2 Chronicles 7-8

I kept reading this morning.  Enjoying reading about the temple, and the unbelievable dedication celebration, and all of the animal sacrifices done at that event.  But, I really didn't take much new from it.  So, I kept reading into chapter 8.  Then I saw this little paragraph.

11 Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter up from the City of David to the palace he had built for her, for he said, “My wife must not live in the palace of David king of Israel, because the places the ark of the Lord has entered are holy.”

I didn't remember that Solomon married one of Pharaoh's daughters....I found this reference to her.

• 1 Kings 3:1 says,

"And Solomon became allied to Pharaoh king of Egypt by marriage, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall of Jerusalem round about."

The fact that Pharaoh's daughter has been singled out in the accounts of Solomon is significant as similar treatment is not given to his "seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines" (1 Kings 11:3). Some scholars believe this unique example was because this marriage in particular "demonstrates the wealth and power of the Hebrew monarchy, for Pharaoh's daughters did not ordinarily marry outside of their own family, and perhaps indicates the weakness of the Egyptian kingdom at this time."^[1] Another scholar points out that marrying Pharaoh’s daughter is significant in light of the story of Exodus, "A descendant of former Egyptian slaves now became Pharaoh's son-in-law".^[2] Most scholars believe the alliance was a result of the reputation of Solomon's father, "Under David, Israel had become a factor to be reckoned with in Eastern politics, and the Pharaoh found it prudent to secure its friendship."^[3] The marriage alliance is seen by scholars as the reason for the reported increase in trade with Egypt at 1 Kings 10:28-29.^[1]