Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Kings 7:12

"And the great court round about had three courses of hewn stone, and a course of cedar beams; like as the inner court of the house of Jehovah, and the porch of the house." — 1 Kings 7:12 (ASV)

The great court. —Finally, “the great court” all around is said to have resembled the “inner court” of the Temple, having an enclosure of three rows of stones, probably of large size, with a cedar coping. It seems evident that it enclosed the whole palace, and may have contained quarters for the guards and the household. There must have been, of course, inner courts, around which both the more public and the more private buildings of the palace were grouped.