1 Kings Chapter 3

“And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, etc.] Pharaoh was a common name of the kings of Egypt, of whom no mention is made in Scripture from the times of Moses until this time; which may seem strange, when it is considered that that kingdom was a potent one, and near the land of Canaan; but it was governed by a race of kings in this period of time, of whom, as Diodorus Siculus f35 says, there is nothing worthy of relation. The name of this Pharaoh, according to Eupolemus f36, an Heathen writer, was Vaphres; for he says, that David contracted a friendship with this king, and he relates some letters…”

“SOLOMON MARRIES PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER. (Kg1 3:1) Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh--This was a royal title, equivalent to "sultan," and the personal name of this monarch is said to have been Vaphres. The formation, on equal terms, of this matrimonial alliance with the royal family of Egypt, shows the high consideration to which the Hebrew kingdom had now arisen. Rosellini has given, from the Egyptian monuments, what is supposed to be a portrait of this princess. She was received in the land of her adoption with great eclat; for the Song of Solomon and the forty-fifth Psalm are supposed to have been composed in…”

“What Pharaoh is meant is uncertain. It must have been a predecessor of Shishak (or Sheshonk), who invaded Judaea more than 40 years later 1 Kings 14:25; and probabilities are in favor, not of Psusennes II, the last king of Manetho’s 21st dynasty, but of Psinaces, the predecessor of Psusennes. This, the Tanite dynasty, had become very weak, especially toward its close, from where we may conceive how gladly it would ally itself with the powerful house of David. The Jews were not forbidden to marry foreign wives, if they became proselytes. As Solomon is not blamed for this marriage either here or in 1 Kings 11:0,…”

“Pharaoh - As being a powerful neighbour, whose daughter doubtless was first instructed in, and proselyted to the Jewish religion. It seems, this was designed by God to be a type of Christ, calling his church to himself, and to the true religion, not only out of the Jews, but even out of the Gentile world. City of David - Into David's palace there. The wall - Which though in some sort built by David, yet Solomon is here said to build, either because he made it higher, and stronger, in which sense Nebuchadnezzar is said to have built Babylon, Dan 4:30, or because he built another wall besides the former, for after…”

“3:1 As was common in the ancient Near East, Solomon sealed a political alliance with the king of Egypt by marrying one of his daughters. The bestowal of an Egyptian princess and the city of Gezer to Solomon as a wedding present (9:16) demonstrated the Egyptians’ high regard for him. The pharaoh was probably Siamun, of Egypt’s weakened 21st dynasty. The alliance was mutually beneficial: Pharaoh gained access to trade routes through Israel, while Solomon increased security on his southern border. Apparently, Solomon had previously married the Ammonite Naamah (see 11:42-43 with 14:21). • City of David: This section…”

“am 2990, bc 1014, An, Ex, Is, 477 affinity: Ch2 18:1; Ezr 9:14 and took: Kg1 7:8, Kg1 9:24, Kg1 11:1 the city: Sa2 5:7; Ch1 11:7 his own: Kg1 7:1-12 the house: 1Kings 6:1-38, Kg1 7:13-15; 2Chr. 2:1-4:22; Ezr 5:11 the wall: Kg1 9:15-19 3 Kings (1 Kings) 3:2”

“Solomon's marriage and the religious state of the kingdom. - Kg1 3:1. When Solomon had well secured his possession of the throne ( Kg1 2:46), he entered into alliance with Pharaoh, by taking his daughter as his wife. This Pharaoh of Egypt is supposed by Winer, Ewald, and others to have been Psusennes, the last king of the twenty-first (Tanitic) dynasty, who reigned thirty-five years; since the first king of the twenty-second (Bubastic) dynasty, Sesonchis or Sheshonk, was certainly the Shishak who conquered Jerusalem in the fifth year of Rehoboam's reign ( Kg1 14:25-26). The alliance by marriage with the royal…”