This verse begins in Hebrew with the common conjunction, traditionally translated “And” (American Standard Version). Neither Revised Standard Version nor Good News Translation translates this conjunction here since a new chapter and a new section begin here. But the beginning of a new chapter may hide the connection between 1 Kgs 6.38 and 7.1. The writer appears to be making a contrast (and an implied criticism) between the time he was prepared to spend on building the LORD’s house and the much longer time he lavishly spent on building his own house. The conjunction in this context expresses contrast, so King James Version begins with “But.” Provan correctly expresses this contrast and criticism with the following translation for the whole verse: “But his own house Solomon spent thirteen years building, and he completed the whole of his house.” This force of the Hebrew conjunction is expressed with the phrase “As regards his palace” by New Jerusalem Bible. Compare also De Vries: “But his own house Solomon was building for thirteen years, completing his entire house.” New International Version is similar with “It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to complete the construction of his palace.”
Solomon was building his own house thirteen years: The verb tense for was building may be important in certain languages. And in some cases it may be necessary to combine the meaning of this verb with the verb finished later in the verse. Some may say, for example, “Solomon finished building his house after thirteen years.”
His own house is literally “his house.” Since Hebrew uses the same word for the “Temple” and the “royal palace,” the word his makes it clear that the focus has now turned from the Temple where God dwelt (described in chapter 6) to the royal palace where Solomon himself will live. Verse 1 gives an overview, stating the number of years required, and the following verses describe the building process in detail. The word house most likely includes not just the royal palace where the king lived, but all of the buildings included in the following verses.
The word order of the Hebrew text places his own house in a prominent position at the very beginning of the verse. This is reflected in versions like New American Bible (“His own palace Solomon completed…”) and New Jerusalem Bible (“As regards his palace, Solomon spent…”).
The thirteen years may be understood as overlapping with the seven years during which the Temple was built (1 Kgs 6.38) or as thirteen additional years. Since 1 Kgs 9.10 indicates that it took twenty years to build both the Temple and the palace, the second interpretation should be followed.
He finished his entire house: If it is correct to understand a contrast between the time it took to build the Temple and the much longer time Solomon allowed himself to spend on his own much larger house, then the word rendered entire should be translated and not left implicit as in Good News Translation and numerous other modern translations.
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 .