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Selected Verse: 1 Kings 2:12 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
1Ki 2:12	Strong Concordance	Then sat [03427] Solomon [08010] upon the throne [03678] of David [01732] his father [01]; and his kingdom [04438] was established [03559] greatly [03966].
	King James	Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly.

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
SOLOMON SUCCEEDS HIM. (Kg1 2:12-24) Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father--His ascension to the royal dignity was made under the happiest auspices. Having been born after his father became monarch of the whole kingdom, his claim, according to the notions of Oriental people, was preferable to that of all, even his elder brothers. The Hebrew kingdom enjoyed internal prosperity; it was respected and renowned abroad, and Solomon well knew how to improve these advantages.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

SOLOMON SUCCEEDS HIM. (Kg1 2:12-24)

Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father--His ascension to the royal dignity was made under the happiest auspices. Having been born after his father became monarch of the whole kingdom, his claim, according to the notions of Oriental people, was preferable to that of all, even his elder brothers. The Hebrew kingdom enjoyed internal prosperity; it was respected and renowned abroad, and Solomon well knew how to improve these advantages.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
The "establishment" of the kingdom here intended is probably its universal acceptance both by the tribe of Judah and the other Israelites.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
Accession of Solomon and Establishment of his Government. - Kg1 2:12 is a heading embracing the substance of what follows, and is more fully expanded in Ch1 29:23-25. Solomon established his monarchy first of all by punishing the rebels, Adonijah (Ch1 29:13-25) and his adherents (Ch1 29:26 -35), and by carrying out the final instructions of his father (vv. 36-46). Kg1 2:13-18 Adonijah forfeits his life. - Kg1 2:13-18. Adonijah came to Bathsheba with the request that she would apply to king Solomon to give him Abishag of Shunem as his wife. Bathsheba asked him, "Is peace thy coming?" i.e., comest thou with a peaceable intention? (as in Sa1 16:4), because after what had occurred (Kg1 1:5.) she suspected an evil intention. He introduced his petition with these words: "Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had set its face upon me that I should be king, then the kingdom turned about and became my brother's; for it became his from the Lord." The throne was his, not because he had usurped it, but because it belonged to him as the eldest son at that time, according to the right of primogeniture. Moreover it might have been the case that many of the people wished him to be king, and the fact that he had found adherents in Joab, Abiathar, and others, confirms this; but his assertion, that all Israel had set its eyes upon him as the future king, went beyond the bounds of truth. At the same time, he knew how to cover over the dangerous sentiment implied in his words in a very skilful manner by adding the further remark, that the transfer of the kingdom to his brother had come from Jehovah; so that Bathsheba did not detect the artifice, and promised to fulfil his request (Kg1 2:16.) to intercede with king Solomon for Abishag to be given him to wife. את־פּני אל־תּשׁבי, "do not turn back my face," i.e., do not refuse my request. Kg1 2:19 When Bathsheba came to Solomon, he received her with the reverence due to the queen-mother: "he rose up to meet her" (a pregnant expression for "he rose up and went to meet her"), made a low bow, then sat upon his throne again, and bade her sit upon a throne at his right hand. The seat at the right hand of the king was the place of honour among the Israelites (cf. Psa 110:1), also with the ancient Arabian kings (cf. Eichhorn, Monumenta Antiq. Hist. Arab. p. 220), as well as among the Greeks and Romans. Kg1 2:20-22 To her request, "Let Abishag of Shunem be given to Adonijah thy brother for a wife" (את יתּן, cf. Ges. 143, 1, a.), which she regarded in her womanly simplicity as a very small one (קטנּה), he replied with indignation, detecting at once the intrigues of Adonijah: "And why dost thou ask Abishag of Shunem for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom, for he is my elder brother; and indeed for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah." The repetition of לו in ולו (Kg1 2:22), for the purpose of linking on another clause, answers entirely to the emotional character of the words. "For him, and for Abiathar and Joab:" Solomon said this, because these two men of high rank had supported Adonijah's rebellion and wished to rule under his name. There is no ground for any such alterations of the text as Thenius proposes. - Although Abishag had been only David's nurse, in the eyes of the people she passed as his concubine; and among the Israelites, just as with the ancient Persians (Herod. iii. 68), taking possession of the harem of a deceased king was equivalent to an establishment of the claim to the throne (see at Sa2 12:8 and Sa2 3:7-8). According to Sa2 16:21, this cannot have been unknown even to Bathsheba; but as Adonijah's wily words had disarmed all suspicion, she may not have thought of this, or may perhaps have thought that Abishag was not to be reckoned as one of David's concubines, because David had not known her (Kg1 1:4). Kg1 2:23-24 Solomon thereupon solemnly swore (the formula of an oath, and the כּי introducing the oath, as in Sa1 14:44, etc.), "Adonijah has spoken this word against his own life." בּנפשׁו, at the cost of his life, as in Sa2 23:17, i.e., at the hazard of his life, or to his destruction. Sa2 23:24. "And now, as truly as Jehovah liveth, who hath established me and set me on the throne of my father David, and hath made me a house, as He said (verbatim, Sa2 7:11): yea, to-day shall Adonijah be put to death." Jehovah established Solomon, or founded him firmly, by raising him to the throne in spite of Adonijah's usurpation. In ויושׁיביני the central י has got into the text through a copyist's error. בּית לי עשׂה, i.e., He has bestowed upon me a family or posterity. Solomon had already one son, viz., Rehoboam, about a year old (compare Kg1 11:42 with Kg1 14:21 and Ch2 12:13). (Note: When Thenius denies this, and maintains that Rehoboam cannot have been 41 years old when he began to reign, referring to his discussion at Kg1 14:21, he answers himself, inasmuch as at Kg1 14:21 he demonstrates the fallacy of the objections which Cappellus has raised against the correctness of the reading "41 years.") Kg1 2:25 Solomon had this sentence immediately executed upon Adonijah by Benaiah, the chief of the body-guard, according to the oriental custom of both ancient and modern times. The king was perfectly just in doing this. For since Adonijah, even after his first attempt to seize upon the throne had been forgiven by Solomon, endeavoured to secure his end by fresh machinations, duty to God, who had exalted Solomon to the throne, demanded that the rebel should be punished with all the severity of the law, without regard to blood-relationship. Kg1 2:26-27 Deposition of Abiathar. - The conduct of Solomon towards the high priest Abiathar is a proof how free his actions were from personal revenge or too great severity. Abiathar had also forfeited his life through the part he took in Adonijah's conspiracy; but Solomon simply sent him to Anathoth (i.e., Anata; see at Jos 18:24), to his own fields, i.e., to his property there, telling him, "Thou art indeed a man of death," i.e., thou hast deserved to die, "but I will not put thee to death to-day, because thou hast borne the ark of Jehovah," namely, both on the occasion of its solemn conveyance to Jerusalem (Ch1 15:11.) and also on David's flight from Absalom (Sa2 15:24, Sa2 15:29), that is to say, because of his high-priestly dignity, and because thou didst endure all that my father endured, i.e., thou didst share all his afflictions and sufferings, both in the period of Saul's persecution (Sa1 22:20., Sa1 23:8.), and during the rebellion of Absalom (Sa2 15:24.). ההוּא בּיּום (to-day) puts a limit upon the pardon, because Solomon could not foresee whether Abiathar would always keep quiet, and not forfeit his life again by fresh crimes. (Note: There is no meaning in the objection of Thenius, that Abiathar did not carry the ark himself, since this was not the duty of the high priest. For, in the first place, it is questionable whether Abiathar did not lend a helping hand at the removal of the ark during Absalom's conspiracy. And, secondly, the duty binding upon the high priest, to superintend and conduct the removal of the ark, might very well be called carrying the ark. The conjecture, that for ארון we should read אפוד, founders on the preterite נשׂאת; for Abiathar had not only worn the ephod once before, but he wore it till the very hour in which Solomon deposed him from his office.) Kg1 2:27 The banishment of Abiathar to his own private possession involved his deposition from the priesthood. And, as the historian adds, thus was the word of the Lord concerning the house of Eli fulfilled (Sa1 2:30-33). למלּא corresponds to the New Testament ἵνα πληρωθῇ. For further remarks on this prophecy and its fulfilment, see at Sa1 2:30. (Note: Nothing is related concerning the subsequent fate of Abiathar, since the death of a high priest who had been deprived of his office was a matter of no importance to the history of the kingdom of God. At any rate, he would not survive his deposition very long, as he was certainly eighty years old already (see Comm. on Sam. p. 267). - The inference which Ewald (Gesch. iii. pp. 269,270) draws from Sa1 2:31-36 as to the manner of his death, namely, that he fell by the sword, is one of the numerous fictions founded upon naturalistic assumptions with which this scholar has ornamented the biblical history.) Thus was the high-priesthood of the house of Eli extinguished, and henceforth this dignity passed through Zadok into the sole possession of the line of Eleazar. Kg1 2:28-33 Execution of Joab. - When the report (of the execution of Adonijah and the deposition of Abiathar) came to Joab, he fled to the tent of Jehovah (not to the tabernacle, but to the holy tent upon Zion) to seek protection at the altar (see at Kg1 1:50). The words נטה לא...