Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat.
¶ Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.
And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also was a very goodly man; and his mother bare him after Absalom.
But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.
And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by Enrogel, and called all his brethren the king's sons, and all the men of Judah the king's servants:
¶ Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord knoweth it not?
Go and get thee in unto king David, and say unto him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? why then doth Adonijah reign?
And she said unto him, My lord, thou swarest by the LORD thy God unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne.
And he hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the host: but Solomon thy servant hath he not called.
And thou, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
And they told the king, saying, Behold Nathan the prophet. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.
For he is gone down this day, and hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the king's sons, and the captains of the host, and Abiathar the priest; and, behold, they eat and drink before him, and say, God save king Adonijah.
Even as I sware unto thee by the LORD God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day.
The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon:
Then ye shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.
So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, went down, and caused Solomon to ride upon king David's mule, and brought him to Gihon.
And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon.
¶ And Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, Wherefore is this noise of the city being in an uproar?
And while he yet spake, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came: and Adonijah said unto him, Come in; for thou art a valiant man, and bringest good tidings.
And the king hath sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and they have caused him to ride upon the king's mule:
And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon: and they are come up from thence rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This is the noise that ye have heard.
And moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, God make the name of Solomon better than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne. And the king bowed himself upon the bed.
And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah feareth king Solomon: for, lo, he hath caught hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear unto me to day that he will not slay his servant with the sword.
And Solomon said, If he will shew himself a worthy man, there shall not an hair of him fall to the earth: but if wickedness shall be found in him, he shall die.
So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and bowed himself to king Solomon: and Solomon said unto him, Go to thine house.
Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain
Study Notes for 1 Kings 1
Verse 1
stricken in years — Literally, come into days (bo with yom). David began to reign at thirty and reigned forty years (2 Sam 5:4), so he was about seventy, the span of Ps 90:10. Joshua is likewise said to have 'waxed old and stricken in age' (Josh 23:1).
Verse 2
a young virgin — Na'arah (a girl) and bethulah (a virgin). 'Cherish' is sakan, to minister to, be of service; 'bosom' is cheq. The servants' remedy rests on a plain observation: 'if two lie together, then they have heat' (Eccl 4:11).
Verse 4
the king knew her not — Yada, 'to know', the Hebrew idiom for marital union, as in Matt 1:25, 'knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son'. Abishag 'ministered' (sharat, attended) as a servant, not a wife; Adonijah later asks for her in marriage (1 Kings 2:17).
Verse 5
I will be king — 'Exalted himself' is nasa in the reflexive, to lift oneself up. Adonijah, 'the son of Haggith', was David's fourth son (2 Sam 3:4). His 'chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him' repeat Absalom's display: 'prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him' (2 Sam 15:1).
Verse 6
Why hast thou done so? — The father had never 'displeased' (atsab, grieved, vexed) him by correction. The Proverbs say the opposite: 'Withhold not correction from the child' (Prov 23:13). Adonijah was born 'after Absalom', third and fourth sons in the list of 2 Sam 3:3–4.
Verse 7
Joab the son of Zeruiah — 'Conferred' is dabar, 'words', so his words were with Joab and Abiathar; 'helped' is azar. Abiathar had served as priest with Zadok (2 Sam 20:25). He was later sent away to Anathoth, and Zadok put 'in the room of Abiathar' (1 Kings 2:26, 35).
Verse 8
were not with Adonijah — The named men stood apart: Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, who was 'over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites' (2 Sam 8:18). 'Mighty men' is gibborim, David's picked warriors, whose names are listed in 2 Sam 23:8–39.
Verse 9
the stone of Zoheleth, which is by Enrogel — Zocheleth means crawling; En-rogel means a traveller's fountain, and there the messengers Jonathan and Ahimaaz once waited for David (2 Sam 17:17). 'Slew' is zabach, the sacrificial verb. Absalom likewise began his revolt 'while he offered sacrifices' (2 Sam 15:12).
Verse 11
Nathan spake unto Bathsheba — Nathan the prophet had named her son Jedidiah 'because of the LORD' (2 Sam 12:25). 'Doth reign' is malak, the same verb as in 'I will be king' (v.5). She is called 'the mother of Solomon' in the verse, and Nathan calls David 'our lord' (adon).
Verse 13
Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear — The oath is not recorded earlier in Scripture; Bathsheba repeats it in v.17 and David confirms it in v.30. It accords with the word given to David: Solomon 'shall be a man of rest' and 'I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever' (1 Chr 22:9–10).
Verse 20
the eyes of all Israel are upon thee — Nagad means to declare: the king must announce who sits on the throne. Adonijah later claims 'all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign' (1 Kings 2:15), so Bathsheba's words set the king's word against that claim.
Verse 21
shall be counted offenders — Chatta is a sinner, one accounted guilty, here a criminal against the new king. 'Sleep with his fathers' (shakab, lie down) is the Scripture phrase for a king's death, used of David himself in 1 Kings 2:10, 'So David slept with his fathers'.
Verse 24
hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign — Nathan came in 'while she yet talked' (v.22), as he had told her he would 'confirm thy words' (v.14; male, to fill up). He repeats her charge as a question, echoing 'Adonijah reigneth' (v.18) and Adonijah's own 'I will be king' (v.5).
Verse 30
even so will I certainly do this day — David repeats the very words of vv.13 and 17, now sworn 'by the LORD God of Israel'. The oath before it, 'As the LORD liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress' (v.29), is his oath of 2 Sam 4:9, there 'out of all adversity'; padah is to ransom.
Verse 32
Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet — David summons priest, prophet and captain, the very men who 'were not with Adonijah' (v.8) and whom Adonijah 'called not' (v.10). Benaiah led the royal guard (2 Sam 8:18), so the command had both sacred and military weight.
Verse 33
mine own mule — Pirdah, a she-mule, the king's own mount, so that Solomon is seen riding where David rode. Gichon means stream; Hezekiah later 'brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David' (2 Chr 32:30). 'Servants of your lord' are David's own household guard.
Verse 34
anoint him there king over Israel — Mashach, to smear with oil, as Samuel did for Saul (1 Sam 10:1) and the elders for David at Hebron (2 Sam 5:3). The cry 'God save king Solomon' is chayah, to live, so it means long live the king. Absalom had also used the trumpet for his proclamation (2 Sam 15:10).
Verse 37
make his throne greater — Benaiah's 'Amen' (amen, so be it) asks that the LORD be with Solomon as he 'hath been with my lord the king'; compare Josh 1:17. Gadal, to make great, returns in the servants' blessing (v.47). Solomon later says the LORD 'hast made thy servant king instead of David my father' (1 Kings 3:7).
Verse 38
the Cherethites, and the Pelethites — David's guard under Benaiah (2 Sam 8:18; 20:23). They had gone with him in his flight from Absalom (2 Sam 15:18). Strong's gives Kerethi as 'life-guardsman' and Pelethi as 'courier'. They go down with Zadok, Nathan and Benaiah to Gihon.
Verse 39
an horn of oil out of the tabernacle — Qeren shemen, the oil-horn, as when Samuel 'took the horn of oil, and anointed' David (1 Sam 16:13). The oil comes from the 'tabernacle' (ohel, tent), and Zadok the priest pours it. The people's cry, 'God save king Solomon', repeats v.34.
Verse 41
as they had made an end of eating — The feast lasts until the trumpet reaches the guests. Joab asks about the 'noise of the city being in an uproar'; hamah is to be in loud commotion. The acclamation Adonijah's party meant for him (v.25) sounds for Solomon instead, as the next verses report.
Verse 47
the king bowed himself upon the bed — Barak, 'to bless', is the servants' word; their wish that Solomon's name be 'better' and his throne 'greater' repeats v.37. David's bowing on his bed recalls Jacob, who 'bowed himself upon the bed's head' (Gen 47:31; Heb 11:21).
Verse 48
mine eyes even seeing it — David blesses 'the LORD God of Israel' (barak) that the LORD 'hath given' (nathan) a successor while he lives. It answers the psalm: 'The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David', and 'Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne' (Ps 132:11).
Verse 50
caught hold on the horns of the altar — Chazaq, to seize and hold fast. The altar's horns stood 'upon the four corners thereof' (Ex 27:2). The altar sheltered no deliberate murderer: 'thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die' (Ex 21:14). Joab later does the same (1 Kings 2:28).
Verse 52
not an hair of him fall to the earth — A proverbial pledge of safety, as in the people's oath for Jonathan (1 Sam 14:45). 'Worthy' is chayil, valour or integrity; 'wickedness' is ra. The condition is later invoked, and Adonijah is put to death by Benaiah (1 Kings 2:25).
Settings
Reading style
Typeface
Font size px
Reading width chars
Options
Go to a chapter
Study note
Bible version
How we use AI
AI helps create and support some of this website’s content and features, including study commentary, articles, translations, and interactive answers. Its role varies: some material is AI-assisted, while other material is AI-generated.
We have invested substantial care in developing, checking, and refining this material, with particular attention to scriptural accuracy, faithful quotation, clarity, and consistency. These efforts improve quality, but they cannot guarantee that every statement, interpretation, or translation is correct.
Use these resources as aids to study. Read passages in context, consult the cited sources where available, and weigh interpretations carefully.
Recent history
Get the app
Add TrulyRandomVerse to your Home Screen for quick access!
