I Kings 1, Schemes for the Throne

David, the great king of Israel, is dying. Who will succeed him?

Scholars of the ancient Near East have enough information to provide dates for this time. David's death is around 971-970 BC.

1 Kings 1: 1-4, Abishag, a young virgin

When King David was old and well advanced in years, he could not keep warm even when they put covers over him. So his servants said to him, "Let us look for a young virgin to attend the king and take care of him. She can lie beside him so that our lord the king may keep warm."

Then they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful girl and found Abishag, a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. The girl was very beautiful; she took care of the king and waited on him, but the king had no intimate relations with her.

An old wilderness remedy for hypothermia was to wrap up the ailing individual, nude, in a blanket with another naked individual. The rapid exchange of body heat would warm up the cold patient. Here the cold king is being wrapped up with a very beautiful young woman. The woman, Abishag, is to nurse the king and lie down with him to keep him warm, but David does not respond sexually.

David had many wives and concubines and still insisted on seducing Bathsheba. (He probably had at least 20 sons and numerous daughters; see this list of sons.) The fact that he is now not aroused by a beautiful young woman in bed with him is an indication of his severe debility. 

1 Kings 1: 5-7, Adonijah reaches for the throne

Now Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said, "I will be king." So he got chariots and horses ready, with fifty men to run ahead of him. (His father had never interfered with him by asking, "Why do you behave as you do?" He was also very handsome and was born next after Absalom.) Adonijah conferred with Joab son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they gave him their support.

David's oldest sons were, in order of birth, Ammon, Daniel, Adonijah and Absalom (see 1 Chronicles 3: 1-3.)  Ammon raped Tamar and was killed by Absalom who was later killed by Joab. We never hear of Daniel -- did he die young? Adonijah is now the oldest surviving son of the king and according to the ancient Near East culture, would be the next king. Adonijah makes plans to take the crown.

Like Absalom, Adonijah is good looking. Like Absalom, Adonijah hires fifty men to run ahead of him, making himself look very important.  And he seems to have the support of Joab and Abiathar. A parenthetical comment claims that he had been spoiled by David; his behavior had never been confronted.

1 Kings 1: 8-10, Opposition to Adonijah

But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei and Rei and David's special guard did not join Adonijah. Adonijah then sacrificed sheep, cattle and fattened calves at the Stone of Zoheleth near En Rogel. He invited all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah who were royal officials, but he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the special guard or his brother Solomon.

In Adonijah's political dealing, he does not have the support of Nathan the prophet or some other important individuals. And he seems to know that, deliberately leaving them out of the loop.

In verse 8, the Hebrew is unclear. "Shemei and Rei" might mean "Shimei and his friends". The individual, Shimei, may be listed again in 1 Kings 4: 18 as a later governor of Benjamin under  Solomon.

1 Kings 1: 11-14, Nathan takes action

Then Nathan asked Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, "Have you not heard that Adonijah, the son of Haggith, has become king without our lord David's knowing it? Now then, let me advise you how you can save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. Go in to King David and say to him, `My lord the king, did you not swear to me your servant: "Surely Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne"? Why then has Adonijah become king?' While you are still there talking to the king, I will come in and confirm what you have said."

Nathan has a counter scheme. In these power plays, failure can mean death, so Nathan warns Bathsheba that her life, and that of her son, are be at stake.

Bathsheba is to convince David that he had chosen Solomon to reign after him.

1 Kings 1: 15-21, Bathsheba makes a pitch

 So Bathsheba went to see the aged king in his room, where Abishag the Shunammite was attending him. Bathsheba bowed low and knelt before the king. "What is it you want?" the king asked.

She said to him, "My lord, you yourself swore to me your servant by the LORD your God: `Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne.' But now Adonijah has become king, and you, my lord the king, do not know about it. He has sacrificed great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep, and has invited all the king's sons, Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army, but he has not invited Solomon your servant.

"My lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to learn from you who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. Otherwise, as soon as my lord the king is laid to rest with his fathers, I and my son Solomon will be treated as criminals."

Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, appeals to the king. In her pitch, she includes her concern for her safety.

1 Kings 1: 22-27, Nathan supports Bathsheba

While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet arrived. And they told the king, "Nathan the prophet is here." So he went before the king and bowed with his face to the ground.

Nathan said, "Have you, my lord the king, declared that Adonijah shall be king after you, and that he will sit on your throne? Today he has gone down and sacrificed great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep. He has invited all the king's sons, the commanders of the army and Abiathar the priest. Right now they are eating and drinking with him and saying, `Long live King Adonijah!'

