1 Kings 2:7

“ But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at your table, for so they came to me when I fled from Absalom your brother.”

In contrast to his advice concerning Joab was his advice concerning the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, the man who had supplied him and his men with provisions when they had sought refuge from Absalom’s rebellion in Mahanaim (2 Samuel 17:27-28). It was Solomon’s solemn duty to show them kindness (literally ‘covenant love’) for David’s sake, by allowing them to continue having the privilege of sitting at the king’s table when David had gone, because of the loyalty and kindness that they had shown to David, a loyalty and kindness which had had no strings attached. The importance of this in David’s eyes is brought out by this being the central theme of the chiasmus. To be allowed to eat at the king’s table was widely seen in royal courts as a kind of permanent pension of the richest kind, even though their permanent presence in court would, of course, also help to guarantee the continuing loyalty of the men of Gilead.