Tyndale Open Study Notes

Verse 1

1:1–2:12 The book of 1 Kings opens by emphasizing the continuity of the Lord’s covenant with David (see 2 Sam 7:11-16). Solomon was the legitimate and divinely chosen heir to what God had granted his father David. The challenges to Solomon’s succession to the throne (1 Kgs 1:1–2:46) foreshadowed challenges to his kingship at the end of his reign (11:1-43) and the continuing struggles between Israel and Judah thereafter.

1:1-3 At seventy years of age (2 Sam 5:4-5), David was feeble, perhaps because of years of warfare and stress. He needed a young person to impart warmth, a medical remedy also described in Josephus’s Antiquities and by the Greek physician Galen. David’s diminishing powers encouraged Adonijah’s attempts to take the throne.

Verse 5

1:5-6 Adonijah was David’s fourth son. Because his older brothers, Amnon, Daniel, and Absalom, were all dead, Adonijah assumed he would succeed his father. Yet, in keeping with ancient Near Eastern custom, Solomon—the son of David’s favored wife, Bathsheba—was to succeed him as king. David had already communicated this fact to Solomon (1:13, 17; 1 Chr 22:6-10). Adonijah’s self-seeking nature, likely encouraged by his father’s lax discipline, surfaced in his declaration, “I will make myself king.”

Verse 7

1:7 Joab, David’s military commander, and Abiathar, the high priest, gave Adonijah powerful military and religious backing in his pursuit of the throne.

Verse 8

1:8 Solomon also had influential friends supporting his right to become king. Zadok was in the priestly line of Eleazar, Benaiah commanded David’s bodyguard and his thirty mighty men (2 Sam 23:20-23), Shimei was one of Solomon’s district governors (1 Kgs 4:18), and Nathan was David’s trusted prophet. Rei is unknown beyond this verse.

Verse 9

1:9 En-rogel (modern Bir Ayyub, “Job’s well”) lay south of Jerusalem at the intersection of the Kidron and Hinnom valleys. Earlier, it harbored David’s two informants, Jonathan and Ahimaaz, during Absalom’s rebellion (see 2 Sam 17:17).

Verse 11

1:11-14 Bathsheba was Solomon’s mother and David’s favored wife. Their affair led to the death of Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah the Hittite (see 2 Sam 11:1-27). • Nathan, the prophet who revealed God’s covenant with David (2 Sam 7:1-17) and announced God’s love for Solomon at his birth (2 Sam 12:24-25), confirmed God’s selection of Solomon to succeed David as king (see 1 Chr 28:4-7). Although Nathan had sharply rebuked David for his affair with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah (2 Sam 12:1-15), the king respected the prophet. • Adonijah certainly observed Nathan’s close association with Bathsheba and Solomon. All three could expect to be killed if Adonijah’s plot to seize the throne succeeded (see 1 Kgs 15:29; 16:11).

Verse 28

1:28-30 David reassured Bathsheba that Solomon would be the next king by repeating his earlier vow in God’s name (see 1:17).

Verse 31

1:31-32 David affirmed his pledge by ordering a public display of support by the priestly, prophetic, and military representatives, Zadok, Nathan, and Benaiah.

Verse 33

1:33 Riding the king’s own mule was a sign of prestige. In an ancient text from Mari, King Zimri-Lim was advised that royal protocol would be served by his riding in a donkey cart. David’s sons rode mules (2 Sam 13:29; 18:9). Similarly Zechariah predicts that Israel’s king will come “riding on a donkey’s colt” (Zech 9:9), a prophecy fulfilled by Jesus (Matt 21:4-7; John 12:14-15). With Solomon mounted on David’s royal mule, the people would know that Solomon’s anointing as king had David’s blessing. • The Gihon Spring, just outside Jerusalem’s eastern slopes, was the city’s major water source. In this common gathering place, Solomon’s anointing would be well known, yet not visible to Adonijah’s supporters at En-rogel.

Verse 34

1:34 Solomon’s anointing followed established protocol in being administered by a prophet (see 1 Sam 16:1-13). • Priests also played significant roles in royal matters, and the populace would welcome Zadok’s blessing. David later confirmed Solomon’s kingship in a public ceremony (1 Chr 29:22).

Verse 35

1:35 sit on my throne: Due to David’s age and infirmities, Solomon officiated publicly for about two years before his father died. Co-regency provided for orderly royal succession and became commonplace during Israel’s divided monarchy. It was also practiced in Egypt. • The Hebrew term for ruler, used for various leadership positions, can have theological significance; the king was seen as both a spiritual and administrative leader of God’s people (see Deut 31:10-11; 1 Chr 28:4-6; Ps 89:3-4; Isa 55:3-4).

Verse 38

1:38 The king’s bodyguard were foreign mercenaries from Crete; they served David throughout his reign (2 Sam 8:18; 15:18; 20:7).

Verse 39

1:39 The priest . . . anointed Solomon with olive oil. This act, a widely accepted Near Eastern practice, gave the ceremony divine sanction.

Verse 40

1:40-41 Those attending Adonijah’s banquet at En-rogel could not see the celebration, but it was so joyously noisy that they could hear it.

Verse 42

1:42-49 Solomon was proclaimed as king and warmly welcomed by the people. Adonijah and his followers panicked and fled, aborting the attempted coup.

Verse 50

1:50-53 Fearing for his life, Adonijah sought refuge at the horns (projections at the corners) of the altar (Exod 27:2), hoping for mercy according to biblical precedent (cp. Exod 21:12-14). However, such protection was provided only for unintentional homicide, so Adonijah’s treason could only be forgiven by the king. Solomon treated him graciously on the condition that he remain loyal. Appearances aside, Adonijah was still looking for ways to usurp the kingship and was later killed as a troublemaker (1 Kgs 2:13-25).