1 Kings 1
1
King David in his Old Age
1King David was now a very old man, and although his servants covered him with blankets, he could not keep warm. 2So his officials said to him, “Your Majesty, let us find a young woman to stay with you and take care of you. She will lie close to you and keep you warm.” 3A search was made all over Israel for a beautiful young woman, and in Shunem they found such a woman named Abishag, and brought her to the king. 4She was very beautiful, and waited on the king and took care of him, but he did not have intercourse with her.
Adonijah Claims the Throne
5-6 #
2 Sam 3.4
Now that Absalom was dead, Adonijah, the son of David and Haggith, was the eldest surviving son. He was a very handsome man. David had never reprimanded him about anything, and he was ambitious to be king. He provided for himself chariots, horses, and an escort of fifty men. 7He talked with Joab (whose mother was Zeruiah) and with Abiathar the priest, and they agreed to support his cause. 8But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and David's bodyguard were not on Adonijah's side.
9One day Adonijah offered a sacrifice of sheep, bulls, and fattened calves at Snake Rock, near the spring of Enrogel. He invited the other sons of King David and the king's officials who were from Judah to come to this sacrificial feast, 10but he did not invite his half brother Solomon or Nathan the prophet, or Benaiah, or the king's bodyguard.
Solomon is Made King
11 #
2 Sam 12.24
Then Nathan went to Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, and asked her, “Haven't you heard that Haggith's son Adonijah has made himself king? And King David doesn't know anything about it! 12If you want to save your life and the life of your son Solomon, I would advise you 13to go at once to King David and ask him, ‘Your Majesty, didn't you solemnly promise me that my son Solomon would succeed you as king? How is it, then, that Adonijah has become king?’ ” 14And Nathan added, “Then, while you are still talking with King David, I will come in and confirm your story.”
15So Bathsheba went to see the king in his bedroom. He was very old, and Abishag, the woman from Shunem, was taking care of him. 16Bathsheba bowed low before the king, and he asked, “What do you want?”
17She answered, “Your Majesty, you made me a solemn promise in the name of the LORD your God that my son Solomon would be king after you. 18But Adonijah has already become king, and you don't know anything about it. 19He has offered a sacrifice of many bulls, sheep, and fattened calves, and he invited your sons, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of your army to the feast, but he did not invite your son Solomon. 20Your Majesty, all the people of Israel are looking to you to tell them who is to succeed you as king. 21If you don't, as soon as you are dead my son Solomon and I will be treated as traitors.”
22She was still speaking, when Nathan arrived at the palace. 23The king was told that the prophet was there, and Nathan went in and bowed low before the king. 24Then he said, “Your Majesty, have you announced that Adonijah would succeed you as king? 25This very day he has gone and offered a sacrifice of many bulls, sheep, and fattened calves. He invited all your sons, Joab the commander of your army,#1.25 One ancient translation Joab the commander of your army; Hebrew your army commanders. and Abiathar the priest, and just now they are feasting with him and shouting, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ 26But he did not invite me, sir, or Zadok the priest, or Benaiah, or Solomon. 27Did Your Majesty approve all this and not even tell your officials who is to succeed you as king?”
28King David said, “Ask Bathsheba to come back in” — and she came and stood before him. 29Then he said to her, “I promise you by the living LORD, who has rescued me from all my troubles, 30that today I will keep the promise I made to you in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, that your son Solomon would succeed me as king.”
31Bathsheba bowed low and said, “May my lord the king live for ever!”
32Then King David sent for Zadok, Nathan, and Benaiah. When they came in, 33he said to them, “Take my court officials with you; let my son Solomon ride my own mule, and escort him down to the spring of Gihon, 34where Zadok and Nathan are to anoint him as king of Israel. Then blow the trumpet and shout, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ 35Follow him back here when he comes to sit on my throne. He will succeed me as king, because he is the one I have chosen to be the ruler of Israel and Judah.”
36“It shall be done,” answered Benaiah, “and may the LORD your God confirm it. 37As the LORD has been with Your Majesty, may he also be with Solomon, and make his reign even more prosperous than yours.”
38So Zadok, Nathan, Benaiah, and the royal bodyguard put Solomon on King David's mule, and escorted him to the spring of Gihon. 39Zadok took the container of olive oil which he had brought from the Tent of the LORD's presence, and anointed Solomon. They blew the trumpet, and all the people shouted, “Long live King Solomon!” 40Then they all followed him back, shouting for joy and playing flutes, making enough noise to shake the ground.
41As Adonijah and all his guests were finishing the feast, they heard the noise. And when Joab heard the trumpet, he asked, “What's the meaning of all that noise in the city?” 42Before he finished speaking, Jonathan, the son of the priest Abiathar, arrived. “Come in,” Adonijah said. “You're a good man — you must be bringing good news.”
43“I'm afraid not,” Jonathan answered. “His Majesty King David has made Solomon king. 44He sent Zadok, Nathan, Benaiah, and the royal bodyguard to escort him. They made him ride on the king's mule, 45and Zadok and Nathan anointed him as king at the spring of Gihon. Then they went into the city, shouting for joy, and the people are now in an uproar. That's the noise you just heard. 46Solomon is now the king. 47What is more, the court officials went in to pay their respects to His Majesty King David, and said, ‘May your God make Solomon even more famous than you, and may Solomon's reign be even more prosperous than yours.’ Then King David bowed in worship on his bed 48and prayed, ‘Let us praise the LORD, the God of Israel, who has today made one of my descendants succeed me as king, and has let me live to see it!’ ”
49Then Adonijah's guests were afraid, and they all got up and left, each going his own way. 50Adonijah, in great fear of Solomon, went to the Tent of the LORD's presence and took hold of the corners of the altar.#1.50 corners of the altar: Small projections at the four corners of the altar that looked like horns. Anyone holding on to them was safe from being killed. 51King Solomon was told that Adonijah was afraid of him and that he was holding on to the corners of the altar and had said, “First, I want King Solomon to swear to me that he will not have me put to death.”
52Solomon replied, “If he is loyal, not even a hair on his head will be touched; but if he is not, he will die.” 53King Solomon then sent for Adonijah and had him brought down from the altar. Adonijah went to the king and bowed low before him, and the king said to him, “You may go home.”
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1 Kings 1: GNBDK
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
1 Kings 1
1
David’s Old Age. 1#1:1–2:12a] The first major unit of the Solomon story concludes the so-called Succession Narrative (2 Sm 9–20; 1 Kgs 1–2). This unit tells how Solomon, a younger son, came to succeed David on the throne of Israel through the intervention of the prophet Nathan. Compare the last unit of the Solomon story, 11:26–43, where the prophet Ahijah begins the process whereby Jeroboam becomes king of the northern tribes after Solomon’s death. The story of Solomon’s accession is itself concentrically arranged: David’s decline, Adonijah’s rise, Solomon’s supporters, David’s decision, Solomon’s inauguration, Adonijah’s fall, David’s death. Chronicles has no developed parallel to this story (see 1 Chr 23:1). When King David was old and advanced in years, though they covered him with blankets he could not get warm. 2His servants therefore said to him, “Let a young virgin be sought to attend my lord the king,#The fulsome use of royal titles and the elaborate etiquette in the Succession Narrative suggest the raw ambition of the contending parties and the oppressive atmosphere of the court. and to nurse him. If she sleeps with you, my lord the king will be warm.” 3So they sought for a beautiful girl throughout the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunamite. So they brought her to the king. 4The girl was very beautiful indeed, and she nursed the king and took care of him. But the king did not have relations with her.
Adonijah’s Ambition. 5Adonijah, son of Haggith, boasted, “I shall be king!” and he provided himself with chariots, horses, and a retinue of fifty to go before him.#2 Sm 15:1. 6Yet his father would never antagonize him by asking, “Why are you doing this?” Adonijah was also very handsome, and next in age to Absalom by the same mother. 7He consulted with Joab, son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest, and they became Adonijah’s supporters. 8However, Zadok the priest, Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei and Rei, and David’s warriors did not support Adonijah.
9Adonijah slaughtered sheep, oxen, and fatlings at the stone Zoheleth near En-rogel#En-rogel: the modern Job’s Well just southeast of Jerusalem. It marked the ancient boundary between the tribes of Benjamin and Judah (Jos 15:7; 18:16). and invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the royal officials of Judah; 10but he did not invite Nathan the prophet, or Benaiah, or the warriors, or Solomon his brother.
Solomon Proclaimed King. 11Then Nathan said to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother: “Have you not heard that Adonijah, son of Haggith, has become king, and our lord David does not know? 12Come now, let me advise you so that you may save your life and the life of your son Solomon. 13Go, visit King David, and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord king, swear to your handmaid: Your son Solomon shall be king after me; it is he who shall sit upon my throne? Why, then, has Adonijah become king?’ 14And while you are still there speaking to the king, I will come in after you and confirm your words.”
15So Bathsheba visited the king in his room. The king was very old, and Abishag the Shunamite was caring for the king.#Entering the king’s chambers, Bathsheba confronts two realities: he is very old; and she herself, the woman for whom David once committed adultery and murder, has been replaced at the king’s side and in his bed. 16Bathsheba bowed in homage to the king. The king said to her, “What do you wish?”#Throughout 1 Kgs 1 the key question is “Who shall be king (malak)?” David’s feeble, two-syllable question to Bathsheba is an ironic echo of that key word: “What do you wish?” renders the Heb. mahlak? 17She answered him: “My lord, you swore to your servant by the Lord, your God, ‘Solomon your son will be king after me; it is he who shall sit upon my throne.’ 18But now Adonijah has become king, and you, my lord king, do not know it.#Bathsheba uses a clever wordplay to conceal the rivalry between Solomon and Adonijah and imply that the real rivalry is between David and Adonijah. She repeatedly addresses David as “my lord king” (’adoni hammelek), but claims that “Adonijah has become king” (’adoniya malak). Know: the term means both “be aware of” and “recognize, acknowledge, ratify.” 19He has sacrificed bulls, fatlings, and sheep in great numbers; he has invited all the king’s sons, Abiathar the priest, and Joab, the commander of the army, but not your servant Solomon. 20#There was no precedent for determining succession to the throne of Israel. Adonijah and his supporters assumed that primogeniture would assure the succession as it did in the monarchies of the surrounding nations. But Bathsheba persuades David that he is free to name anyone he chooses. Now, my lord king, all Israel is looking to you to declare to them who is to sit upon the throne of my lord the king after him. 21If this is not done, when my lord the king rests with his ancestors, I and my son Solomon will be considered criminals.”
22While she was still speaking to the king, Nathan the prophet came in. 23They told the king, “Nathan the prophet is here.” He entered the king’s presence and did him homage, bowing to the floor. 24Then Nathan said: “My lord king, did you say, ‘Adonijah shall be king after me and shall sit upon my throne’? 25For today he went down and sacrificed bulls, fatlings, and sheep in great numbers; he invited all the king’s sons, the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest, and even now they are eating and drinking in his company and saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ 26But me, your servant, he did not invite; nor Zadok the priest, nor Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, nor your servant Solomon. 27If this was done by order of my lord the king, you did not tell me, your servant, who is to sit upon the throne of my lord the king after him.”
28King David answered, “Call Bathsheba here.” When she entered the king’s presence and stood before him, 29the king swore, “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from all distress, 30this very day I will fulfill the oath I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Your son Solomon shall be king after me and shall sit upon my throne in my place.’” 31Bowing to the floor in homage to the king, Bathsheba said, “May my lord, King David, live forever!”
32Then King David said, “Call Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, son of Jehoiada.” When they had entered the king’s presence, 33he said to them: “Take with you the royal officials. Mount my son Solomon upon my own mule and escort him down to Gihon. 34There Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet shall anoint him king over Israel, and you shall blow the ram’s horn and cry, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ 35When you come back up with him, he is to go in and sit upon my throne. It is he that shall be king in my place: him I designate ruler of Israel and of Judah.” 36Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, answered the king: “So be it! May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, so decree! 37As the Lord has been with my lord the king, so may he be with Solomon, and make his throne even greater than that of my lord, King David!”
38So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and Pelethites#Cherethites and Pelethites: mercenaries in David’s bodyguard. They became part of his retinue after he defeated the Philistines and established himself in Jerusalem; cf. 2 Sm 8:18; 15:18; 20:23. went down, and mounting Solomon on King David’s mule, escorted him to Gihon. 39Then Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. They blew the ram’s horn and all the people shouted, “Long live King Solomon!” 40Then all the people went up after him, playing flutes and rejoicing so much the earth split with their shouting.
Adonijah Submits to Solomon. 41Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it, just as they ended their banquet. When Joab heard the sound of the ram’s horn, he asked, “Why this uproar in the city?” 42As he was speaking, Jonathan, son of Abiathar the priest, arrived. Adonijah said, “Come, you are a man of worth and must bring good news.” 43Jonathan answered Adonijah, “Hardly!#Hardly: Jonathan’s first word, ’abal, whose meaning (such as “indeed,” “on the contrary”) must be discerned from the context, may be ironic. This irony is deepened by an untranslatable wordplay in Hebrew: a very similar word means “to mourn,” which is an appropriate comment about the death of Adonijah’s hopes for the throne. Our lord, King David, has made Solomon king. 44The king sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and Pelethites, and they mounted him upon the king’s own mule. 45Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed him king at Gihon, and they went up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. That is the noise you hear. 46Moreover, Solomon has taken his seat on the royal throne, 47and moreover the king’s servants have come to pay their respects to our lord, King David, saying, ‘May your God make Solomon’s name more famous than your name, his throne greater than your throne!’ And the king in his bed did homage. 48This is what the king said: ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has this day provided one to sit upon my throne, so that I see it with my own eyes.’” 49All the guests of Adonijah got up trembling, and went each their way, 50but Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, got up and went to grasp the horns of the altar.#Horns of the altar: the protuberances on each of the four corners of the altar (Ex 27:2; 29:12). By grasping the horns of the altar Adonijah is claiming asylum (Ex 21:13–14; 1 Kgs 2:28).
51It was reported to Solomon: “Adonijah, in fear of King Solomon, is clinging to the horns of the altar and saying, ‘Let King Solomon first swear that he will not kill me, his servant, with the sword.’” 52Solomon answered, “If he proves worthy, not a hair of his shall fall to the ground. But if evil is found in him, he shall die.” 53King Solomon sent to have him brought down from the altar, and he came and paid homage to King Solomon. Solomon then said to him, “Go to your house.”
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