The readers should understand that Solomon probably commanded other people to do the actual work. Alternate translation: "They began" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metonymy]])
"day 2 of month 2." This is the second month of the Hebrew calendar. The second day is near the middle of April on Western calendars. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/translate-hebrewmonths]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/translate-ordinal]])