"But me your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon he did not invite. Is this something my lord the king has done without letting his servants know who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?"

Nathan argues that Adonijah has gone behind the king's back. He asks a question to which he knows the answer: "Is Adonijah following your instructions?"

1 Kings 1: 28-31, David confirms Solomon

Then King David said, "Call in Bathsheba." 

So she came into the king's presence and stood before him. The king then took an oath: "As surely as the LORD lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, I will surely carry out today what I swore to you by the LORD, the God of Israel: Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne in my place." 

Then Bathsheba bowed low with her face to the ground and, kneeling before the king, said, "May my lord King David live forever!"

Bathsheba gets the declaration she wants. Is this a continuation of an earlier plan? Or is the elderly David being tricked into believing that he had appointed Solomon previously? Following 1 Chronicles 22, this decision has been made for some time but not publicized. The naming, by YHWH, of Solomon as "beloved of God" (2 Samuel 12: 24-25) might also indicate that Solomon is to be David's successor. It is revealing that Adonijah, in his scheming, does not include David nor some of David's leaders.

1 Kings 1: 32-37, Solomon on the royal mule

 King David said, "Call in Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet and Benaiah son of Jehoiada." 

When they came before the king, he said to them: "Take your lord's servants with you and set Solomon my son on my own mule and take him down to Gihon. There have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and shout, `Long live King Solomon!' Then you are to go up with him, and he is to come and sit on my throne and reign in my place. I have appointed him ruler over Israel and Judah."

Benaiah son of Jehoiada answered the king, "Amen! May the LORD, the God of my lord the king, so declare it. As the LORD was with my lord the king, so may he be with Solomon to make his throne even greater than the throne of my lord King David!"

David tells Zadok, Nathan and Benaiah to install Solomon on the throne. (Benaiah is David's bodyguard, see II Samuel 23: 20-23.)

1 Kings 1: 38-40, Coronation of Solomon

So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites and the Pelethites went down and put Solomon on King David's mule and escorted him to Gihon. Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the sacred tent and anointed Solomon. Then they sounded the trumpet and all the people shouted, "Long live King Solomon!"

And all the people went up after him, playing flutes and rejoicing greatly, so that the ground shook with the sound.

Solomon's supporters, along with longtime supporters of David, take Solomon through the streets of Jerusalem, riding on the royal mule, to the springs of Gihon. There Solomon is proudly (and loudly) anointed as king. This public spectacle, clearly supported by David's court, makes it clear that Solomon is the truly appointed kimng.

1 Kings 1: 41-49, Adonijah hears

Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they were finishing their feast. On hearing the sound of the trumpet, Joab asked, "What's the meaning of all the noise in the city?"

Even as he was speaking, Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest arrived. Adonijah said, "Come in. A worthy man like you must be bringing good news."

"Not at all!" Jonathan answered. "Our lord King David has made Solomon king. The king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites and the Pelethites, and they have put him on the king's mule, and Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon. From there they have gone up cheering, and the city resounds with it. That's the noise you hear. Moreover, Solomon has taken his seat on the royal throne.

"Also, the royal officials have come to congratulate our lord King David, saying, `May your God make Solomon's name more famous than yours and his throne greater than yours!' And the king bowed in worship on his bed and said, `Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who has allowed my eyes to see a successor on my throne today.'"

At this, all Adonijah's guests rose in alarm and dispersed.
 

The quick work of Solomon's supporters comes to Adonijah and Adonijah's guests, afraid of the obvious power behind King David, quickly disappear.

We have, for the second time, a statement that a "worthy man" must be bringing "good news."  (David says that in 2 Samuel 18: 27, as if all good people bring good news.) This times the "worthy man" says, "Sorry -- not good news at all!"

1 Kings 1: 50-53, At the horns of the altar

But Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, went and took hold of the horns of the altar.

Then Solomon was told, "Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon and is clinging to the horns of the altar. He says, `Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.'"

Solomon replied, "If he shows himself to be a worthy man, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground; but if evil is found in him, he will die."

Then King Solomon sent men, and they brought him down from the altar. And Adonijah came and bowed down to King Solomon, and Solomon said, "Go to your home."

Adonijah, aware that his play for power is over, seeks a certain status of forgiveness, implied by clinging to the altar. Solomon accepts that for the moment. Adonijah is to be a "worthy man" if he wants to live.