King James Version
1 Kings 1
53 verses with commentary
Adonijah Sets Himself Up as King
Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat. stricken: Heb. entered into days
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat.</strong> This opening verse marks a crucial transition in Israel's history, depicting the physical decline of the great warrior-king David. The Hebrew phrase <em>ba bayyamim</em> (בָּא בַּיָּמִים, 'advanced in years') emphasizes David's advanced age, likely around 70 years old after a reign...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(1) **Now king David**.—“Now” is the simple illative conjunction “and,” found at the beginning of all the historical books (Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, &c.). It marks the general conception of the unity of the whole history, but implies nothing of special connection of time or authorship with the books of Samuel. In fact, although these books are in some sense the continuation...
Read full commentary →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. Let there: Heb. Let them seek a young: Heb. a damsel, a virgin cherish: Heb. be a cherisher unto him
View commentary
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong> The servants' proposal reflects ancient medical practice where the body heat of a young, healthy person was thought to warm and restore vitality to the elderly or...
Read full commentary →So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for understa...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **A Shunammite**.—Shunem is in the territory of Issachar (Joshua 19:18), and in the plain of Jezreel (1Samuel 28:4), near Mount Gilboa. As Eusebius, describing its position carefully, calls it “Sulem,” and as this variation of name is confirmed by its ready identification with the modern village of *Solam*, it has been conjectured (see Smith’s *Dictionary of the Bible*, SHULAMITE), ingeniously...
Read full commentary →And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not.
View commentary
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for understanding this passage's contri...
Read full commentary →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. be king: Heb. reign
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances imp...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **Adonijah** (*my Lord is Jehovah*), David’s fourth son, born in Hebron (2Samuel 3:4), at least thirty-three years before. From the words of Solomon in 1Kings 2:22, we may gather that he claimed the throne as being now the eldest son. Hence it is probable that Chileab (or Daniel, see 2Samuel 3:3; 1Chronicles 3:1), the second son, was dead, as well as Amnon and Absalom. The similarity between A...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 16
2Sa 16:1-4. Ziba, by False Suggestions, Claims His Master's Inheritance.
**1. Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him--**This crafty man, anticipating the certain failure of Absalom's conspiracy, took steps to prepare for his future advancement on the restoration of the king.
**a bottle of wine--**a large goatskin vessel. Its size made the supply of wine proportioned to the rest ...
Read full commentary →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. at any: Heb. from his days
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nua...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. The asses be for the king's household to ride on--**The royal fugitives were moving on foot, not from inability to procure conveyances, but as being suitable to their present state of humiliation and penitence.
And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah helped him. he: Heb. his words were with following: Heb. helped after Adonijah
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah helped him.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for understanding this pas...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Joab.**—The books of Samuel have brought out clearly the career and character of Joab, as being (in some degree like Abner) a professed soldier, raised to a formidable and half-independent power by the incessant wars of Saul and David. He stands out in consistent portraiture throughout, as a bold, hard, and unscrupulous man; in his relations to the king often imperious and disobedient; but n...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. To-day shall the house of Israel restore me the kingdom of my father--**Such a hope might not unnaturally arise at this period of civil distraction, that the family of David would destroy themselves by their mutual broils, and the people reinstate the old dynasty. There was an air of plausibility in Ziba's story. Many, on whom the king had conferred favors, were now deserting him. No wonder, ...
Read full commentary →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.
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. The prophetic office repr...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Zadok the priest** (son of Ahitub) was the representative of the family of Eleazar, elder son of Aaron, as Abiathar of the family of Ithamar, the younger son (1Chronicles 24:3). As a “young man of valour,” under “Jehoiada, leader of the Aaronites,” he joined David at Hebron with 3,700 men (1Chronicles 12:28), and had been left in charge of the Tabernacle at Gibeon (1Chronicles 16:39) after t...
Read full commentary →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: Enrogel: or, the well Rogel
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En-rogel, and called all his brethren the king's sons, and all the men of Judah the king's servants:</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><b...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **The stone of Zoheleth**.—The meaning is uncertain. The derivation seems to be from a root, meaning to “crawl,” or “steal on.” Some interpreters render, the “stone of the serpents;” the Targums make it “the rolling stone;” other authorities “the stone of the conduit,” which would suit well its position as here described.