יואב כּי are introduced as a parenthesis to explain Joab's flight: "for Joab had leaned after Adonijah," i.e., taken his side (אהרי נטה, as in Exo 23:2; Jdg 9:3), "but not after Absalom." (Note: Instead of אבשׁלום the lxx (Cod. Vat.), Vulgate, Syr., and Arab. have adopted the reading שּׁלמה, and both Thenius and Ewald propose to alter the text accordingly. But whatever plausibility this reading may have, especially if we alter the preterite נטה into the participle נטה after the ἦν κεκλικώς of the lxx, as Thenius does, it has no other foundation than an arbitrary rendering of the lxx, who thought, but quite erroneously, that the allusion to Absalom was inapplicable here. For אחר נטה, to take a person's side, would suit very well in the case of Adonijah and Absalom, but not in that of Solomon, whose claim to the throne was not a party affair, but had been previously determined by God.) There is no foundation in the biblical text for the conjecture, that Joab had given Adonijah the advice to ask for Abishag as his wife, just as Ahithophel had given similar advice to Absalom (Sa2 16:21). For not only is there no intimation of anything of the kind, but Solomon punished Joab solely because of his crimes in the case of Abner and Amasa. Moreover, Abiathar was also deposed, without having any fresh machinations in favour of Adonijah laid to his charge. The punishment of Adonijah and Abiathar was quite sufficient to warn Joab of his approaching fate, and lead him to seek to save his life by fleeing to the altar. It is true that, according to Exo 21:13-14, the altar could afford no protection to a man who had committed two murders. But he probably thought no more of these crimes, which had been committed a long time before, but simply of his participation in Adonijah's usurpation; and he might very well hope that religious awe would keep Solomon from putting him to death in a holy place for such a crime as that. And it is very evident that this hope was not altogether a visionary one, from the fact that, according to Exo 21:30, when Joab refused to leave the altar at the summons addressed to him in the name of the king, Benaiah did not give him the death-blow at once, but informed Solomon of the fact and received his further commands. Solomon, however, did not arrest the course of justice, but ordered him to be put to death there and afterwards buried. The burial of the persons executed was a matter of course, as, according to Deu 21:23, even a person who had been hanged was to be buried before sunset. When, therefore, Solomon gives special orders for the burial of Joab, the meaning is that Benaiah is to provide for the burial with distinct reference to the services which Joab had rendered to his father. "And take away the blood, which Joab shed without cause, from me and my father's house." So long as Joab remained unpunished for the double murder, the blood-guiltiness rested upon the king and his house, on whom the duty of punishment devolved (cf. Num 35:30-31; Deu 19:13). חנּם דּמי, blood without cause, i.e., blood shed in innocence. On the connection of the adverb with the substantive, at which Thenius takes offence, comp. Ges. 151, 1, and Ewald, 287, d. - For V. 32, compare Deu 21:5. The words of Solomon in v. 33a point back to the curse which David uttered upon Joab and his descendants after the murder of Abner (Sa2 3:28-29). "But to David, and his seed, and his house, and his throne, let there be salvation for ever from Jehovah." This wish sprang from a conviction, based upon Sa2 7:14, that the Lord would not fulfil His promise to David unless his successors upon the throne exercised right and justice according to the command of the Lord. Kg1 2:34 Benaiah went up (ויּעל), inasmuch as the altar by the ark of the covenant stood higher up Mount Zion than Solomon's house. Joab was buried "in his house" (i.e., in the tomb prepared in his house, either in the court or in the garden: cf. Sa1 25:1), "in the desert," probably the wilderness of Judah, as Joab's mother was a step-sister of David, and therefore probably dwelt in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem. Kg1 2:35 Solomon appointed Benaiah commander-in-chief in the place of Joab, and put Zadok in Abiathar's place (cf. Kg1 1:8-9). Kg1 2:36-37 Punishment of Shimei. - Solomon thereupon ordered Shimei to come, probably from Bahurim, where his home was (Sa2 16:5), and commanded him to build himself a house in Jerusalem to dwell in, and not to leave the city "any whither" (ואנה אנה), threatening him with death if ever he should cross the brook Kidron. The valley of Kidron is mentioned as the eastern boundary of the city with an allusion to the fact, that Bahurim was to the east of Jerusalem towards the desert. Kg1 2:38 Shimei vowed obedience, and that on oath, as is supplementarily observed in Kg1 2:42, though it has been arbitrarily interpolated by the lxx here; and he kept his word a considerable time. Kg1 2:39-40 But after the lapse of three years, when two slaves fled to Gath to king Achish, with whom David had also sought and found refuge (Sa1 27:2, compare Kg1 21:11.), he started for Gath as soon as he knew this, and fetched them back. Kg1 2:41-43 When this was reported to Solomon, he sent for Shimei and charged him with the breach of his command: "Did I not swear to thee by Jehovah, and testify to thee, etc.? Why hast thou not kept the oath of Jehovah (the oath sworn by Jehovah)...?" Kg1 2:44 He then reminded him of the evil which he had done to his father: "Thou knowest all the evil, which thy heart knoweth (i.e., which thy conscience must tell thee); and now Jehovah returns the evil upon thy head," namely, by decreeing the punishment of death, which he deserved for blaspheming the anointed of the Lord (Sa2 16:9). Kg1 2:45 "And king Solomon will be blessed, and the throne of David be established before Jehovah for ever," namely, because the king does justice (compare the remark on Kg1 2:33). Kg1 2:46 Solomon then ordered him to be executed by Benaiah. This punishment was also just. As Solomon had put Shimei's life in his own hand by imposing upon him confinement in Jerusalem, and Shimei had promised on oath to obey the king's command, the breach of his oath was a crime for which he had no excuse. There is no force at all in the excuses which some commentators adduce in his favour, founded upon the money which his salves had cost him, and the wish to recover possession of them, which was a right one in itself. If Shimei had wished to remain faithful to his oath, he might have informed the king of the flight of his slaves, have entreated the king that they might be brought back, and have awaited the king's decision; but he had no right thus lightly to break the promise given on oath. By the breach of his oath he had forfeited his life. And this is the first thing with which Solomon charges him, without his being able to offer any excuse; and it is not till afterwards that he adduces as a second fact in confirmation of the justice of his procedure, the wickedness that he practised towards his father. - The last clause, "and the kingdom was established by (בּיד) Solomon," is attached to the following chapter in the Cod. Al. of the lxx (in the Cod. Vat. it is wanting, or rather its place is supplied by a long interpolation), in the Vulgate, and in the Syriac; and indeed rightly so, as Thenius has shown, not merely because of the רק in Kg1 3:2, but also because of its form as a circumstantial clause, to which the following account (Kg1 3:1.) is appended.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

Accession of Solomon and Establishment of his Government. - Kg1 2:12 is a heading embracing the substance of what follows, and is more fully expanded in Ch1 29:23-25. Solomon established his monarchy first of all by punishing the rebels, Adonijah (Ch1 29:13-25) and his adherents (Ch1 29:26 -35), and by carrying out the final instructions of his father (vv. 36-46).

