in those days.

The Scriptures 1998              Only, the people slaughtered at the high places, for a house for the Name of יהוה had not been built until those days.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                But [in the meantime] the people were still sacrificing [to God] on the high places (hilltops) [as the pagans did to their idols], for there was no [permanent] house yet built for the Name of the Lord.

The Expanded Bible              The ·Temple [^Lhouse] for the ·worship [^Lname] of the Lord had not yet been finished, so people were still sacrificing at ·altars in many places of worship [^Lthe high places ^Cworship sites that became associated with pagan worship or inappropriate worship of God].

Kretzmann’s Commentary    Only the people sacrificed in high places, against the spirit of the Law, Deut. 12:2-5, because there was no house built unto the name of the Lord until those days, and the custom of going to Gibeon, to the Tabernacle, having fallen into disuse since the days of Samuel.

NET Bible®                             Now the people were offering sacrifices at the high places [The “high places” were places of worship that were naturally or artificially elevated.], because in those days a temple had not yet been built to honor the Lord [Heb “for the name of the Lord.” The word “name” sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor (thus the translation here, “to honor the Lord”). The “name” of the Lord sometimes designates the Lord himself, being indistinguishable from the proper name].

The Voice                               However the people were still offering sacrifices at the high places because a temple had not been constructed for the Eternal until then.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

BRG Bible                              Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the Lord, until those days.

Concordant Literal Version    Only, the people are sacrificing in high places, for there has not been built a house for the name of Yahweh till those days.

English Standard Version      The people were sacrificing at the high places, however, because no house had yet been built for the name of the LORD..

New European Version          At that time the people sacrificed in the high places, because there was no house built for the name of Yahweh.

New King James Version       Meanwhile the people sacrificed at the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the Lord until those days.

Webster’s Bible Translation  Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built to the name of the LORD, until those days.

World English Bible                However the people sacrificed in the high places, because there was not yet a house built for Yahweh’s name.

Young’s Updated LT             Only, the people are sacrificing in high places, for there has not been built a house for the name of Jehovah till those days.

The gist of this passage:     The people are no longer offering sacrifices at the Tabernacle so they are offering up sacrifices in the high places.

Translation: Now [lit., only] the people [of Israel] were sacrificing in the high places... I had some problems with the first connective when trying to align vv. 1 and 2. Using the common meanings of raq (רַק) [pronounced rahk] (only, provided, altogether, surely in any case but nevertheless) just did not seem to work. Strong’s #7534 & #7535 BDB #956. I used the word now, which seems to pull things together better; but that is not really the meaning of the conjunctive particle found here.

The first word of this verse connects vv. 1 and 2 together. Solomon aligned himself in marriage with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. He took the daughter of Pharaoh [as his wife] and brought her to the city of David while he was completing the building of his house, the house of Y^ehowah and a wall around Jerusalem. Now [lit., only] the people [of Israel] were sacrificing in the high places because a house of the name of Y^ehowah had not [yet] been built in those days. So, Solomon was considering or possibly in the process of building the Temple of Y^ehowah but because it had not yet been built, worship continued in less traditional places (the high places).

Perhaps the proper understanding is, Solomon is working on the building of the Temple; however, until that is completed, the people are making their sacrifices in the high places.

The proper place for the people to worship would be at the Tabernacle or at the Tent where the Ark of God was. There apparently was reason for them to believe that Solomon was going to build a Temple, so this intention was known to the people.

I was not the only person to struggle with translating this word:

Matthew Poole explains this limiting particle in this way: Only: this particle is used here and 1Kings 3:3, as an exception to Solomon’s integrity and glory, and as his infirmity, and a blemish to his government, that he himself both permitted and practised this which was expressly forbidden, (Lev. 17:3,4 Deut 12:13,14), except in some extraordinary cases. Possibly he permitted it because he thought it better to allow an error in a circumstance, than to occasion a neglect of the substance of God’s worship, which he apprehended would follow upon a severe prohibition of that practice, because the people’s hearts were generally and constantly set upon these high places...[however,] all...considerations should have given place to the will and wisdom of God.

The Pulpit Commentary: The word [only] perhaps signifies...that just as he was obliged to bring his Egyptian wife into the city of David, because his palace was not yet finished, so the people were compelled to sacrifice on the high places, because the temple was not yet built. This almost provides Solomon with an excuse—but that is not the case. In the next verse, it is clear that this is not an acceptable excuse.

The Tabernacle is available for public worship, which is in the high places. Apparently, the tent for the Ark of God is also used by the public for public worship. However, the Tabernacle was in Gibeon and the Ark of God was in Jerusalem. Normally, they were to be kept together. However, David never brought them to one place although he did bring the Ark to Jerusalem.

God directed the construction of the Tabernacle back in the book of Exodus. This was to be a structure that could be moved from place to place (recall that they traveled in the desert wilderness for 40 years) and there were several articles of furniture specifically designed to be in and about the Tabernacle. This was designed to be a center of worship for the Israelites up until the time of Solomon. The Tabernacle speaks of Jesus Christ in His first incarnation (Who also traveled about Israel teaching).

The Tabernacle itself and the articles of furniture in the Tabernacle were not to be worshiped. They were all representative of things to come. The Ark of God, for instance, was acacia wood overlain with gold which represents the humanity and Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Upon the Ark was a Mercy Seat, where blood would be sprinkled. This blood represents the death of Jesus for our sins. Two angels overlooked this Mercy Seat and they represent the angels who observe all of this play out in human history (think of human history as being the most massive play ever created, where the audience members are elect and fallen angels). Who and What God is, is revealed in this interplay of mankind and God’s provision and character.