**En-rogel.**—“The spring of the fuller.” (See Joshua 15:7; Joshua 18:16...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5-12. when king David came to Bahurim--**a city of Benjamin (2Sa 3:16; 19:16). It is, however, only the confines of the district that are here meant.
**Shimei, ... a man of the family of Saul--**The misfortune of his family, and the occupation by David of what they considered their rightful possessions, afforded a natural, if not a justifiable cause for this ebullition of rude insults and viol...
Read full commentary →But Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he called not.
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he called not.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. The prophetic office represents God's faithful witness even in apostasy, calling His people back...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5-12. when king David came to Bahurim--**a city of Benjamin (2Sa 3:16; 19:16). It is, however, only the confines of the district that are here meant.
**Shimei, ... a man of the family of Saul--**The misfortune of his family, and the occupation by David of what they considered their rightful possessions, afforded a natural, if not a justifiable cause for this ebullition of rude insults and viol...
Read full commentary →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?
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord knoweth it not?</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Wherefore Nathan**.—The initiative taken by Nathan is especially natural, since he had been the medium both of the prophecy to David of the son who should build the Lord’s house (2Samuel 7:12-15), and also of the blessing on Solomon, embodied in the name Jedidiah (“beloved of Jehovah,” 2Samuel 12:25). Perhaps for this very reason the conspirators had altogether held aloof from him.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5-12. when king David came to Bahurim--**a city of Benjamin (2Sa 3:16; 19:16). It is, however, only the confines of the district that are here meant.
**Shimei, ... a man of the family of Saul--**The misfortune of his family, and the occupation by David of what they considered their rightful possessions, afforded a natural, if not a justifiable cause for this ebullition of rude insults and viol...
Read full commentary →Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel , that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for understa...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **The life of . . . Solomon.**—The usurpation of Adonijah would, as a matter of course, be sealed by the blood of his rival Solomon. (Comp. 2Chronicles 21:4.) Bath-sheba herself need hardly have been sacrificed; but her position of favour with David would excite jealousy, and Solomon, being still young, might well be thought only an instrument in her hands.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5-12. when king David came to Bahurim--**a city of Benjamin (2Sa 3:16; 19:16). It is, however, only the confines of the district that are here meant.
**Shimei, ... a man of the family of Saul--**The misfortune of his family, and the occupation by David of what they considered their rightful possessions, afforded a natural, if not a justifiable cause for this ebullition of rude insults and viol...
Read full commentary →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?
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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?</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrativ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Didst not thou . . . swear.**—Of this oath we have no mention elsewhere. It may have belonged to the time of Solomon’s birth (2Samuel 12:24-25). In 1Chronicles 22:6-13, we find a designation of Solomon for succession, apparently earlier than this time—it being clearly understood (see 1Kings 1:20), according to Oriental custom, that such designation, without strict regard to priority of birt...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5-12. when king David came to Bahurim--**a city of Benjamin (2Sa 3:16; 19:16). It is, however, only the confines of the district that are here meant.
**Shimei, ... a man of the family of Saul--**The misfortune of his family, and the occupation by David of what they considered their rightful possessions, afforded a natural, if not a justifiable cause for this ebullition of rude insults and viol...
Read full commentary →Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the king, I also will come in after thee, and confirm thy words. confirm: Heb. fill up
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the king, I also will come in after thee, and confirm thy words.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for understanding this passage's con...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **While thou yet talkest.**—The whole history seems to indicate a growth of royal state and Oriental reverence for the king’s person since the defeat of Absalom, contrasted with the comparative simplicity of intercourse with him in earlier days, and preparatory to the still greater development of majesty and despotism under Solomon. Bath-sheba’s entrance into the bedchamber seems to be looked...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5-12. when king David came to Bahurim--**a city of Benjamin (2Sa 3:16; 19:16). It is, however, only the confines of the district that are here meant.
**Shimei, ... a man of the family of Saul--**The misfortune of his family, and the occupation by David of what they considered their rightful possessions, afforded a natural, if not a justifiable cause for this ebullition of rude insults and viol...
Read full commentary →And Bathsheba went in unto the king into the chamber: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite ministered unto the king.
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Bath-sheba went in unto the king into the chamber: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite ministered unto the king.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for unde...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5-12. when king David came to Bahurim--**a city of Benjamin (2Sa 3:16; 19:16). It is, however, only the confines of the district that are here meant.
**Shimei, ... a man of the family of Saul--**The misfortune of his family, and the occupation by David of what they considered their rightful possessions, afforded a natural, if not a justifiable cause for this ebullition of rude insults and viol...