Kg1 2:13-18

Adonijah forfeits his life. - Kg1 2:13-18. Adonijah came to Bathsheba with the request that she would apply to king Solomon to give him Abishag of Shunem as his wife. Bathsheba asked him, "Is peace thy coming?" i.e., comest thou with a peaceable intention? (as in Sa1 16:4), because after what had occurred (Kg1 1:5.) she suspected an evil intention. He introduced his petition with these words: "Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had set its face upon me that I should be king, then the kingdom turned about and became my brother's; for it became his from the Lord." The throne was his, not because he had usurped it, but because it belonged to him as the eldest son at that time, according to the right of primogeniture. Moreover it might have been the case that many of the people wished him to be king, and the fact that he had found adherents in Joab, Abiathar, and others, confirms this; but his assertion, that all Israel had set its eyes upon him as the future king, went beyond the bounds of truth. At the same time, he knew how to cover over the dangerous sentiment implied in his words in a very skilful manner by adding the further remark, that the transfer of the kingdom to his brother had come from Jehovah; so that Bathsheba did not detect the artifice, and promised to fulfil his request (Kg1 2:16.) to intercede with king Solomon for Abishag to be given him to wife. את־פּני אל־תּשׁבי, "do not turn back my face," i.e., do not refuse my request.

Kg1 2:19

When Bathsheba came to Solomon, he received her with the reverence due to the queen-mother: "he rose up to meet her" (a pregnant expression for "he rose up and went to meet her"), made a low bow, then sat upon his throne again, and bade her sit upon a throne at his right hand. The seat at the right hand of the king was the place of honour among the Israelites (cf. Psa 110:1), also with the ancient Arabian kings (cf. Eichhorn, Monumenta Antiq. Hist. Arab. p. 220), as well as among the Greeks and Romans.

Kg1 2:20-22

To her request, "Let Abishag of Shunem be given to Adonijah thy brother for a wife" (את יתּן, cf. Ges. 143, 1, a.), which she regarded in her womanly simplicity as a very small one (קטנּה), he replied with indignation, detecting at once the intrigues of Adonijah: "And why dost thou ask Abishag of Shunem for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom, for he is my elder brother; and indeed for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah." The repetition of לו in ולו (Kg1 2:22), for the purpose of linking on another clause, answers entirely to the emotional character of the words. "For him, and for Abiathar and Joab:" Solomon said this, because these two men of high rank had supported Adonijah's rebellion and wished to rule under his name. There is no ground for any such alterations of the text as Thenius proposes. - Although Abishag had been only David's nurse, in the eyes of the people she passed as his concubine; and among the Israelites, just as with the ancient Persians (Herod. iii. 68), taking possession of the harem of a deceased king was equivalent to an establishment of the claim to the throne (see at Sa2 12:8 and Sa2 3:7-8). According to Sa2 16:21, this cannot have been unknown even to Bathsheba; but as Adonijah's wily words had disarmed all suspicion, she may not have thought of this, or may perhaps have thought that Abishag was not to be reckoned as one of David's concubines, because David had not known her (Kg1 1:4).

Kg1 2:23-24

Solomon thereupon solemnly swore (the formula of an oath, and the כּי introducing the oath, as in Sa1 14:44, etc.), "Adonijah has spoken this word against his own life." בּנפשׁו, at the cost of his life, as in Sa2 23:17, i.e., at the hazard of his life, or to his destruction. Sa2 23:24. "And now, as truly as Jehovah liveth, who hath established me and set me on the throne of my father David, and hath made me a house, as He said (verbatim, Sa2 7:11): yea, to-day shall Adonijah be put to death." Jehovah established Solomon, or founded him firmly, by raising him to the throne in spite of Adonijah's usurpation. In ויושׁיביני the central י has got into the text through a copyist's error. בּית לי עשׂה, i.e., He has bestowed upon me a family or posterity. Solomon had already one son, viz., Rehoboam, about a year old (compare Kg1 11:42 with Kg1 14:21 and Ch2 12:13).

(Note: When Thenius denies this, and maintains that Rehoboam cannot have been 41 years old when he began to reign, referring to his discussion at Kg1 14:21, he answers himself, inasmuch as at Kg1 14:21 he demonstrates the fallacy of the objections which Cappellus has raised against the correctness of the reading "41 years.")

Kg1 2:25

Solomon had this sentence immediately executed upon Adonijah by Benaiah, the chief of the body-guard, according to the oriental custom of both ancient and modern times. The king was perfectly just in doing this. For since Adonijah, even after his first attempt to seize upon the throne had been forgiven by Solomon, endeavoured to secure his end by fresh machinations, duty to God, who had exalted Solomon to the throne, demanded that the rebel should be punished with all the severity of the law, without regard to blood-relationship.

Kg1 2:26-27

Deposition of Abiathar. - The conduct of Solomon towards the high priest Abiathar is a proof how free his actions were from personal revenge or too great severity. Abiathar had also forfeited his life through the part he took in Adonijah's conspiracy; but Solomon simply sent him to Anathoth (i.e., Anata; see at Jos 18:24), to his own fields, i.e., to his property there, telling him, "Thou art indeed a man of death," i.e., thou hast deserved to die, "but I will not put thee to death to-day, because thou hast borne the ark of Jehovah," namely, both on the occasion of its solemn conveyance to Jerusalem (Ch1 15:11.) and also on David's flight from Absalom (Sa2 15:24, Sa2 15:29), that is to say, because of his high-priestly dignity, and because thou didst endure all that my father endured, i.e., thou didst share all his afflictions and sufferings, both in the period of Saul's persecution (Sa1 22:20., Sa1 23:8.), and during the rebellion of Absalom (Sa2 15:24.). ההוּא בּיּום (to-day) puts a limit upon the pardon, because Solomon could not foresee whether Abiathar would always keep quiet, and not forfeit his life again by fresh crimes.

(Note: There is no meaning in the objection of Thenius, that Abiathar did not carry the ark himself, since this was not the duty of the high priest. For, in the first place, it is questionable whether Abiathar did not lend a helping hand at the removal of the ark during Absalom's conspiracy. And, secondly, the duty binding upon the high priest, to superintend and conduct the removal of the ark, might very well be called carrying the ark. The conjecture, that for ארון we should read אפוד, founders on the preterite נשׂאת; for Abiathar had not only worn the ephod once before, but he wore it till the very hour in which Solomon deposed him from his office.)

Kg1 2:27

The banishment of Abiathar to his own private possession involved his deposition from the priesthood. And, as the historian adds, thus was the word of the Lord concerning the house of Eli fulfilled (Sa1 2:30-33). למלּא corresponds to the New Testament ἵνα πληρωθῇ. For further remarks on this prophecy and its fulfilment, see at Sa1 2:30.

(Note: Nothing is related concerning the subsequent fate of Abiathar, since the death of a high priest who had been deprived of his office was a matter of no importance to the history of the kingdom of God. At any rate, he would not survive his deposition very long, as he was certainly eighty years old already (see Comm. on Sam. p. 267). - The inference which Ewald (Gesch. iii. pp. 269,270) draws from Sa1 2:31-36 as to the manner of his death, namely, that he fell by the sword, is one of the numerous fictions founded upon naturalistic assumptions with which this scholar has ornamented the biblical history.)

Thus was the high-priesthood of the house of Eli extinguished, and henceforth this dignity passed through Zadok into the sole possession of the line of Eleazar.

