1Kings
The
historical books of the Old Testament are divided and named differently by
different authorities as in some call this 3rd Kings as a
continuation of 1st and 2nd Samuel with others having
different opinions. Also, some Jewish authorities have Jeremiah writing 1Kings
while others have Ezra. We will examine internal evidence to see if we can find
out who wrote this or even if we are told that information.
Introduction
The book
beings as David’s reign ends, with the infirmities of old age, which even the
greatest men and women of God are not immune from along with a rather awkward
way, for us in our modern times, of the king staying warm. Buckle up.
1Kings
1:1 ¶ Now king David was old and
stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat.
2 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. 3 So they
sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag
a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. 4
And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and
ministered to him: but the king knew her not.
Now here
is a problem for the #metoo crowd. This young woman, and we don’t know how old
she was but she could have been just a teenager, is objectified here as
something desirable to keep an old man warm. This is something that you can
imagine in a monarchy. The people’s lives are in control of the king and the
monarchy’s presumed needs triumph over any people’s rights. So, although the
king was not able to have sex with her she would lie next to him to comfort
him. This makes here somewhat of a link to the right to the throne as a person
who shares the king’s bed. We’ll see what happens as this sets the stage for
the upcoming succession crisis. According to ancient texts and medical accounts
this situation was not uncommon. The ancient Greek physician, Galen, and the
Jewish turncoat historian, Josephus, relate this as a common practice and
established and accepted medical advice. It is best not to dwell on such a
practice.
John Gill
figured David to be about 70, roughly my own age.
1Kings
1:5 ¶ 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. 6
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. 7 And
he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and
they following Adonijah helped him. 8
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. 9 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: 10 But Nathan
the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he
called not.
Adonijah
is a son of David by Haggith. Here is the reference to his important offspring.
2Samuel
3:1 ¶ Now there was long war between the
house of Saul and the house of David: but David waxed stronger and stronger,
and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker. 2 And unto David were sons born in Hebron: and
his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; 3 And his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife
of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter
of Talmai king of Geshur; 4 And the
fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of
Abital; 5 And the sixth, Ithream, by
Eglah David’s wife. These were born to David in Hebron.
He wanted
to be king and put on the airs of being king and David didn’t try to prevent or
say anything about it. Remember Absalom’s revolt?
2Samuel 15:1
And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and
horses, and fifty men to run before him.
He got Joab and Abiathar into his camp but
significant, important loyalists of David were against him. Adonijah knew who
was for him and against him and made a point of not inviting them to his feast
as they could challenge his pretensions to the throne. He knew not to call
Solomon, who apparently was obviously favored.
1Kings
1:11 ¶ 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? 12 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. 13 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? 14 Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the
king, I also will come in after thee, and confirm thy words. 15 And Bathsheba went in unto the king into the
chamber: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite ministered unto
the king. 16 And Bathsheba bowed, and
did obeisance unto the king. And the king said, What wouldest thou? 17 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. 18 And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; and now,
my lord the king, thou knowest it not: 19 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. 20 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. 21 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. 22 And, lo, while she
yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in. 23 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. 24
And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign
after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? 25
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. 26 But
me, even me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of
Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, hath he not called. 27 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? 28 Then
king David answered and said, Call me Bathsheba. And she came into the king’s
presence, and stood before the king. 29
And the king sware, and said, As the LORD liveth, that hath
redeemed my soul out of all distress, 30
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. 31
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.
Here in
this scene created by the prophet Nathan, David’s rejection of Adonijah as his
heir and successor and the confirmation of Solomon as the king of Israel is
played out. Adonijah’s presumption and attempt to usurp power doesn’t end
there, however, as we will see. This is not so much trickery as bringing to
David’s attention the succession crisis that his indifference has created by
not announcing publicly what he had promised Bathsheba and sworn by God.
1Kings
1:32 ¶ 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. 33 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: 34 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. 35 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. 36 And Benaiah the son of
Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: the LORD God of my lord the king
say so too. 37 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. 38 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. 39 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. 40 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.
It is now
announced that Solomon is king, to reign after David. Anglican Archbishop James
Ussher, writing about the same time of this Bible gave us his Annals of the
World, a remarkable comparison of events in the world of that time with the
events of the Bible that would typically be done by computer today. In it he
stated that Solomon’s reign began in 1015BC.
Here’s an
interesting thought. Only a modernist, a hyperliteralist like a Fundamentalist
would say that so that the earth rent with the sound of them meant that
the sound of rejoicing caused an earthquake. This is symbolic, metaphorical
imagery. The Bible is filled with such hyperbole and people talk this way. Be
careful and discerning about how literal you are in your interpretation.
1Kings
1:41 ¶ 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? 42
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. 43 And
Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Verily our lord king David hath made
Solomon king. 44 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: 45 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. 46 And also Solomon
sitteth on the throne of the kingdom. 47
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. 48 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. 49
And all the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid, and rose
up, and went every man his way. 50 And
Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the
horns of the altar. 51 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. 52 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. 53
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.
Adonijah
and his party get the scare of their life and the passage speaks for itself.
But Solomon shows his brother mercy. All’s well that ends well, forgive and
forget, or so it seems.
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