Read full commentary →And Bathsheba bowed, and did obeisance unto the king. And the king said, What wouldest thou? What: Heb. What to thee?
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Bath-sheba bowed, and did obeisance unto the king. And the king said, What wouldest thou?</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for understanding this passage's contribution to ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5-12. when king David came to Bahurim--**a city of Benjamin (2Sa 3:16; 19:16). It is, however, only the confines of the district that are here meant.
**Shimei, ... a man of the family of Saul--**The misfortune of his family, and the occupation by David of what they considered their rightful possessions, afforded a natural, if not a justifiable cause for this ebullition of rude insults and viol...
Read full commentary →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.
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13. went along on the hill's side over against him--**as he descended the rough road on the eastern side of the Mount of Olives, "went along on the hill's side"--literally, "the rib of the hill."
**threw stones at him--**as a mark of contempt and insult.
**cast dust--**As if to add insult to injury, clouds of dust were thrown by this disloyal subject in the path of his unfortunate sovereign.
And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest it not:
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest it not:</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for understanding this passage's contribution to 1 Kings' t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14. refreshed themselves there--**that is, in the city of Bahurim.
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.
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Sol...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15-19. Hushai said unto Absalom, God save the king--**Hushai's devotion to David was so well-known, that his presence in the camp of the conspirators excited great surprise. Professing, however, with great address, to consider it his duty to support the cause which the course of Providence and the national will had seemingly decreed should triumph, and urging his friendship for the father as a g...
Read full commentary →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.
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15-19. Hushai said unto Absalom, God save the king--**Hushai's devotion to David was so well-known, that his presence in the camp of the conspirators excited great surprise. Professing, however, with great address, to consider it his duty to support the cause which the course of Providence and the national will had seemingly decreed should triumph, and urging his friendship for the father as a g...
Read full commentary →Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders. offenders: Heb. sinners
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **Shall sleep with his fathers.**—Here this phrase, so constantly used in the record of the death of the kings, occurs in these books for the first time. (It is also found in the message of promise by Nathan. 2Samuel 7:12, relating to the succession of the son who should build the Temple.) We find corresponding expressions in Genesis 15:15; Deuteronomy 31:16. Without connecting with the use o...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15-19. Hushai said unto Absalom, God save the king--**Hushai's devotion to David was so well-known, that his presence in the camp of the conspirators excited great surprise. Professing, however, with great address, to consider it his duty to support the cause which the course of Providence and the national will had seemingly decreed should triumph, and urging his friendship for the father as a g...
Read full commentary →And, lo, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in.
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And, lo, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. The prophetic office represents God's faithful witness even in apostasy, calling His people back to covenant faithf...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15-19. Hushai said unto Absalom, God save the king--**Hushai's devotion to David was so well-known, that his presence in the camp of the conspirators excited great surprise. Professing, however, with great address, to consider it his duty to support the cause which the course of Providence and the national will had seemingly decreed should triumph, and urging his friendship for the father as a g...
Read full commentary →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.
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. The prophetic office represents...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15-19. Hushai said unto Absalom, God save the king--**Hushai's devotion to David was so well-known, that his presence in the camp of the conspirators excited great surprise. Professing, however, with great address, to consider it his duty to support the cause which the course of Providence and the national will had seemingly decreed should triumph, and urging his friendship for the father as a g...
Read full commentary →And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne?
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne?</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for understanding this passag...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **Hast thou said.**—The question here and in 1Kings 1:27 is, of course, merely intended to draw out denial; but it is singularly true to nature that it does so by the assumption (natural in court language) that nothing of such a kind could be even conceived as done without the king’s will. There is something striking in the contrast of the deference of Nathan as a counsellor on state business...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20. Give counsel among you what we shall do--**This is the first cabinet council on record, although the deference paid to Ahithophel gave him the entire direction of the proceedings.
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. God: Heb. Let king Adonijah live
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's foc...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **God save king Adonijah.**—Literally (as in 1Samuel 10:24; 2Samuel 16:16, &c.). “May the king live;” like the “Let the king live for ever” of 1Kings 1:31, and of Nehemiah 2:3; Daniel 2:4; Daniel 3:9, &c.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**21. Ahithophel said unto Absalom--**This councillor saw that now the die was cast; half measures would be inexpedient. To cut off all possibility of reconciliation between the king and his rebellious son, he gave this atrocious advice regarding the treatment of the royal women who had been left in charge of the palace. Women, being held sacred, are generally left inviolate in the casualties of w...
Read full commentary →But me, even me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, hath he not called.
View commentary
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But me, even me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, hath he not called.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for understand...
Read full commentary →Is this thing done by my lord the king, and thou hast not shewed it unto thy servant, who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?
View commentary
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Is this thing done by my lord the king, and thou hast not shewed it unto thy servant, who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances importa...
Read full commentary →David Makes Solomon King
Then king David answered and said, Call me Bathsheba. And she came into the king's presence, and stood before the king. into: Heb. before the king
View commentary
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then king David answered and said, Call me Bath-sheba. And she came into the king's presence, and stood before the king.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for understanding this...
Read full commentary →And the king sware, and said, As the LORD liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress,
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the king sware, and said, As the LORD liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress,</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for understanding this passage's contribution...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(29) **As the Lord liveth, that hath redeemed my soul.**—A characteristic adjuration of David, found also in 2Samuel 4:9; but now peculiarly appropriate in the old man, who was so near the haven of rest, after all the storms of life. “O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer,” is the climax of his address to God, as the Creator of all things and the ruler of all men, in Psalm 19:14.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 17
2Sa 17:1-14. Ahithophel's Counsel Overthrown by Hushai.
**1-11. Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom--**The recommendation to take prompt and decisive measures before the royalist forces could be collected and arranged, evinced the deep political sagacity of this councillor. The adoption of his advice would have extinguished the cause of David; and it affords a dreadful proof of th...
Read full commentary →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.
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 17
2Sa 17:1-14. Ahithophel's Counsel Overthrown by Hushai.
**1-11. Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom--**The recommendation to take prompt and decisive measures before the royalist forces could be collected and arranged, evinced the deep political sagacity of this councillor. The adoption of his advice would have extinguished the cause of David; and it affords a dreadful proof of th...
Read full commentary →Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever.
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for understand...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 17
2Sa 17:1-14. Ahithophel's Counsel Overthrown by Hushai.
**1-11. Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom--**The recommendation to take prompt and decisive measures before the royalist forces could be collected and arranged, evinced the deep political sagacity of this councillor. The adoption of his advice would have extinguished the cause of David; and it affords a dreadful proof of th...
Read full commentary →And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. The prophetic office represents God's faithful witness eve...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(32) **Call me Zadok.**—This sudden flash of the old energy in David, and the clear, terse directions which he gives for carrying out all the necessary parts of the inauguration of Solomon’s royalty, striking enough in themselves, are still more striking in contrast with the timidity and despondency with which, when far younger, he had received the news of Absalom’s rebellion. For then he felt the...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 17
2Sa 17:1-14. Ahithophel's Counsel Overthrown by Hushai.
**1-11. Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom--**The recommendation to take prompt and decisive measures before the royalist forces could be collected and arranged, evinced the deep political sagacity of this councillor. The adoption of his advice would have extinguished the cause of David; and it affords a dreadful proof of th...
Read full commentary →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: mine: Heb. which belongeth to me
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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:</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(33) **Gihon** (“breaking forth”) is clearly a place in the valley, under the walls of Jerusalem, mentioned as having a watercourse, or torrent, diverted by Heżekiah in his preparation of the city for siege (2Chronicles 32:30), and as forming one end of a new wall “up to the fish gate,” built by Manasseh; but whether it is on the west of the city, near the present Jaffa gate, or (as seems more pro...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 17
2Sa 17:1-14. Ahithophel's Counsel Overthrown by Hushai.
**1-11. Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom--**The recommendation to take prompt and decisive measures before the royalist forces could be collected and arranged, evinced the deep political sagacity of this councillor. The adoption of his advice would have extinguished the cause of David; and it affords a dreadful proof of th...
Read full commentary →And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. The prophetic office represents God's faithful w...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(34) **Anoint him** . . . king.—It is notable that of this solemn inauguration of royalty, marked emphatically as a religious consecration by the common phrase “the Lord’s anointed”—then especially in use (1Samuel 16:6; 1Samuel 24:6; 1Samuel 26:9; 2Samuel 1:14; 2Samuel 19:21), though found also occasionally in the later books (Lamentations 4:20)—there is no mention of the tumultuous usurpation of ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 17
2Sa 17:1-14. Ahithophel's Counsel Overthrown by Hushai.