Kg1 2:28-33

Execution of Joab. - When the report (of the execution of Adonijah and the deposition of Abiathar) came to Joab, he fled to the tent of Jehovah (not to the tabernacle, but to the holy tent upon Zion) to seek protection at the altar (see at Kg1 1:50). The words נטה לא...יואב כּי are introduced as a parenthesis to explain Joab's flight: "for Joab had leaned after Adonijah," i.e., taken his side (אהרי נטה, as in Exo 23:2; Jdg 9:3), "but not after Absalom."

(Note: Instead of אבשׁלום the lxx (Cod. Vat.), Vulgate, Syr., and Arab. have adopted the reading שּׁלמה, and both Thenius and Ewald propose to alter the text accordingly. But whatever plausibility this reading may have, especially if we alter the preterite נטה into the participle נטה after the ἦν κεκλικώς of the lxx, as Thenius does, it has no other foundation than an arbitrary rendering of the lxx, who thought, but quite erroneously, that the allusion to Absalom was inapplicable here. For אחר נטה, to take a person's side, would suit very well in the case of Adonijah and Absalom, but not in that of Solomon, whose claim to the throne was not a party affair, but had been previously determined by God.)

There is no foundation in the biblical text for the conjecture, that Joab had given Adonijah the advice to ask for Abishag as his wife, just as Ahithophel had given similar advice to Absalom (Sa2 16:21). For not only is there no intimation of anything of the kind, but Solomon punished Joab solely because of his crimes in the case of Abner and Amasa. Moreover, Abiathar was also deposed, without having any fresh machinations in favour of Adonijah laid to his charge. The punishment of Adonijah and Abiathar was quite sufficient to warn Joab of his approaching fate, and lead him to seek to save his life by fleeing to the altar. It is true that, according to Exo 21:13-14, the altar could afford no protection to a man who had committed two murders. But he probably thought no more of these crimes, which had been committed a long time before, but simply of his participation in Adonijah's usurpation; and he might very well hope that religious awe would keep Solomon from putting him to death in a holy place for such a crime as that. And it is very evident that this hope was not altogether a visionary one, from the fact that, according to Exo 21:30, when Joab refused to leave the altar at the summons addressed to him in the name of the king, Benaiah did not give him the death-blow at once, but informed Solomon of the fact and received his further commands. Solomon, however, did not arrest the course of justice, but ordered him to be put to death there and afterwards buried. The burial of the persons executed was a matter of course, as, according to Deu 21:23, even a person who had been hanged was to be buried before sunset. When, therefore, Solomon gives special orders for the burial of Joab, the meaning is that Benaiah is to provide for the burial with distinct reference to the services which Joab had rendered to his father. "And take away the blood, which Joab shed without cause, from me and my father's house." So long as Joab remained unpunished for the double murder, the blood-guiltiness rested upon the king and his house, on whom the duty of punishment devolved (cf. Num 35:30-31; Deu 19:13). חנּם דּמי, blood without cause, i.e., blood shed in innocence. On the connection of the adverb with the substantive, at which Thenius takes offence, comp. Ges. 151, 1, and Ewald, 287, d. - For V. 32, compare Deu 21:5. The words of Solomon in v. 33a point back to the curse which David uttered upon Joab and his descendants after the murder of Abner (Sa2 3:28-29). "But to David, and his seed, and his house, and his throne, let there be salvation for ever from Jehovah." This wish sprang from a conviction, based upon Sa2 7:14, that the Lord would not fulfil His promise to David unless his successors upon the throne exercised right and justice according to the command of the Lord.

Kg1 2:34

Benaiah went up (ויּעל), inasmuch as the altar by the ark of the covenant stood higher up Mount Zion than Solomon's house. Joab was buried "in his house" (i.e., in the tomb prepared in his house, either in the court or in the garden: cf. Sa1 25:1), "in the desert," probably the wilderness of Judah, as Joab's mother was a step-sister of David, and therefore probably dwelt in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem.

Kg1 2:35

Solomon appointed Benaiah commander-in-chief in the place of Joab, and put Zadok in Abiathar's place (cf. Kg1 1:8-9).

Kg1 2:36-37

Punishment of Shimei. - Solomon thereupon ordered Shimei to come, probably from Bahurim, where his home was (Sa2 16:5), and commanded him to build himself a house in Jerusalem to dwell in, and not to leave the city "any whither" (ואנה אנה), threatening him with death if ever he should cross the brook Kidron. The valley of Kidron is mentioned as the eastern boundary of the city with an allusion to the fact, that Bahurim was to the east of Jerusalem towards the desert.

Kg1 2:38

Shimei vowed obedience, and that on oath, as is supplementarily observed in Kg1 2:42, though it has been arbitrarily interpolated by the lxx here; and he kept his word a considerable time.

Kg1 2:39-40

But after the lapse of three years, when two slaves fled to Gath to king Achish, with whom David had also sought and found refuge (Sa1 27:2, compare Kg1 21:11.), he started for Gath as soon as he knew this, and fetched them back.

Kg1 2:41-43

When this was reported to Solomon, he sent for Shimei and charged him with the breach of his command: "Did I not swear to thee by Jehovah, and testify to thee, etc.? Why hast thou not kept the oath of Jehovah (the oath sworn by Jehovah)...?"

Kg1 2:44

He then reminded him of the evil which he had done to his father: "Thou knowest all the evil, which thy heart knoweth (i.e., which thy conscience must tell thee); and now Jehovah returns the evil upon thy head," namely, by decreeing the punishment of death, which he deserved for blaspheming the anointed of the Lord (Sa2 16:9).

Kg1 2:45

"And king Solomon will be blessed, and the throne of David be established before Jehovah for ever," namely, because the king does justice (compare the remark on Kg1 2:33).

Kg1 2:46

Solomon then ordered him to be executed by Benaiah. This punishment was also just. As Solomon had put Shimei's life in his own hand by imposing upon him confinement in Jerusalem, and Shimei had promised on oath to obey the king's command, the breach of his oath was a crime for which he had no excuse. There is no force at all in the excuses which some commentators adduce in his favour, founded upon the money which his salves had cost him, and the wish to recover possession of them, which was a right one in itself. If Shimei had wished to remain faithful to his oath, he might have informed the king of the flight of his slaves, have entreated the king that they might be brought back, and have awaited the king's decision; but he had no right thus lightly to break the promise given on oath. By the breach of his oath he had forfeited his life. And this is the first thing with which Solomon charges him, without his being able to offer any excuse; and it is not till afterwards that he adduces as a second fact in confirmation of the justice of his procedure, the wickedness that he practised towards his father. - The last clause, "and the kingdom was established by (בּיד) Solomon," is attached to the following chapter in the Cod. Al. of the lxx (in the Cod. Vat. it is wanting, or rather its place is supplied by a long interpolation), in the Vulgate, and in the Syriac; and indeed rightly so, as Thenius has shown, not merely because of the רק in Kg1 3:2, but also because of its form as a circumstantial clause, to which the following account (Kg1 3:1.) is appended.

