1 Reis 2:13-46

C.—Solomon’s course with the opposers of his accession to the throne

1 Kings 2:13-46

13And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon.10 14And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably. He said moreover, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And she said,11 Say on. 15And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother’s: for it was his from the Lord [Jehovah]. 16And now I ask one petition of thee, deny me not. And she said unto him, Say on. 17And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king, (for he will not say thee nay,) that 18he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife. And Bath-sheba said, Well; I will speak for thee unto the king.

19Bath-sheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king’s mother; and she sat on his right hand. 20Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; I pray thee, say me not nay. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother; for I will not say thee nay. 21And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother to wife. 22And king Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is mine elder brother; even for him, and for12 Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah. 23Then king Solomon sware by the Lord [Jehovah], saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah 24hath not spoken this word against his own life. Now therefore, as the Lord [Jehovah] liveth, which hath established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who hath made me a house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day. 25And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him that he died.

26And unto Abiathar the priest said the king, Get thee to Anathoth, unto thine own fields; for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time13 put thee to death, because thou barest the ark of the Lord [Jehovah] God before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted. 27So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the Lord [Jehovah]; that he might fulfil the word of the Lord [Jehovah], which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

28Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom.14 And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the Lord [Jehovah], and caught hold on the horns of the altar. 29And it was told king Solomon that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the Lord [Jehovah]; and, behold, he is by the altar.15 Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him.16 30And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the Lord [Jehovah], and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay;17 but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me. 31And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away18 the innocent 32[omit] blood, which Joab shed [without cause], from me, and from the house of my father. And the Lord [Jehovah] shall return his blood19 upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, [and] my father David not knowing thereof [knew it not20], to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah. 33Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the Lord [Jehovah]. 34So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.

35And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host:21 and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar.22

36And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither. 37For it shall be, that on the day thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head.23 38And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And. Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days. 39And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish son of Maachah king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants be in Gath. 40And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants: and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath. 41And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again. 42And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the Lord [Jehovah], and protested unto thee, saying, Know for a certain, on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, that thou shalt surely die?24 and thou saidst unto me, The word that I have heard is good. 43Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the Lord [Jehovah], and the commandment that I have charged thee with? 44The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father; therefore the Lord [Jehovah] shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head: 45and king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord [Jehovah] for e1 Kings 1 Kings 2:46 So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.25

Exegetical and Critical

1 Kings 2:13. And Adonijah … to Bath-Sheba, &c. What Adonijah really aimed at in his petition to Bath-Sheba is made apparent in 1 Kings 2:22. He did not care about the fair Abishag, but about the kingdom, which he hoped to acquire through possession of her. In the ancient East, after a king died, or his kingdom passed from him, the harem fell to the new ruler. On the other hand, also, he who took to himself the king’s wives, was regarded as having taken to himself the rights of the king. The claim to the possession of the women of the harem was understood to mean the claim to the throne. It was so also with the Persians (Herodot. 3:68; Justin 10:2 : occiso Cyro Aspasiam pellicem ejus rex Artaxerxes in matrimonium acceperat. Hanc patrem cedere sibi, sicuti regnum Darius postulaverat). When Absalom went, according to Ahithophel’s advice, into the king’s harem and to his concubines in the sight of all the people, it was a public, practical announcement that he had assumed the king’s rights (2 Samuel 16:20-23; comp. 1 Kings 12:11). When, therefore, Adonijah demanded Abishag for his wife, ostensibly from love to her, it was a secret claim to the throne; for Abishag was looked on by the nation as David’s last wife, although he had not known her. He did not venture to make his request personally to Solomon, but, as Grotius says: aggreditur mulierem, ut regnandi ignaram, ita amoribus facilem. He plays, before Bath-Sheba, the part of an humble saint who has been set aside—who is resigned to God’s will, thus softening her woman’s heart. His assertion that all Israel wished him for their king, if not exactly a lie, showed great self-deception and boasting. He very wisely and prudently says, instead of: through thy intercession my brother became king (1 Kings 1:17)—the kingdom is turned about, and it was his from the Lord, which he of course did not believe, because he wished himself to be king. Bath-Sheba may have thought that a discontented subject might be satisfied by granting his request, and the kingdom made thus more secure to her son.

