Thirteen years - The thirteen years, i. e., counting from the end of the seven 1 Kings 6:38. Solomon’s buildings thus occupied him twenty years 1 Kings 9:10; 2 Chronicles 8:1, from the fourth year of his reign to the twenty-fourth. The difference in the time taken by the temple and the palace is to be accounted for,
(1) by the long period of preparation which preceded the actual building of the former 1 Chronicles 22:2-4; 1 Kings 5:13-18; and
(2) by the greater size of the palace, which consisted of several large ranges of buildings. (See the next note.)