Top

¹² Then sat [03427] Solomon [08010] upon the throne [03678] of David [01732] his father [01]; and his kingdom [04438] was established [03559] greatly [03966].
¹³ And Adonijah [0138] the son [01121] of Haggith [02294] came [0935] to Bathsheba [01339] the mother [0517] of Solomon [08010]. And she said [0559], Comest [0935] thou peaceably [07965]? And he said [0559], Peaceably [07965].
¹⁴ He said [0559] moreover, I have somewhat to say [01697] unto thee. And she said [0559], Say on [01696].
¹⁵ And he said [0559], Thou knowest [03045] that the kingdom [04410] was mine, and that all Israel [03478] set [07760] their faces [06440] on me, that I should reign [04427]: howbeit the kingdom [04410] is turned about [05437], and is become my brother's [0251]: for it was his from the LORD [03068].
¹⁶ And now I ask [07592] one [0259] petition [07596] of thee, deny [07725] me [06440] not. And she said [0559] unto him, Say on [01696].
¹⁷ And he said [0559], Speak [0559], I pray thee, unto Solomon [08010] the king [04428], (for he will not say [07725] thee [06440] nay [07725] that he give [05414] me Abishag [049] the Shunammite [07767] to wife [0802].
¹⁸ And Bathsheba [01339] said [0559], Well [02896]; I will speak [01696] for thee unto the king [04428].
¹⁹ Bathsheba [01339] therefore went [0935] unto king [04428] Solomon [08010], to speak [01696] unto him for Adonijah [0138]. And the king [04428] rose up [06965] to meet [07125] her, and bowed [07812] himself unto her, and sat down [03427] on his throne [03678], and caused a seat [03678] to be set [07760] for the king's [04428] mother [0517]; and she sat [03427] on his right hand [03225].
²⁰ Then she said [0559], I desire [07592] one [0259] small [06996] petition [07596] of thee; I pray thee, say [07725] me [06440] not nay [07725]. And the king [04428] said [0559] unto her, Ask on [07592], my mother [0517]: for I will not say [07725] thee [06440] nay [07725].
²¹ And she said [0559], Let Abishag [049] the Shunammite [07767] be given [05414] to Adonijah [0138] thy brother [0251] to wife [0802].
²² And king [04428] Solomon [08010] answered [06030] and said [0559] unto his mother [0517], And why dost thou ask [07592] Abishag [049] the Shunammite [07767] for Adonijah [0138]? ask [07592] for him the kingdom [04410] also; for he is mine elder [01419] brother [0251]; even for him, and for Abiathar [054] the priest [03548], and for Joab [03097] the son [01121] of Zeruiah [06870].
²³ Then king [04428] Solomon [08010] sware [07650] by the LORD [03068], saying [0559], God [0430] do [06213] so to me, and more also [03254], if Adonijah [0138] have not spoken [01696] this word [01697] against his own life [05315].
²⁴ Now therefore, as the LORD [03068] liveth [02416], which hath established [03559] me, and set [03427] me on the throne [03678] of David [01732] my father [01], and who hath made [06213] me an house [01004], as he promised [01696], Adonijah [0138] shall be put to death [04191] this day [03117].

¹ And Solomon [08010] made affinity [02859] with Pharaoh [06547] king [04428] of Egypt [04714], and took [03947] Pharaoh's [06547] daughter [01323], and brought [0935] her into the city [05892] of David [01732], until he had made an end [03615] of building [01129] his own house [01004], and the house [01004] of the LORD [03068], and the wall [02346] of Jerusalem [03389] round about [05439].

² Only the people [05971] sacrificed [02076] in high places [01116], because there was no house [01004] built [01129] unto the name [08034] of the LORD [03068], until those days [03117].

⁴⁶ So the king [04428] commanded [06680] Benaiah [01141] the son [01121] of Jehoiada [03077]; which went out [03318], and fell [06293] upon him, that he died [04191]. And the kingdom [04467] was established [03559] in the hand [03027] of Solomon [08010].

³³ Their blood [01818] shall therefore return [07725] upon the head [07218] of Joab [03097], and upon the head [07218] of his seed [02233] for ever [05769]: but upon David [01732], and upon his seed [02233], and upon his house [01004], and upon his throne [03678], shall there be peace [07965] for [05704] ever [05769] from the LORD [03068].

⁴⁵ And king [04428] Solomon [08010] shall be blessed [01288], and the throne [03678] of David [01732] shall be established [03559] before [06440] the LORD [03068] for [05704] ever [05769].

⁹ Then said [0559] Abishai [052] the son [01121] of Zeruiah [06870] unto the king [04428], Why should this dead [04191] dog [03611] curse [07043] my lord [0113] the king [04428]? let me go over [05674], I pray thee, and take off [05493] his head [07218].

⁴⁴ The king [04428] said [0559] moreover to Shimei [08096], Thou knowest [03045] all the wickedness [07451] which thine heart [03824] is privy to [03045], that thou didst [06213] to David [01732] my father [01]: therefore the LORD [03068] shall return [07725] thy wickedness [07451] upon thine own head [07218];

⁴¹ And it was told [05046] Solomon [08010] that Shimei [08096] had gone [01980] from Jerusalem [03389] to Gath [01661], and was come again [07725].
⁴² And the king [04428] sent [07971] and called [07121] for Shimei [08096], and said [0559] unto him, Did I not make thee to swear [07650] by the LORD [03068], and protested [05749] unto thee, saying [0559], Know [03045] for a certain [03045], on the day [03117] thou goest out [03318], and walkest [01980] abroad any whither [0575], that thou shalt surely [04191] die [04191]? and thou saidst [0559] unto me, The word [01697] that I have heard [08085] is good [02896].
⁴³ Why then hast thou not kept [08104] the oath [07621] of the LORD [03068], and the commandment [04687] that I have charged [06680] thee with?

¹¹ And the men [0582] of his city [05892], even the elders [02205] and the nobles [02715] who were the inhabitants [03427] in his city [05892], did [06213] as Jezebel [0348] had sent [07971] unto them, and as it was written [03789] in the letters [05612] which she had sent [07971] unto them.

² And David [01732] arose [06965], and he passed over [05674] with the six [08337] hundred [03967] men [0376] that were with him unto Achish [0397], the son [01121] of Maoch [04582], king [04428] of Gath [01661].

³⁹ And it came to pass at the end [07093] of three [07969] years [08141], that two [08147] of the servants [05650] of Shimei [08096] ran away [01272] unto Achish [0397] son [01121] of Maachah [04601] king [04428] of Gath [01661]. And they told [05046] Shimei [08096], saying [0559], Behold, thy servants [05650] be in Gath [01661].
⁴⁰ And Shimei [08096] arose [06965], and saddled [02280] his ass [02543], and went [03212] to Gath [01661] to Achish [0397] to seek [01245] his servants [05650]: and Shimei [08096] went [03212], and brought [0935] his servants [05650] from Gath [01661].

⁴² And the king [04428] sent [07971] and called [07121] for Shimei [08096], and said [0559] unto him, Did I not make thee to swear [07650] by the LORD [03068], and protested [05749] unto thee, saying [0559], Know [03045] for a certain [03045], on the day [03117] thou goest out [03318], and walkest [01980] abroad any whither [0575], that thou shalt surely [04191] die [04191]? and thou saidst [0559] unto me, The word [01697] that I have heard [08085] is good [02896].

³⁸ And Shimei [08096] said [0559] unto the king [04428], The saying [01697] is good [02896]: as my lord [0113] the king [04428] hath said [01696], so will thy servant [05650] do [06213]. And Shimei [08096] dwelt [03427] in Jerusalem [03389] many [07227] days [03117].

⁵ And when king [04428] David [01732] came [0935] to Bahurim [0980], behold, thence came out [03318] a man [0376] of the family [04940] of the house [01004] of Saul [07586], whose name [08034] was Shimei [08096], the son [01121] of Gera [01617]: he came forth [03318], and cursed [07043] still as he came [03318].

³⁶ And the king [04428] sent [07971] and called [07121] for Shimei [08096], and said [0559] unto him, Build [01129] thee an house [01004] in Jerusalem [03389], and dwell [03427] there, and go not forth [03318] thence any whither [0575].
³⁷ For it shall be, that on the day [03117] thou goest out [03318], and passest over [05674] the brook [05158] Kidron [06939], thou shalt know [03045] for certain [03045] that thou shalt surely [04191] die [04191]: thy blood [01818] shall be upon thine own head [07218].

⁸ But Zadok [06659] the priest [03548], and Benaiah [01141] the son [01121] of Jehoiada [03077], and Nathan [05416] the prophet [05030], and Shimei [08096], and Rei [07472], and the mighty men [01368] which belonged to David [01732], were not with Adonijah [0138].
⁹ And Adonijah [0138] slew [02076] sheep [06629] and oxen [01241] and fat cattle [04806] by the stone [068] of Zoheleth [02120], which is by [0681] Enrogel [05883], and called [07121] all his brethren [0251] the king's [04428] sons [01121], and all the men [0582] of Judah [03063] the king's [04428] servants [05650]:

³⁵ And the king [04428] put [05414] Benaiah [01141] the son [01121] of Jehoiada [03077] in his room over the host [06635]: and Zadok [06659] the priest [03548] did the king [04428] put [05414] in the room of Abiathar [054].