1 Kings 2:19-21. Bath-Sheba therefore went unto king Solomon, &c., 1 Kings 2:19. Solomon received his mother as גְּבִירָה (1 Kings 15:13). The queen-mother was in great honor; and therefore the name of the king’s mother is always expressly given in the account of the commencement of a new king’s reign (1Ki 14:21; 1 Kings 15:2, &c.). The כִּסֵּא offered her was not literally a throne, but only a particular seat of honor. The seat at the right hand was the one of highest distinction (Psalms 110:1; Joseph., Antiq. vi.–xi. 9). Bath-Sheba calls her petition a small one, because she thought it was only about a love-affair, and did not think of its political results.

1 Kings 2:22-25. And King Solomon answered, &c. Solomon instantly detected the intrigue. He says, in asking Abishag for Adonijah, you indirectly request the kingdom for him too. He is my elder brother, and thinks that the kingdom belongs to him on that account; if he gets Abishag as wife, he will be further strengthened in his imaginary claims, and his entire party will have a firm footing. The וְלוֹ beginning the concluding statement in 1 Kings 2:22, cannot be understood otherwise than the preceding לוֹ, and the ל in the following words must consequently mean the same. The meaning is this then: In asking the kingdom for him, thou askest it at the same time for Abiathar and Joab; they who have joined themselves to him, would reign with and through him; but they are well known to be my enemies. It follows, then, that both are included in Adonijah’s plan. We cannot, therefore, translate like the Sept.: καὶ αὐτῷ ’Αβιαθὰρ καὶ αὐτῷ ’Ιωὰβ ἑταῖρος, or with the Vulg.: et habet Abiathar et Joab; there is therefore no reason to strike out, with Thenius, the ל before Abiathar and Joab. Solomon’s anger, which appears in 1 Kings 2:23, was the more natural, because Adonijah had dared to gain over and abuse the queen-mother. The oath, which means: may God punish me continually if Adonijah be not, &c., is a usual one (Rth 1:17; 1 Samuel 14:44; 1 Samuel 20:13; Jeremiah 22:5).—The words of 1 Kings 2:24 : and who hath made me an house, are not to be understood, with Keil and others, as if Solomon had then had issue (his marriage did not occur till afterwards, 1 Kings 3:1); the meaning is this rather: Adonijah demands Abishag to wife, to found a dynasty through his union with her; but Jehovah has determined that David’s dynasty and line of kings shall come from me (2 Samuel 7:11 sq.).—The execution of Adonijah was performed by Benaiah, as captain of the Cherethites and Pelethites (1 Kings 1:38). בְּיַד does not mean exactly with “his own hand” (Thenius), but only that Benaiah was charged with the execution. Comp. 1 Kings 2:34-46. Capital punishment was executed in Egypt, and also in Babylon, by the king’s guard, the captain of which was therefore called שַׂר רב טַבָּחִים, Genesis 37:36; 2 Kings 25:8; Daniel 2:14.

1 Kings 2:26-27. And unto Abiathar the priest, &c. The proceedings now commenced against Abiathar and Joab, were no doubt caused by the share both had taken in the new plans of Adonijah to usurp the kingdom.—Anathoth, a priests’ town in the tribe of Benjamin (Joshua 21:18; 1 Chronicles 6:45), about one hour and a quarter’s distance northeast of Jerusalem (Robinson, Palestine, vol. i. p. 437–8). Abiathar had possessions there.—To strike out the ו before בּיוֹם with Thenius (according to the Sept.), and place it before לֹא, is unnecessary: the meaning remains the same.—Bearing the Ark, on the occasion of David’s flight from Absalom (2 Samuel 15:24). That Abiathar and Zadok went with David then, bearing the ark of the covenant, showed great veneration and fidelity, upon their part, to him. Of course they did not carry the ark themselves; but it was borne by the levites, whose office it was to do so (Numbers 4:15; 1 Chronicles 16:15), and who did it at their command. It is therefore quite unnecessary to read, with Thenius, אֵפוֹד instead of אֲרוֹן.—It does not follow from the banishment of Abiathar, that every king has the right to set up and depose a high-priest at pleasure. This case was a peculiar one. A high-priest who had repeatedly conspired against the anointed of Jehovah, had thereby become incapable of filling his office, and, strictly speaking, deserved death.—לְמַלֵּא is an addition of the narrator, not the intention of Solomon; it is the ἲνα πληρωθῆ of the New Testament. The divine threatenings upon Eli’s house, from which Abiathar was (through Ithamar) descended, were now fulfilled; for when Saul slew the priests, Abiathar alone, of all his house, escaped (1 Samuel 22:20). With his deposition the hereditary high-priesthood passed over to Eleazar’s house, to which Zadok belonged (Numbers 25:13; 1 Chronicles 24:5-6).