**1-11. Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom--**The recommendation to take prompt and decisive measures before the royalist forces could be collected and arranged, evinced the deep political sagacity of this councillor. The adoption of his advice would have extinguished the cause of David; and it affords a dreadful proof of th...
Read full commentary →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.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(35) **Over Israel and over Judah.**—The phrase clearly refers to the distinction, already tending to become a division, between Israel and Judah in relation to the monarchy. In the case of David himself, it may be observed that the record of his accession to royalty over Israel contains the notice of “a league” made by him with the elders of Israel (2Samuel 5:3), to which there is nothing to corr...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 17
2Sa 17:1-14. Ahithophel's Counsel Overthrown by Hushai.
**1-11. Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom--**The recommendation to take prompt and decisive measures before the royalist forces could be collected and arranged, evinced the deep political sagacity of this councillor. The adoption of his advice would have extinguished the cause of David; and it affords a dreadful proof of th...
Read full commentary →And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: the LORD God of my lord the king say so too.
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: the LORD God of my lord the king say so too.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for understanding this passage'...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 17
2Sa 17:1-14. Ahithophel's Counsel Overthrown by Hushai.
**1-11. Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom--**The recommendation to take prompt and decisive measures before the royalist forces could be collected and arranged, evinced the deep political sagacity of this councillor. The adoption of his advice would have extinguished the cause of David; and it affords a dreadful proof of th...
Read full commentary →As the LORD hath been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David.
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>As the LORD hath been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 17
2Sa 17:1-14. Ahithophel's Counsel Overthrown by Hushai.
**1-11. Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom--**The recommendation to take prompt and decisive measures before the royalist forces could be collected and arranged, evinced the deep political sagacity of this councillor. The adoption of his advice would have extinguished the cause of David; and it affords a dreadful proof of th...
Read full commentary →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.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Sol...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(38) **The Cherethites, and the Pelethites.**—See 2Samuel 8:18; 2Samuel 15:28; 2Samuel 20:7; 2Samuel 20:23. The body-guard-perhaps of foreign troops—“the executioners and runners” (as some render them) to carry out the King’s commands.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 17
2Sa 17:1-14. Ahithophel's Counsel Overthrown by Hushai.
**1-11. Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom--**The recommendation to take prompt and decisive measures before the royalist forces could be collected and arranged, evinced the deep political sagacity of this councillor. The adoption of his advice would have extinguished the cause of David; and it affords a dreadful proof of th...
Read full commentary →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.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(39) **An horn of oil out of the tabernacle**.—The sacred oil, the making of which is described in Exodus 30:22-30, was to be used for anointing the Tabernacle itself, and the altars and vessels as well as the priests. It was this oil, no doubt, which was used in this case. The Tabernacle proper was still at Gibeon (see 2Chronicles 1:3); but a tent or tabernacle had been set up in Zion over the ar...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 17
2Sa 17:1-14. Ahithophel's Counsel Overthrown by Hushai.
**1-11. Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom--**The recommendation to take prompt and decisive measures before the royalist forces could be collected and arranged, evinced the deep political sagacity of this councillor. The adoption of his advice would have extinguished the cause of David; and it affords a dreadful proof of th...
Read full commentary →And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them. pipes: or, flutes
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances import...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(40) **Piped with pipes**.—The Greek Version has “danced in dances,” by a slight variation of reading. The graphic description of the acclamation of the people indicates something more than conventional loyalty. The attempt of Adonijah relied on the support only of the great men, and perhaps the army, but had no popular following.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12. we will light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground--**No image could have symbolized the sudden onset of an enemy so graphically to an Oriental mind as the silent, irresistible, and rapid descent of this natural moisture on every field and blade of grass.
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?
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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?</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solo...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(41) **When Joab heard**.—It is one of the many life- like touches of the narrative that it is the old warrior Joab who, amidst the revelry of his companions, notices the sound of the trumpet, and the acclamation following. Adonijah affects to disregard it.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13. all Israel shall bring ropes to that city--**In besieging a town, hooks or cranes were often thrown upon the walls or turrets, by which, with ropes attached to them, the besiegers, uniting all their force, pulled down the fortifications in a mass of ruins.
