And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.
And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt. This statement involves a question of great chronological difficulty. As to the evidence for the authenticity of this opening clause, and the two systems of chronology, called the long and the short, that have been adopted for the events that preceded the great national undertaking of Solomon, the reader is referred to the Introduction, in which the subject is fully considered.
In the fourth year of Solomon ... in the month Zif, which is the second month ... he began to build the house of the Lord, х yiben (H1129)] - literally, he built; rather, he laid the foundations of the house of the Lord (cf. 2 Chronicles 3:1). "Zif" - May.