1 Kings 2:28-35. Then tidings came to Joab, &c. The parenthesis means that Joab, who was formerly such a decided enemy of Absalom, who promised much more than his brother, had twice conspired with the pretender, Adonijah, and now feared for his own life, as he heard of his death, and of Abiathar’s punishment. All old translations, except the Chaldee, have Solomon instead of “Absalom,” and Ewald and Thenius declare the former to be the right reading; this, however, is not sustained by any Hebrew MS., and would, besides, make the sentence superfluous; for when Joab was on Adonijah’s side, it follows of course that he was not on that of Solomon.—If Joab, who had been unpunished for his share in the first conspiracy, had felt free from all share in the second, he would not have fled to a place of refuge (1 Kings 1:50).—The Sept. adds, before Solomon’s words, 1 Kings 2:29 : “What has happened to thee, that thou hast fled to the altar? And Joab said: I was afraid of thee, and have fled to Lord.” Surely this is only a gloss; but it explains the passage. When Joab saw that Benalah did not venture to kill him at the altar, he defied him, either because he hoped that Solomon would not dare to give the order, or that if he did, he (Solomon) would be guilty of desecrating the altar. But according to the law (Exodus 21:14; Deuteronomy 19:11-13), the altar was only an asylum for those who had killed unwittingly, and Joab was no such person. He had sinned grievously against Israel and Judah by a double assassination (1 Kings 2:32), and yet had gone hitherto unpunished. This guilt could not rest upon David and his house, if the kingdom was to continue in his line (1 Kings 2:33). Not to add the utmost disgrace to the punishment (1 Kings 14:11; 2 Kings 9:35; Jeremiah 7:33; Jeremiah 22:19), and in consideration of his military achievements, Solomon commanded that Joab should be buried with his fathers in the wilderness of Judah, which was not far from Bethlehem, near Tekoa, and was a rocky district containing some towns (Joshua 15:61; Judges 1:16).

1 Kings 2:36-46. And the king sent and called for Shimei, &c., 1 Kings 2:36. As Adonijah and his faction had made such repeated efforts to seize the helm of state, Solomon deemed it needful to keep a watch on all suspected persons. Now the restless Shimei was the principal of these; he was a close adherent of the house of Saul, and a bitter foe of David’s house. Solomon, therefore, in order to keep him in sight, and test his obedience, ordered him to settle in Jerusalem, and to leave it only under penalty of death. The brook Kidron is scarcely named as the exact limit of his confinement (Ewald); but Shimei was not to cross it, because, in doing so, he went towards Bahurim, in his native district, where he had most influence (2 Samuel 19:16 sq.).—Thy blood, &c.—the usual mode of the death sentence, Leviticus 20:9-16.—Shimei declared he was satisfied to observe the king’s command, for he knew right well that according to the ideas of that time, no king, not even Solomon, need feel himself bound by the promise of his predecessor (2 Samuel 19:23), (Ewald, Gesch. Isr., iii. s. 271).—The Philistine king Achish, of Gath (Joshua 13:3; 1 Samuel 5:8), may be the same who is mentioned in 1 Samuel 21:11; 1 Samuel 27:2; he must have certainly attained a great age; if so, Shimei, then, in spite of his solemn vow, not only left Jerusalem for his native place, not distant, but even went into the far-off land of the Philistines, thus giving proof of his disobedience and obstinacy. Solomon now reproaches him with his old crime, and says to him: thy measure is full; the Lord has turned thy curse into a blessing, as David hoped (2 Samuel 16:12).—The Vulgate, Thenius, Bunsen, and others place the concluding sentence of 1 Kings 2:46 at the commencement of 1 Kings 3:0 : “and when the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon, he made affinity,” &c.; it seems, however, to refer back to 1 Kings 2:12, and in the manner of Semitic histories, as Keil remarks, concludes the whole section of Solomon’s throne-ascension. Thus the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon, i.e., under him.

