His own house …: The details of the king’s own residence are not given, but it probably included several rooms. It is simply stated that His own house was built like the buildings mentioned in the preceding verses. As in verse 1, there is no separate word in Hebrew for own, but this is used in English to mark more clearly the contrast between the king’s private quarters and the other buildings or rooms already mentioned. New Living Translation calls this “Solomon’s living quarters.”

The other court is literally “the rear courtyard” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). In languages where the word court or “courtyard” presents problems, translators may use a term like “section” (Contemporary English Version). See the comments on “the inner court” in 1 Kgs 6.36.

Back of the hall refers to behind the Hall of the Throne (also called the Hall of Judgment), mentioned in verse 7. It will probably be a good idea to spell this out in the receptor language since several “halls” have been mentioned previously. Some interpreters, however, think that the hall mentioned here refers to the House of the Forest of Lebanon. This interpretation is made explicit in Bible en français courant and Parole de Vie, which say “behind ‘The Forest of Lebanon.’ ”

It is not clear whether the words of like workmanship and like this hall mean that the same materials were used or whether the structure was the same. New International Version renders the first phrase as “similar in design” and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “of the same construction.”

Solomon also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter …: Regarding the word Pharaoh, see the comments on 1 Kgs 3.1. This daughter of the king of Egypt was mentioned earlier in 3.1. Since Solomon had many wives, New Living Translation renders Pharaoh’s daughter whom he had taken in marriage as “Pharaoh’s daughter, one of his wives.”

The house that Solomon made for Pharaoh’s daughter was like this hall. But it is not clear what the words like this hall refer to. According to Good News Translation, they refer to Solomon’s palace, so the sense is that he built for her “the same kind of house” as he built for himself. According to other translations, however, the hall mentioned here refers to the Hall of Pillars, mentioned in verse 6. Bible en français courant (similarly Parole de Vie), for example, reads “Finally the building made for the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Solomon had married, was constructed in the same way as the vestibule of ‘The Forest of Lebanon.’ ” Yet according to other translations, the hall here refers to the Hall of the Throne, mentioned in verse 7. New American Bible, for example, says “A palace like this tribunal was built for Pharaoh’s daughter…” (similarly New Jerusalem Bible). In any case, the general sense is clear: Solomon’s palace and the house where his Egyptian wife lived were constructed in the same style as the buildings mentioned in the preceding verses.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .