1 Kings2

As King David nears death, he charges Solomon to walk in God's ways and to deal with specific individuals: Joab and Shimei for their past transgressions, and to show kindness to Barzillai's sons. After David's death and Solomon's ascension, Solomon swiftly consolidates his power. He executes Adonijah for seeking Abishag, banishes Abiathar the priest, and later executes Joab and Shimei for their disloyalty or past offenses. Through these decisive actions, Solomon firmly establishes his kingdom.

David’s Final Charge to Solomon

1
Now the days of David drew near that he should die; and he commanded Solomon his son, saying, ​
2
“I am going the way of all the earth. You be strong therefore, and show yourself a man; ​
3
and keep the instruction of the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies, according to that which is written in the Torah of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do, and wherever you turn yourself. ​
4
That the LORD may establish his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you,’ he said, ‘a man on the throne of Israel.’ ​
5
“Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, even what he did to the two captains of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war on his sash that was about his waist, and in his shoes that were on his feet. ​
6
Do therefore according to your wisdom, and don’t let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace.
7
But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those who eat at your table; for so they came to me when I fled from Absalom your brother. ​
8
“Behold, there is with you Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite, of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim; but he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by the LORD, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’
9
Now therefore don’t hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man; and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down to Sheol with blood.” ​
10
David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.
11
The days that David reigned over Israel were forty years; he reigned seven years in Hebron, and he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem. ​

Solomon's Reign Begins

12
Solomon sat on the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was firmly established. ​

Adonijah’s Fatal Request

13
Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. She said, “Do you come peaceably?” He said, “Peaceably.
14
He said moreover, I have something to tell you.” She said, “Say on.”
15
He said, “You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign. However the kingdom is turned around, and has become my brother’s; for it was his from the LORD.
16
Now I ask one petition of you. Don’t deny me.” She said to him, “Say on.”
17
He said, “Please speak to Solomon the king (for he will not tell you ‘no’), that he give me Abishag the Shunammite as wife.” ​
18
Bathsheba said, “Alright. I will speak for you to the king.”
19
Bathsheba therefore went to king Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. The king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself to her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a throne to be set for the king’s mother; and she sat on his right hand.
20
Then she said, “I ask one small petition of you; don’t deny me.” The king said to her, “Ask on, my mother; for I will not deny you.”
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She said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as wife.”
22
King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also; for he is my elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.” ​
23
Then king Solomon swore by the LORD, saying, “God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life.
24
Now therefore as the LORD lives, who has established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who has made me a house, as he promised, surely Adonijah shall be put to death this day.”
25
King Solomon sent by Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell on him, so that he died.
26
To Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to Anathoth, to your own fields; for you are worthy of death. But I will not at this time put you to death, because you bore the ark of the Lord the LORD before David my father, and because you were afflicted in all in which my father was afflicted.”
27
So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest to the LORD, that he might fulfill the LORD’s word, which he spoke concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh. ​

The Purge of Joab and Abiathar

28
The news came to Joab; for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he didn’t turn after Absalom. Joab fled to the Tent of the LORD, and caught hold on the horns of the altar. ​
29
It was told king Solomon, “Joab has fled to the Tent of the LORD, and behold, he is by the altar.” Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, fall on him.”
30
Benaiah came to the Tent of the LORD, and said to him, “Thus says the king, ‘Come out!’” He said, “No; but I will die here.” Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, “Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.”
31
The king said to him, “Do as he has said, and fall on him, and bury him; that you may take away the blood, which Joab shed without cause, from me and from my father’s house. ​
32
The LORD will return his blood on his own head, because he fell on two men more righteous and better than he, and killed them with the sword, and my father David didn’t know it: Abner the son of Ner, captain of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the army of Judah.
33
So shall their blood return on the head of Joab, and on the head of his seed forever. But to David, and to his seed, and to his house, and to his throne, there shall be peace forever from the LORD.”
34
Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell on him, and killed him; and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.
35
The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his place over the army; and the king put Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar. ​

The Execution of Shimei

36
The king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and don’t go out from there anywhere. ​
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For on the day you go out, and pass over the brook Kidron, know for certain that you shall surely die: your blood shall be on your own head.”
38
Shimei said to the king, “The saying is good. As my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.” Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.
39
At the end of three years, two of the servants of Shimei ran away to Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. They told Shimei, saying, “Behold, your servants are in Gath.”
40
Shimei arose, and saddled his donkey, and went to Gath to Achish, to seek his servants; and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath.
41
It was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had come again.
42
The king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Didn’t I adjure you by the LORD, and warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain, that on the day you go out, and walk abroad any where, you shall surely die?’ You said to me, ‘The saying that I have heard is good.’
43
Why then have you not kept the oath of the LORD, and the commandment that I have instructed you with?”
44
The king said moreover to Shimei, “You know all the wickedness which your heart is privy to, that you did to David my father. Therefore the LORD shall return your wickedness on your own head. ​
45
But king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD forever.”
46
So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he went out, and fell on him, so that he died. The kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon. ​

Study Notes for 1 Kings 2

Verse 1

This chapter serves as the transition point from the era of David to the reign of Solomon, establishing the political stability necessary for the building of the Temple.

Verse 2

The phrase 'shew thyself a man' (Hebrew: *hazaq*) emphasizes strong, courageous leadership, a necessary quality for a king inheriting a kingdom fraught with political tension.

Verse 3

David’s primary advice mirrors the Deuteronomic theology that governs the historical books: the king’s success and prosperity are directly conditional upon his obedience to the Mosaic Law.

Verse 4

This verse recalls the conditional aspect of the Davidic Covenant (2 Sam 7:12-16). While the dynasty itself is eternal, the immediate continuation of David’s line on the throne depends on the faithfulness of his descendants.

Verse 5

David instructs Solomon to deal with Joab, who had murdered two military rivals (Abner and Amasa) in cold blood. David was unable to punish Joab due to his political strength, leaving the blood guilt unresolved.

Verse 7

This instruction shows David fulfilling promises to those who aided him during Absalom’s revolt (2 Sam 19:31-39). Solomon is commanded to show loyalty and gratitude, balancing judgment with kindness.

Verse 9

David uses wisdom as a euphemism for political necessity. Although David had sworn an oath to Shimei (2 Sam 19:23), he charges Solomon, who is not bound by the oath, to neutralize this lingering threat.

Verse 11

The standard concluding formula for a monarch’s reign. Forty years is a round number often used in the Bible to signify a complete generation or a full period of rule.

Verse 12

This verse marks the official, successful transition of power, contrasting with the chaotic political machinations that characterized David's final days in 1 Kings 1.

Verse 17

Adonijah’s request for Abishag, David's attendant, was a clear political challenge. Taking the former king’s consort or concubine was a symbolic act of appropriation of the throne and legitimacy of kingship (cf. Absalom, 2 Sam 16:21–22).

Verse 22

Solomon immediately recognizes the political implication, realizing that Adonijah was attempting to restart his claim to the throne, supported by key figures who opposed Solomon’s ascension.

Verse 27

The exile of Abiathar fulfills the ancient prophecy against the house of Eli (1 Sam 2:31-35). This demonstrates that Solomon’s purge, though politically motivated, was also an execution of divine judgment.

Verse 28

Joab fled to the altar, seeking temporary asylum. However, the Law specified that asylum did not protect those guilty of premeditated murder (Exod 21:14), which Joab’s actions clearly were.

Verse 31

Solomon justifies Joab’s execution as an act of justice necessary to cleanse the kingdom of blood guilt. This theological framing ensures that David’s house is protected from the consequences of Joab’s past crimes.

Verse 35

This verse summarizes the consolidation of power: Benaiah replaces Joab as army commander, and Zadok replaces Abiathar as high priest, placing the military and religious leadership firmly under Solomon’s control.

Verse 36

Solomon placed Shimei under a house arrest that was simultaneously a test. By confining him to Jerusalem, Solomon required him to live peaceably and submit totally to royal authority.

Verse 44

Solomon confirms that Shimei’s death is not just for breaking the oath, but for the original sin of cursing David, the Lord’s anointed king (2 Sam 16). The wickedness is now returned upon Shimei’s own head.

Verse 46

The final execution marks the successful completion of the purge. The repeated phrase 'the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon' signifies the achieved political security and divine favor.

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