The inner sanctuary he prepared: Care should be taken not to suggest in translation that another room, not previously mentioned, is being referred to here. The inner sanctuary refers to “the Holy of Holies,” which was just mentioned in verse 16.

The verb translated he prepared is third person singular, but the Hebrew does not have an explicit subject. Maredsous substitutes the name Solomon for the pronoun he. Solomon himself did not do this construction, so if his name is used, it will be better to say that “Solomon had the inner sanctuary prepared” (see the comments on verse 21).

The innermost part of the house should not be understood to mean “in the center of the Temple” but rather “in the rear…” (Good News Translation) or “at the back…” (New Century Version), as in verse 16.

The ark of the covenant of the LORD: See the comments on this item in 1 Kgs 2.26 and 3.15.

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 .