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.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(42) **Jonathan the son of Abiathar**.—See 2Samuel 15:27; 2Samuel 17:17-21, where he is named, with Ahimaaz, as a swift runner, fit to be a messenger. It is curious that a similar greeting to his companion Ahimaaz is used by David in 2Samuel 18:27—possibly as a kind of omen of good fortune.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14. The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel--**The reasons specified being extremely plausible, and expressed in the strong hyperbolical language suited to dazzle an Oriental imagination, the council declared in favor of Hushai's advice; and their resolution was the immediate cause of the discomfiture of the rebellion, although the council itself was only a lin...
Read full commentary →And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Verily our lord king David hath made Solomon king.
View commentary
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Verily our lord king David hath made Solomon king.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for understanding this passage's contribution to...
Read full commentary →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:
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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:</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16. send quickly, and tell David--**Apparently doubting that his advice would be followed, Hushai ordered secret intelligence to be conveyed to David of all that transpired, with an urgent recommendation to cross the Jordan without a moment's delay, lest Ahithophel's address and influence might produce a change on the prince's mind, and an immediate pursuit be determined on.
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.
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. The p...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17. by En-rogel--**the fuller's well in the neighborhood of Jerusalem, below the junction of the valley of Hinnom with that of Jehoshaphat.
And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the kingdom.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the kingdom.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for understanding this passage's contribution to 1 Kings' theological message about king...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(46) **And also Solomon sitteth**.—Jonathan’s announcement here takes up the narrative of events after 1Kings 1:40. The public enthronement in the palace (ordered by David in 1Kings 1:35) follows the anointing and acceptance by the acclamations of the people, as an integral part of the inauguration of royalty.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18. and came to a man's house in Bahurim, which had a well in his court--**The court was that of the house, and the well an empty cistern. All the houses of the better class are furnished with such reservoirs. Nothing could more easily happen than that one of these wells, in consequence of a deficiency of water, should become dry and it would then answer as a place of retreat, such as David's fr...
Read full commentary →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.
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(47) **The king bowed himself**, that is, in worship (comp. Genesis 47:31), at once joining in the prayer of his servants, and thanking God for the fulfilment of His promise.
And also thus said the king, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which hath given one to sit on my throne this day, mine eyes even seeing it.
View commentary
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And also thus said the king, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which hath given one to sit on my throne this day, mine eyes even seeing it.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important fo...
Read full commentary →And all the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way.
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And all the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for understanding this passage's contribution ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(49) **And all the guests**.—Nothing is more striking than the sudden and humiliating collapse of the attempt of Adonijah, strongly supported as it was by Joab and Abiathar, in contrast with the formidable character of the rebellion of Absalom. This is another indication that the royal power had been greatly consolidated during the last peaceful years of David’s reign. Perhaps, moreover, the usurp...
Read full commentary →And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. The sacrificial system points forward to Christ's ultimate sacrifice, fulfilling all temp...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(50) **The horns of the altar**.—The horns were projections from the altar, to which (see Psalm 118:27) the victims were fastened, and on which the blood was sprinkled (Exodus 29:12). To take hold of them was, of course, to claim the right of sanctuary—a right, however, which the Law, ruled as usual by moral considerations, formally denied to wilful murder (Exodus 21:14), and which accordingly (se...
Read full commentary →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.
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and est...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23. when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed--**His vanity was wounded, his pride mortified on finding that his ascendency was gone; but that chagrin was aggravated by other feelings--a painful conviction that through the delay which had been resolved on, the cause of Absalom was lost. Hastening home, therefore, he arranged his private affairs, and knowing that the storm of retribut...
Read full commentary →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.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(52) **There shall not a hair of him fall**.—Solomon’s pardon, though according to Oriental ideas, an act of extraordinary grace, was yet characteristically cautious and conditional, to be withdrawn accordingly on the first symptom of any renewal of Adonijah’s pretensions.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bible Hub
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24. Then David came to Mahanaim--**in the high eastern country of Gilead, the seat of Ish-bosheth's government.
**Absalom passed over Jordan--**It is not said how long an interval elapsed, but there must have been sufficient time to make the intended levy throughout the kingdom.
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.
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of solomon's accession and adonijah's rebellion, within the book's focus on succession narrative and establishment of Solomon's reign. The temple represents God's dwelling...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**25. Amasa--**By the genealogy it appears that this captain stood in the same relation to David as Joab, both being his nephews. Of course, Amasa was Absalom's cousin, and though himself an Israelite, his father was an Ishmaelite (1Ch 2:17).
**Nahash--**is thought by some to be another name of Jesse, or according to others, the name of Jesse's wife.