¹ And Samuel [08050] died [04191]; and all the Israelites [03478] were gathered together [06908], and lamented [05594] him, and buried [06912] him in his house [01004] at Ramah [07414]. And David [01732] arose [06965], and went down [03381] to the wilderness [04057] of Paran [06290].

³⁴ So Benaiah [01141] the son [01121] of Jehoiada [03077] went up [05927], and fell [06293] upon him, and slew [04191] him: and he was buried [06912] in his own house [01004] in the wilderness [04057].

¹⁴ I will be his father [01], and he shall be my son [01121]. If he commit iniquity [05753], I will chasten [03198] him with the rod [07626] of men [0582], and with the stripes [05061] of the children [01121] of men [0120]:

²⁸ And afterward [0310] when David [01732] heard [08085] it, he said [0559], I and my kingdom [04467] are guiltless [05355] before the LORD [03068] for [05704] ever [05769] from the blood [01818] of Abner [074] the son [01121] of Ner [05369]:
²⁹ Let it rest [02342] on the head [07218] of Joab [03097], and on all his father's [01] house [01004]; and let there not fail [03772] from the house [01004] of Joab [03097] one that hath an issue [02100], or that is a leper [06879], or that leaneth [02388] on a staff [06418], or that falleth [05307] on the sword [02719], or that lacketh [02638] bread [03899].

⁵ And the priests [03548] the sons [01121] of Levi [03878] shall come near [05066]; for them the LORD [03068] thy God [0430] hath chosen [0977] to minister [08334] unto him, and to bless [01288] in the name [08034] of the LORD [03068]; and by their word [06310] shall every controversy [07379] and every stroke [05061] be tried:

¹³ Thine eye [05869] shall not pity [02347] him, but thou shalt put away [01197] the guilt of innocent [05355] blood [01818] from Israel [03478], that it may go well [02895] with thee.

³⁰ Whoso killeth [05221] any person [05315], the murderer [07523] shall be put to death [07523] by the mouth [06310] of witnesses [05707]: but one [0259] witness [05707] shall not testify [06030] against any person [05315] to cause him to die [04191].
³¹ Moreover ye shall take [03947] no satisfaction [03724] for the life [05315] of a murderer [07523], which is guilty [07563] of death [04191]: but he shall be surely [04191] put to death [04191].

²³ His body [05038] shall not remain all night [03885] upon the tree [06086], but thou shalt in any wise [06912] bury [06912] him that day [03117]; (for he that is hanged [08518] is accursed [07045] of God [0430];) that thy land [0127] be not defiled [02930], which the LORD [03068] thy God [0430] giveth [05414] thee for an inheritance [05159].

³⁰ If there be laid [07896] on him a sum of money [03724], then he shall give [05414] for the ransom [06306] of his life [05315] whatsoever is laid [07896] upon him.

¹³ And if a man lie not in wait [06658], but God [0430] deliver [0579] him into his hand [03027]; then I will appoint [07760] thee a place [04725] whither he shall flee [05127].
¹⁴ But if a man [0376] come presumptuously [02102] upon his neighbour [07453], to slay [02026] him with guile [06195]; thou shalt take [03947] him from mine altar [04196], that he may die [04191].

²¹ And Ahithophel [0302] said [0559] unto Absalom [053], Go in [0935] unto thy father's [01] concubines [06370], which he hath left [03240] to keep [08104] the house [01004]; and all Israel [03478] shall hear [08085] that thou art abhorred [0887] of thy father [01]: then shall the hands [03027] of all that are with thee be strong [02388].

³ And his mother's [0517] brethren [0251] spake [01696] of him in the ears [0241] of all the men [01167] of Shechem [07927] all these words [01697]: and their hearts [03820] inclined [05186] to follow [0310] Abimelech [040]; for they said [0559], He is our brother [0251].

² Thou shalt not follow [0310] a multitude [07227] to do evil [07451]; neither shalt thou speak [06030] in a cause [07379] to decline [05186] after [0310] many [07227] to wrest [05186] judgment:

⁵⁰ And Adonijah [0138] feared [03372] because [06440] of Solomon [08010], and arose [06965], and went [03212], and caught hold [02388] on the horns [07161] of the altar [04196].

²⁸ Then tidings [08052] came [0935] to Joab [03097]: for Joab [03097] had turned [05186] after [0310] Adonijah [0138], though he turned [05186] not after [0310] Absalom [053]. And Joab [03097] fled [05127] unto the tabernacle [0168] of the LORD [03068], and caught hold [02388] on the horns [07161] of the altar [04196].
²⁹ And it was told [05046] king [04428] Solomon [08010] that Joab [03097] was fled [05127] unto the tabernacle [0168] of the LORD [03068]; and, behold, he is by [0681] the altar [04196]. Then Solomon [08010] sent [07971] Benaiah [01141] the son [01121] of Jehoiada [03077], saying [0559], Go [03212], fall [06293] upon him.
³⁰ And Benaiah [01141] came [0935] to the tabernacle [0168] of the LORD [03068], and said [0559] unto him, Thus saith [0559] the king [04428], Come forth [03318]. And he said [0559], Nay; but I will die [04191] here. And Benaiah [01141] brought [07725] the king [04428] word [01697] again [07725], saying [0559], Thus said [01696] Joab [03097], and thus he answered [06030] me.
³¹ And the king [04428] said [0559] unto him, Do [06213] as he hath said [01696], and fall [06293] upon him, and bury [06912] him; that thou mayest take away [05493] the innocent [02600] blood [01818], which Joab [03097] shed [08210], from me, and from the house [01004] of my father [01].
³² And the LORD [03068] shall return [07725] his blood [01818] upon his own head [07218], who fell [06293] upon two [08147] men [0582] more righteous [06662] and better [02896] than he, and slew [02026] them with the sword [02719], my father [01] David [01732] not knowing [03045] thereof, to wit, Abner [074] the son [01121] of Ner [05369], captain [08269] of the host [06635] of Israel [03478], and Amasa [06021] the son [01121] of Jether [03500], captain [08269] of the host [06635] of Judah [03063].
³³ Their blood [01818] shall therefore return [07725] upon the head [07218] of Joab [03097], and upon the head [07218] of his seed [02233] for ever [05769]: but upon David [01732], and upon his seed [02233], and upon his house [01004], and upon his throne [03678], shall there be peace [07965] for [05704] ever [05769] from the LORD [03068].

³¹ Behold, the days [03117] come [0935], that I will cut off [01438] thine arm [02220], and the arm [02220] of thy father's [01] house [01004], that there shall not be an old man [02205] in thine house [01004].
³² And thou shalt see [05027] an enemy [06862] in my habitation [04583], in all the wealth which God shall give [03190] Israel [03478]: and there shall not be an old man [02205] in thine house [01004] for ever [03117].
³³ And the man [0376] of thine, whom I shall not cut off [03772] from mine altar [04196], shall be to consume [03615] thine eyes [05869], and to grieve [0109] thine heart [05315]: and all the increase [04768] of thine house [01004] shall die [04191] in the flower of their age [0582].
³⁴ And this shall be a sign [0226] unto thee, that shall come [0935] upon thy two [08147] sons [01121], on Hophni [02652] and Phinehas [06372]; in one [0259] day [03117] they shall die [04191] both [08147] of them.
³⁵ And I will raise me up [06965] a faithful [0539] priest [03548], that shall do [06213] according to that which is in mine heart [03824] and in my mind [05315]: and I will build [01129] him a sure [0539] house [01004]; and he shall walk [01980] before [06440] mine anointed [04899] for ever [03117].
³⁶ And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left [03498] in thine house [01004] shall come [0935] and crouch [07812] to him for a piece [095] of silver [03701] and a morsel [03603] of bread [03899], and shall say [0559], Put [05596] me, I pray thee, into one [0259] of the priests' offices [03550], that I may eat [0398] a piece [06595] of bread [03899].