Historical and Ethical

1. The repeated attempt of Adonijah to gain the throne throws real light on his character. Though his enterprise came to a lamentable and disgraceful end, he immediately began to concoct new plans in spite of the favor and the warning he had received. As he once sought to obtain his purpose by collecting chariots, horsemen, and soldiers, through making fortified places, in short, by grand and showy preparations, he now pursued the opposite plan of fawning and artifice. He steals alone to Bath-sheba, placing his hopes on woman’s influence. When she is astonished at his visit, he utters the most peaceful sentiments, acts as one deeply disappointed, but now humbly and piously resigned to God’s will, and as an unhappy lover. If anything deserves the name of a “harem intrigue,” through which, according to Duncker, Solomon came to the throne (see above), it is Adonijah’s device. He could not have shown more clearly that he was not the chosen of Jehovah (Deuteronomy 17:15). What would have become of the kingdom which David had at last brought to tranquillity and its proper position, if a man like Adonijah had succeeded him?

2. Adonijah and his faction show the truth of what is often found, namely, that revolutionary men are not discouraged by the failure of their plans, and even disgraceful defeat, but they always brood over the means of attaining their ambitious views and gratifying their thirst for power. Pardon and forbearance do not change them, but generally harden and embolden them. If they do not succeed by open force, they choose deceitful ways, notwithstanding all the promises they may have given; and they feign submission until they think their opportunity has arrived. Every one, however, to whom God has confided the government, should hear the words of David to Solomon (1 Kings 2:2): “be thou strong, therefore, and show thyself a man!” for weakness is, in this respect, sin against God and man. The old Würtemburg summaries say: “let authorities learn from Solomon to punish such crimes severely, if they wish to have a happy, peaceful, and lasting reign. If they wink at such things, God’s anger and punishments come down on them, on their land and people.”

3. Solomon’s treatment of his foes, has often been called great cruelty, or at least extreme severity. “Solomon,” says Duncker, “began his reign with bloody deeds.… He first promised Adonijah he should be spared, then had him slain by Benaiah. Joab fled to the sanctuary and caught hold of the horns of the altar. Benaiah trembled to stain the altar with blood, but Solomon tells him to go and stab him there!… Benaiah also killed Shimei at Solomon’s command.” In reading this imperfect and detestable view of the circumstances, we must remember that there is not to be found in the forty years of Solomon’s reign, one single trace of baroarous tyranny or cruelty, such as are here said to have characterized him, though these qualities rather strengthen than otherwise with age. We cannot judge Solomon any more than David in the light of the sermon on the mount, but should recollect what the time and circumstances were. The vital point was to establish the kingdom, and in order to avert the dangers that threatened it, “every firm and sagacious ruler had to act so, for the artificial means now used in similar cases, for instance, imprisonment for life, were wholly unknown” (Ewald). As to Adonijah, the whole East knew but one punishment for such plans as he cherished, viz., death. Had his enterprise succeeded he would doubtless (see above, on 1 Kings 1:11) have destroyed Solomon and his principal adherents, in accordance with the usual practice hitherto. Solomon, on the contrary, did not follow this custom, but showed forgiveness and generosity; in fact, he avoided all persecution of Adonijah’s partisans. Only when Adonijah, contrary to his word, and notwithstanding his humble homage (1 Kings 1:51), again appeared as pretender to the throne, and sought to reach his end by deceit and hypocrisy, did he order the affixed punishment. He had allowed Abiathar, too, to go unpunished at first, which scarcely any other eastern prince would have done. But when the repeated attempt of Adonijah to seize the kingdom was discovered, Abiathar could no longer be passed over. Yet instead of inflicting death on him, he deprived him of his influential office, and let him live at liberty on his estate, on account of his former good behavior. Here was no severity, but gratitude, kindness, and generosity. Joab was the most formidable opponent, because of his position at the head of the entire army, and his well-known military roughness and unscrupulousness; he was also unpunished after Adonijah’s first attempt, and the last was certainly not planned without his consent, but more likely, as some suppose, originated by him. The fact that he instantly fled to the horns of the altar, on hearing of Adonijah’s death, shows that he knew himself to have deserved death. Besides this, the guilt of a double murder rested on him, and should be washed out. “When this was superadded,” says Ewald (s. 271), “Solomon did not venture to show him any further grace,” and adds in the note with great truth: “A superficial observer alone can charge Solomon with needless cruelty here.” Finally, with regard to Shimei, nothing was more natural than that Solomon, in the circumstances attending the beginning of his reign, should have kept especial guard over such a restless, suspected person, who one day cursed the king, calling him a bloody man, and the next fawned upon and flattered him, and who besides was not without partisans (2 Samuel 16:7, comp. with 1 Kings 19:16-20). Shimei was himself quite content with his confinement to Jerusalem, and Solomon let him live there “many days” (1 Kings 2:38), placing his fate in his own hand. After three years (not before), (1 Kings 2:39), when Shimei broke his solemn promise, what his king had threatened him with upon oath came upon him. “Surely, every one must at that time have seen in such fatal oblivion of the oath which the old arch-traitor had sworn against David, a divine sign, that that old sin still rested on him and that he must be punished; otherwise he would not have acted with such defiance of God and with such madness. Solomon had him also executed, evidently not out of revenge nor any other passion, but from the belief that the last of those who had sinned greatly against David, should fall under divine Providence” (Ewald, s. 272). How weak and forgetful of his word would the king have seemed to all the people if he had let Shimei now go free, particularly with the notions then entertained about a king! (Proverbs 16:12-15; Proverbs 20:2; Proverbs 20:26). It is worthy of remark that the settlement of Shimei at Jerusalem was coincident with Solomon’s elevation to the throne; that his punishment did not at once follow that of Adonijah and Joab, but was three years later. We cannot therefore possibly reckon this among the “bloody deeds” with which Solomon is said to have begun his reign. The union of mildness and firmness, generosity and official justice, in the conduct of the young sovereign, must have deeply impressed the people, have increased his authority, and established his rule.

