1 Kings 7:8

1Ki 7:8 And his house where he dwelt [had] another court within the porch, [which] was of the like work. Solomon made also an house for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had taken [to wife], like unto this porch.

Ver. 8. Had another court.] Called "the middle court." {2Ki 20:4}

Like unto this porch.] All was uniform and spacious.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ki 7:8. His house where he dwelt had another court within the porch — That is, between the porch and the house, called therefore the middle court, 1Ki 20:4. Solomon made also a house for Pharaoh’s daughter — Of which, see 2Ch 2:11. Like unto this porch — Not for form or size, but for the materials and workmanship, the rooms being covered with cedar and the like ornaments.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 8. A house for Pharaoh's daughter] This appears to have been a third house; probably the whole three made but one building, and were in the same place, but distinguished from each other; the first as Solomon's palace, the second as a house of judgment, a court-house; the third, the harem, or apartments for the women.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(8-11) The residence of the king, and the separate palace for the queen, distinct from the apartments of the inferior wives and concubines, are not described; except that they lay “within the porch,” that is, in the rear in another court, and were of “like work.” This is further explained by saying that they had costly stones of great size in the foundation, and stones above, hewn and sawn from top to bottom, carefully finished on the outside towards the great court, as well as on the inside, and were in all cases roofed with cedar. Josephus tells us that the inner court was adorned with trees and fountains, and had colonnades round it; and gives an enthusiastic description of the internal decoration of the rooms, panelled up to a certain height with polished marble, with a band of highly-wrought metal-work of foliage of all kinds above this, and the rest of the wall up to the ceiling plastered and painted in colours (“ceiled with cedar, and painted with vermilion.” Jer_22:14). This description is curiously confirmed and illustrated by some of the recent discoveries at Nineveh.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8. And his house where he dwelt had another court within the porch, which was of the like work] It is better to leave out the italics of A V. and translate ‘And his house where he might dwell, the other court within the porch, was of the like work.’ The description has apparently been carrying us, from the front of the house of the forest, regularly more and more inward. Now we are brought to a court behind the previously mentioned porch, and in this court stood the king’s own dwelling house. It is noteworthy how little description is given to this or to the house for Pharaoh’s daughter. This probably comes to pass because the public were never admitted to these quarters.

Pharaoh’s daughter] Cf. 1Ki_3:1. The house for her probably joined the king’s residence. Josephus (Ant. viii. 5. 2) tells us that it was united with the porch of the throne, but his description is so vague that little reliance can be placed on it, and little help derived from it. The women’s apartments, as usual in the East, were removed as far from public view as possible.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

All these were of costly stones,.... Marble, porphyry, &c.

according to the measure of hewed stones, sawed with saws, within and without; they were all hewed, and squared, and polished, and so they appeared both on the inside of the building, and without:

even from the foundation unto the coping; from the bottom to the top:

and so on the outside toward the great court: where the people used to assemble when they had causes to be tried, and was adjoining to the king's house.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Like unto this porch - i. e., of similar materials, hewn stone and cedar. The zenana could not have been a mere portico.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

House. In the form of a recess or alcove, at the end of one of the aforesaid porches, and probably in that which was nearer the palace. Guards would be stationed in the other. (Haydock) --- This is the idea which travellers have given us of the palaces in the East. They consisted of various apartments, galleries, and courts. Under the outward porch there are guards standing, in a double row; and hence there is a communication with other parts of the house, and with the apartments of the women, which are far removed, and inaccessible to strangers. The women still continue to have separate tents, or apartments; as they had in the days of Sara, Esther, Herodias, &c., Genesis xxiv., Esther i. 11., and Matthew xiv. 8. (Calmet) --- Pharao. Till it was finished, this lady had lodged in David’s palace; though as it was deemed in a manner sacred, on account of the presence of the ark, it was judged expedient to remove her, 2 Paralipomenon viii. 11. (Haydock) --- Perhaps she had begun to manifest some signs of a relapse towards idolatry, into which she is supposed chiefly to have induced her husband, chap. xi. 4. (Salien)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Within the porch, i.e. between the porch and the house, called therefore the middle court, 2Ki 20:4.

A house for Pharaoh’s daughter; of which see 1Ki 3:1; 2Ch 8:11.

Like unto this porch; not for form or quantity, but for the materials and workmanship, the rooms being covered with cedar, and furnished with like ornaments.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

8. His house where he dwelt — The royal residence proper. (D D in plan.) All the building’s and porches of the palace hitherto described were as so many vestibules or passage ways extending lengthwise through the midst of the great court, (1Ki_7:12,) and conducting to the immediate apartments of the king. They formed a grand approach to the throne; and a person passing through them in the order named would become more and more impressed with feelings of reverence and awe as he drew near the royal presence.

Another court within the porch — Rather, the other court, in distinction from the great court round about the entire group of palatial buildings. This inner court was behind the porch of judgment, and enclosed by that porch in front, and the royal residence on the other three sides. (E in plan.)

Was of the like work — Work like that of the porch of judgment; that is, the king’s house, (not the court, as the which supplied in the English version seems to indicate,) was wainscotted with cedar from floor to ceiling throughout all its apartments.

A house for Pharaoh’s daughter — This probably formed the back part of the royal residence, (F in plan,) and at a later period became the royal harem, where the king kept the “many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh,” who turned his heart away from the Lord. 1Ki_11:1.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And his house where he dwelt i.e., his private residence. Not to be identified with the" house" of ver. 1. The term is here expressly restricted to his dwelling house. There it as clearly includes all the several palaces had or was. The "court" is apparently in apposition to "his house." The words in italics, here as elsewhere, merely darken the sense another Heb. the hinder court within For the use of l tyBemi =within, compare 1Ki_6:16; Num_18:7, and see Gesen., Thesaur. 1:193 the porch, which was of the like work i.e. , the walls were covered with cedar. The reference is clearly to materials, adornment, etc., not to size. Solomon made also a house for Pharaoh"s daughter, whom he had taken to wife Heb. he made also a house for whom Solomon had taken, i.e., married, like unto this porch. This would seem to have been the private residence of the queen, not the harem where all the wives and concubines (1Ki_11:3) were collected. It was evidently distinct from and behind the residence of the king, an arrangement which still prevails in Eastern palaces.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Another court - That is, between the porch and the house, called therefore the middle court, chap. 2 Kings xx, 4. Like this - Not for form or quantity, but for the materials and workmanship, the rooms being covered with cedar, and furnished with like ornaments.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

General Information:

The author continues to write about the palace area.

Solomon's house in which he was to live, in another courtyard within the palace grounds, was similarly designed

This can be translated in active form. AT: "Solomon had someone design the house in which he was to live, in another courtyard within the palace grounds, in the same way" (See: Active or Passive)

He also built

Solomon would have commanded his workers to do this work. AT: "He also commanded them to build" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

life

court

Pharaoh

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

His house where he dwelt. A complete residence to eat and sleep there.

From within the entrance hall. Inward from the entrance hall of the house of the Forest of Lebanon.

And the house which he intended to build. He planned to make a house for Pharaoh’s daughter.

Like this entrance hall. Like the work of this entrance hall.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.