It is unclear what sort of Tabernacle worship was occurring at this time. It appears that there may have been two centers of worship—the Tabernacle (probably in Gibeon), with one set of priests and the Tent of the Ark of God in Jerusalem, manned by another set of priests. These were not rival camps by any means they were simply places of worship in different areas. The Tent of the Ark of God was probably a public place of worship in Jerusalem (although this is not entirely clear to me). David built the Tent for the Ark of God, which he brought to Jerusalem (that is, David oversaw the building of the Tent and the moving of the Ark). We ought to understand that kings do very little themselves their decisions are farmed out to those under them.

College Press Bible Study: The Canaanites were accustomed to worshiping on such high places long before the Israelites entered the land. Sometimes Canaanite high places were taken over by the Israelites, modified and converted to the worship of the Lord. The high place at Gibeon mentioned in 1Kings 3:4 may have been once used in the worship of the Canaanite pantheon.

Although we tend to think of the High Places as only associated with heathen worship, this is not necessarily the case. This could simply refer to a place which is at a higher elevation, where people gathered and worshiped God. However, if this is not associated with Tabernacle worship, then the worship in High Places could represent the beginning of a slide into apostasy. See the Doctrine of the High Places (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

In any case, these were not the ideal conditions of Y^ehowah worship. Deut. 12:13–14 Take care that you do not offer your burnt offerings at any place that you see, but at the place that the LORD will choose in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I am commanding you. (ESV) Generally speaking, worship was not supposed to crop up willy nilly, at whatever place the people choose, but where God directed them to worship (see also Deut. 12:11 14:23 16:2, 6, 11). Unfortunately, a proper worship location had not been the order of the day for at least 2Kings (Saul and David). Now, we might reasonably allow that this worship location to be set aside until the Temple is built because, we do not appear to have a place designated by God for public worship (despite the ministries of the prophets Samuel and Nathan).

College Press Bible Study: The author of Kings does not say that such worship was sinful he only is suggesting that it was less than ideal. It was an imperfection that God winked at in the period before the Temple was built.

Whedon: The people sacrificed in high places — A practice more or less prevalent in Israel from the time of the Judges. See note on 1Sam. 9:12. It brought the Divine service of Israel into a resemblance of the idolatrous practices of the heathen, who always erected their altars on the tops of hills or mountains, presuming they were nearer Deity and heaven. This sacrificing in high places was not idolatry; they worshipped Jehovah, the true God, on elevated spots, and therefore by the high places so frequently mentioned in the following history we must not understand idolatrous shrines. But even this worship of Jehovah, in such places, was fraught with danger on account of its resemblance to heathen customs. There was danger to Israel that this sacrificing on high places might degenerate into heathenish idolatry; and so the kingdom itself was unsafe as long as this state of things continued, for pure religion and appropriate worship of the true God are indispensable supports of a righteous and permanent government.

Actually, the author of kings will point out that this is a failing of Solomon early on in his kingship. 1Kings 3:3 Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places. (ESV)

Recall that David, on his own, without prompting from God, began to speak of building a permanent place of worship of Y^ehowah and several chapters in Samuel and Chronicles and the Psalms were devoted to this. The result of such a proposition was God giving the Davidic Covenant. However, God also made it clear that Solomon and not David would build the Temple. One of the reasons for this is that David is a type of Christ in His 1^st and 2^nd Advents. Solomon is a type of Christ in the Millennium. Solomon ruled in a time of peace, when all of his enemies had been defeated, and there was internal peace in his kingdom, just as it would be in the Millennial kingdom of Jesus Christ. That would be a semi-permanent kingdom for 1000 years, just as the Temple was a semi-permanent structure representing our Lord’s reign on the earth. David, on the other hand, was continually at war there was little peace in his time. So he represented the Lord Jesus Christ in His 1^st Advent and when the Lord will return. He faces great opposition in both advents.

In any case, Solomon apparently knew enough not to continue the sort of worship that he followed early in his kingship and an intermediate system—worship at the Tabernacle—should have been reinstituted by Solomon prior to the building of the Temple. What Solomon should have done is prayed to God, asking for guidance as to what to do prior to the building of the Temple. Shiloh was a place where the Tabernacle had been kept and it was, for a time, up and running. However, the Lord had since abandoned Shiloh (Psalm 78:60 see also Jer. 7:12–14). It was up to Solomon to gain new direction for the interim.

What is the big deal? Why is worshiping at the Tabernacle God’s plan but worshiping on a beautiful high mountain plateau was not? The Tabernacle represents Jesus Christ and there is but one way to God, and that is through Jesus Christ. The Tabernacle was apparently set up on a high place, so that a mixture of true and false worship was easy.

Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge: It was not right to offer sacrifices in any place but where the tabernacle and ark were and wherever they were, whether on a high place or a plain, sacrifices might be lawfully offered, previously to building of the temple. The tabernacle was now at Gibeon (2Chron. 1:3), which was therefore called the great high place whither we find Solomon, without censure, repaired to sacrifice.

Translation: ...because a house of the name of Y^ehowah had not [yet] been built in those days. What is suggested is, the people would be worshiping at the House of God (the Temple) if one had been built.

In the Hebrew exegesis, there are several ways this final phrase has been rendered. Many, many translators went with not yet been built; a few rendered this had not been built until these days (which is the most literal translation). Let me suggest: had not been built until this time, had not been built up to this point in history.

The general concept is not difficult to understand. The writer is simply telling us that, up to this point in time, there had not yet been built the Temple, so the people offered up their sacrifices in the high places. In fact, I think we can almost better derive the meaning of these words from the context rather than these words themselves giving meaning to the verse (which happens from time to time when studying Scripture). So usually, we understand how all of the words fit together and what they mean; but here, we first figure out what is being said, and then use that information to give meaning to the final words here. That may seem backwards, but this may help us later to understand the same phrasing elsewhere (if there is an elsewhere).