³⁰ Wherefore the LORD [03068] God [0430] of Israel [03478] saith [05002], I said [0559] indeed [0559] that thy house [01004], and the house [01004] of thy father [01], should walk [01980] before [06440] me for [05704] ever [05769]: but now the LORD [03068] saith [05002], Be it far from me [02486]; for them that honour [03513] me I will honour [03513], and they that despise [0959] me shall be lightly esteemed [07043].
³¹ Behold, the days [03117] come [0935], that I will cut off [01438] thine arm [02220], and the arm [02220] of thy father's [01] house [01004], that there shall not be an old man [02205] in thine house [01004].
³² And thou shalt see [05027] an enemy [06862] in my habitation [04583], in all the wealth which God shall give [03190] Israel [03478]: and there shall not be an old man [02205] in thine house [01004] for ever [03117].
³³ And the man [0376] of thine, whom I shall not cut off [03772] from mine altar [04196], shall be to consume [03615] thine eyes [05869], and to grieve [0109] thine heart [05315]: and all the increase [04768] of thine house [01004] shall die [04191] in the flower of their age [0582].

²⁷ So Solomon [08010] thrust out [01644] Abiathar [054] from being priest [03548] unto the LORD [03068]; that he might fulfil [04390] the word [01697] of the LORD [03068], which he spake [01696] concerning the house [01004] of Eli [05941] in Shiloh [07887].

²⁴ And lo Zadok [06659] also, and all the Levites [03881] were with him, bearing [05375] the ark [0727] of the covenant [01285] of God [0430]: and they set down [03332] the ark [0727] of God [0430]; and Abiathar [054] went up [05927], until all the people [05971] had done [08552] passing [05674] out of the city [05892].

⁸ And Saul [07586] called [08085] all the people [05971] together [08085] to war [04421], to go down [03381] to Keilah [07084], to besiege [06696] David [01732] and his men [0582].

²⁰ And one [0259] of the sons [01121] of Ahimelech [0288] the son [01121] of Ahitub [0285], named [08034] Abiathar [054], escaped [04422], and fled [01272] after [0310] David [01732].

²⁹ Zadok [06659] therefore and Abiathar [054] carried [07725] the ark [0727] of God [0430] again [07725] to Jerusalem [03389]: and they tarried [03427] there.

¹¹ And David [01732] called [07121] for Zadok [06659] and Abiathar [054] the priests [03548], and for the Levites [03881], for Uriel [0222], Asaiah [06222], and Joel [03100], Shemaiah [08098], and Eliel [0447], and Amminadab [05992],

²⁴ And Chepharhaammonai [03726], and Ophni [06078], and Gaba [01387]; twelve [08147] [06240] cities [05892] with their villages [02691]:

²⁶ And unto Abiathar [054] the priest [03548] said [0559] the king [04428], Get [03212] thee to Anathoth [06068], unto thine own fields [07704]; for thou art worthy [0376] of death [04194]: but I will not at this time [03117] put thee to death [04191], because thou barest [05375] the ark [0727] of the Lord [0136] GOD [03069] before [06440] David [01732] my father [01], and because thou hast been afflicted [06031] in all wherein my father [01] was afflicted [06031].
²⁷ So Solomon [08010] thrust out [01644] Abiathar [054] from being priest [03548] unto the LORD [03068]; that he might fulfil [04390] the word [01697] of the LORD [03068], which he spake [01696] concerning the house [01004] of Eli [05941] in Shiloh [07887].

²⁵ And king [04428] Solomon [08010] sent [07971] by the hand [03027] of Benaiah [01141] the son [01121] of Jehoiada [03077]; and he fell [06293] upon him that he died [04191].

²¹ And Rehoboam [07346] the son [01121] of Solomon [08010] reigned [04427] in Judah [03063]. Rehoboam [07346] was forty [0705] and one [0259] years [08141] old [01121] when he began to reign [04427], and he reigned [04427] seventeen [07651] [06240] years [08141] in Jerusalem [03389], the city [05892] which the LORD [03068] did choose [0977] out of all the tribes [07626] of Israel [03478], to put [07760] his name [08034] there. And his mother's [0517] name [08034] was Naamah [05279] an Ammonitess [05985].

¹³ So king [04428] Rehoboam [07346] strengthened [02388] himself in Jerusalem [03389], and reigned [04427]: for Rehoboam [07346] was one [0259] and forty [0705] years [08141] old [01121] when he began to reign [04427], and he reigned [04427] seventeen [07651] [06240] years [08141] in Jerusalem [03389], the city [05892] which the LORD [03068] had chosen [0977] out of all the tribes [07626] of Israel [03478], to put [07760] his name [08034] there. And his mother's [0517] name [08034] was Naamah [05279] an Ammonitess [05985].

⁴² And the time [03117] that Solomon [08010] reigned [04427] in Jerusalem [03389] over all Israel [03478] was forty [0705] years [08141].

¹¹ And as since the time [03117] that I commanded [06680] judges [08199] to be over my people [05971] Israel [03478], and have caused thee to rest [05117] from all thine enemies [0341]. Also the LORD [03068] telleth [05046] thee that he will make [06213] thee an house [01004].

²⁴ Asahel [06214] the brother [0251] of Joab [03097] was one of the thirty [07970]; Elhanan [0445] the son [01121] of Dodo [01734] of Bethlehem [01035],

¹⁷ And he said [0559], Be it far [02486] from me, O LORD [03068], that I should do [06213] this: is not this the blood [01818] of the men [0582] that went [01980] in jeopardy of their lives [05315]? therefore he would [014] not drink [08354] it. These things did [06213] these three [07969] mighty men [01368].

⁴⁴ And Saul [07586] answered [0559], God [0430] do so [06213] and more also [03254]: for thou shalt surely [04191] die [04191], Jonathan [03129].

²³ Then king [04428] Solomon [08010] sware [07650] by the LORD [03068], saying [0559], God [0430] do [06213] so to me, and more also [03254], if Adonijah [0138] have not spoken [01696] this word [01697] against his own life [05315].
²⁴ Now therefore, as the LORD [03068] liveth [02416], which hath established [03559] me, and set [03427] me on the throne [03678] of David [01732] my father [01], and who hath made [06213] me an house [01004], as he promised [01696], Adonijah [0138] shall be put to death [04191] this day [03117].

⁴ And the damsel [05291] was very [03966] fair [03303], and cherished [05532] the king [04428], and ministered [08334] to him: but the king [04428] knew [03045] her not.

⁷ And Saul [07586] had a concubine [06370], whose name [08034] was Rizpah [07532], the daughter [01323] of Aiah [0345]: and Ishbosheth said [0559] to Abner [074], Wherefore hast thou gone in [0935] unto my father's [01] concubine [06370]?
⁸ Then was Abner [074] very [03966] wroth [02734] for the words [01697] of Ishbosheth [0378], and said [0559], Am I a dog's [03611] head [07218], which against Judah [03063] do shew [06213] kindness [02617] this day [03117] unto the house [01004] of Saul [07586] thy father [01], to his brethren [0251], and to his friends [04828], and have not delivered [04672] thee into the hand [03027] of David [01732], that thou chargest [06485] me to day [03117] with a fault [05771] concerning this woman [0802]?

⁸ And I gave [05414] thee thy master's [0113] house [01004], and thy master's [0113] wives [0802] into thy bosom [02436], and gave [05414] thee the house [01004] of Israel [03478] and of Judah [03063]; and if that had been too little [04592], I would moreover have given [03254] unto thee such [02007] and such things [02007].

²² And king [04428] Solomon [08010] answered [06030] and said [0559] unto his mother [0517], And why dost thou ask [07592] Abishag [049] the Shunammite [07767] for Adonijah [0138]? ask [07592] for him the kingdom [04410] also; for he is mine elder [01419] brother [0251]; even for him, and for Abiathar [054] the priest [03548], and for Joab [03097] the son [01121] of Zeruiah [06870].

²⁰ Then she said [0559], I desire [07592] one [0259] small [06996] petition [07596] of thee; I pray thee, say [07725] me [06440] not nay [07725]. And the king [04428] said [0559] unto her, Ask on [07592], my mother [0517]: for I will not say [07725] thee [06440] nay [07725].
²¹ And she said [0559], Let Abishag [049] the Shunammite [07767] be given [05414] to Adonijah [0138] thy brother [0251] to wife [0802].
²² And king [04428] Solomon [08010] answered [06030] and said [0559] unto his mother [0517], And why dost thou ask [07592] Abishag [049] the Shunammite [07767] for Adonijah [0138]? ask [07592] for him the kingdom [04410] also; for he is mine elder [01419] brother [0251]; even for him, and for Abiathar [054] the priest [03548], and for Joab [03097] the son [01121] of Zeruiah [06870].

¹ A Psalm [04210] of David [01732]. The LORD [03068] said [05002] unto my Lord [0113], Sit [03427] thou at my right hand [03225], until I make [07896] thine enemies [0341] thy footstool [01916] [07272].

¹⁹ Bathsheba [01339] therefore went [0935] unto king [04428] Solomon [08010], to speak [01696] unto him for Adonijah [0138]. And the king [04428] rose up [06965] to meet [07125] her, and bowed [07812] himself unto her, and sat down [03427] on his throne [03678], and caused a seat [03678] to be set [07760] for the king's [04428] mother [0517]; and she sat [03427] on his right hand [03225].

¹⁶ And now I ask [07592] one [0259] petition [07596] of thee, deny [07725] me [06440] not. And she said [0559] unto him, Say on [01696].

⁵ Then Adonijah [0138] the son [01121] of Haggith [02294] exalted [04984] himself, saying [0559], I will be king [04427]: and he prepared [06213] him chariots [07393] and horsemen [06571], and fifty [02572] men [0376] to run [07323] before [06440] him.

⁴ And Samuel [08050] did [06213] that which the LORD [03068] spake [01696], and came [0935] to Bethlehem [01035]. And the elders [02205] of the town [05892] trembled [02729] at his coming [07125], and said [0559], Comest [0935] thou peaceably [07965]?

¹³ And Adonijah [0138] the son [01121] of Haggith [02294] came [0935] to Bathsheba [01339] the mother [0517] of Solomon [08010]. And she said [0559], Comest [0935] thou peaceably [07965]? And he said [0559], Peaceably [07965].
¹⁴ He said [0559] moreover, I have somewhat to say [01697] unto thee. And she said [0559], Say on [01696].
¹⁵ And he said [0559], Thou knowest [03045] that the kingdom [04410] was mine, and that all Israel [03478] set [07760] their faces [06440] on me, that I should reign [04427]: howbeit the kingdom [04410] is turned about [05437], and is become my brother's [0251]: for it was his from the LORD [03068].
¹⁶ And now I ask [07592] one [0259] petition [07596] of thee, deny [07725] me [06440] not. And she said [0559] unto him, Say on [01696].
¹⁷ And he said [0559], Speak [0559], I pray thee, unto Solomon [08010] the king [04428], (for he will not say [07725] thee [06440] nay [07725] that he give [05414] me Abishag [049] the Shunammite [07767] to wife [0802].
¹⁸ And Bathsheba [01339] said [0559], Well [02896]; I will speak [01696] for thee unto the king [04428].

²⁶ Thus David [01732] the son [01121] of Jesse [03448] reigned [04427] over all Israel [03478].

¹³ Now therefore, our God [0430], we thank [03034] thee, and praise [01984] thy glorious [08597] name [08034].
¹⁴ But who am I, and what is my people [05971], that we should be [06113] able [03581] to offer so willingly [05068] after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own [03027] have we given [05414] thee.
¹⁵ For we are strangers [01616] before [06440] thee, and sojourners [08453], as were all our fathers [01]: our days [03117] on the earth [0776] are as a shadow [06738], and there is none abiding [04723].
¹⁶ O LORD [03068] our God [0430], all this store [01995] that we have prepared [03559] to build [01129] thee an house [01004] for thine holy [06944] name [08034] cometh of thine hand [03027], and is all thine own.
¹⁷ I know [03045] also, my God [0430], that thou triest [0974] the heart [03824], and hast pleasure [07521] in uprightness [03476]. As for me, in the uprightness [04339] of mine heart [03824] I have willingly offered [05068] all these things: and now have I seen [07200] with joy [08057] thy people [05971], which are present [04672] here, to offer willingly [05068] unto thee.
¹⁸ O LORD [03068] God [0430] of Abraham [085], Isaac [03327], and of Israel [03478], our fathers [01], keep [08104] this for ever [05769] in the imagination [03336] of the thoughts [04284] of the heart [03824] of thy people [05971], and prepare [03559] their heart [03824] unto thee:
¹⁹ And give [05414] unto Solomon [08010] my son [01121] a perfect [08003] heart [03824], to keep [08104] thy commandments [04687], thy testimonies [05715], and thy statutes [02706], and to do [06213] all these things, and to build [01129] the palace [01002], for the which I have made provision [03559].
²⁰ And David [01732] said [0559] to all the congregation [06951], Now bless [01288] the LORD [03068] your God [0430]. And all the congregation [06951] blessed [01288] the LORD [03068] God [0430] of their fathers [01], and bowed down their heads [06915], and worshipped [07812] the LORD [03068], and the king [04428].
²¹ And they sacrificed [02076] sacrifices [02077] unto the LORD [03068], and offered [05927] burnt offerings [05930] unto the LORD [03068], on the morrow [04283] after that day [03117], even a thousand [0505] bullocks [06499], a thousand [0505] rams [0352], and a thousand [0505] lambs [03532], with their drink offerings [05262], and sacrifices [02077] in abundance [07230] for all Israel [03478]:
²² And did eat [0398] and drink [08354] before [06440] the LORD [03068] on that day [03117] with great [01419] gladness [08057]. And they made Solomon [08010] the son [01121] of David [01732] king [04427] the second time [08145], and anointed [04886] him unto the LORD [03068] to be the chief governor [05057], and Zadok [06659] to be priest [03548].
²³ Then Solomon [08010] sat on [03427] the throne [03678] of the LORD [03068] as king [04428] instead of David [01732] his father [01], and prospered [06743]; and all Israel [03478] obeyed [08085] him.
²⁴ And all the princes [08269], and the mighty men [01368], and all the sons [01121] likewise of king [04428] David [01732], submitted themselves [05414] [03027] [08478] unto Solomon [08010] the king [04428].
²⁵ And the LORD [03068] magnified [01431] Solomon [08010] exceedingly [04605] in the sight [05869] of all Israel [03478], and bestowed [05414] upon him such royal [04438] majesty [01935] as had not been on any king [04428] before [06440] him in Israel [03478].

²³ Then Solomon [08010] sat on [03427] the throne [03678] of the LORD [03068] as king [04428] instead of David [01732] his father [01], and prospered [06743]; and all Israel [03478] obeyed [08085] him.
²⁴ And all the princes [08269], and the mighty men [01368], and all the sons [01121] likewise of king [04428] David [01732], submitted themselves [05414] [03027] [08478] unto Solomon [08010] the king [04428].
²⁵ And the LORD [03068] magnified [01431] Solomon [08010] exceedingly [04605] in the sight [05869] of all Israel [03478], and bestowed [05414] upon him such royal [04438] majesty [01935] as had not been on any king [04428] before [06440] him in Israel [03478].

¹² Then sat [03427] Solomon [08010] upon the throne [03678] of David [01732] his father [01]; and his kingdom [04438] was established [03559] greatly [03966].