4. The establishment of Solomon’s kingdom (1 Kings 2:46) is the result of all that chapters 1 and 2 relate, and is therefore expressly stated again at their close. Our author evidently does this, not only from purely historical, but also from religious and theocratic grounds. In fact, throughout the whole of the genuine Old Testament history of Solomon’s succession to the throne, the guiding hand of the living God is made apparent, far above the ferment of human passions and inclinations. He knows how to fulfil his threatenings, and to lead the way which each chooses for himself, to a goal where he shall find retribution of his deeds (Job 34:11).

Homiletical and Practical

1 Kings 2:13-25. Adonijah’s repeated attempt to gain the throne: (a) Wherein this attempt consisted (1 Kings 2:13-18); (b) how it ended (1 Kings 2:19-25).

1 Kings 2:13-18. Adonijah before Bath-sheba: (a) The feigned sentiment, in which he comes (1 Kings 2:13-15); (b) the request he brings (1 Kings 2:16-17); (c) the answer he receives (1 Kings 2:18).

1 Kings 2:13. Ambitious and power-loving people do not scruple to reach the ends which they cannot obtain by open force, by means that are mortifying to their pride; when they can no longer demand, they beg.—Those are least to be trusted who have proved themselves enemies, and suddenly appear with tokens of peace. Joab met Amasa with the words: Peace be to thee! and while kissing him, ran him through the body (2 Samuel 20:9). Judas betrayed the Lord with a greeting and a kiss (Luke 22:48).

1 Kings 2:15. Adonijah’s boast and hypocrisy: (a) He boasts, like most rebels, of having all the people on his side, but his few adherents were some faithless men, who were won over by good eating and drinking, and who would desert him with the first change of the wind (1 Kings 1:41; 1 Kings 1:49). (b) He speaks and acts as a pious man, who humbles himself under God’s hand (Job 1:21), while he resists His will in his heart, and seeks to overthrow His purpose (Matthew 7:21; Proverbs 12:22).

1 Kings 2:16 sq. The most presumptuous character is often hid under the mask of unassuming deportment.

1 Kings 2:17. He who has an honest and just request to make seeks no roundabout ways, but goes openly and courageously with it to the person who can grant it. The serpent addresses the woman first, in order to gain the man, in paradise (Genesis 3:1; Genesis 3:6; 1 Timothy 2:14).

1 Kings 2:18. Bath-sheba’s consent to Adonijah’s request shows want of sagacity, experience, and knowledge of human nature, but at the same time shows that her heart was free from revenge and bitterness, and was willing to serve even one who had caused her great anxiety and sorrow (1 Kings 1:21).—Kind and unsuspicious persons are apt to yield to their first feelings and impressions rather than reflect calmly and deliberately; it is therefore the more needful for them to guard against being led away by flattering speeches into promises and actions that may greatly injure themselves and others.—We ought not to refuse to intercede for others, but to take great care not to do it for the unworthy, thus injuring those who are deserving.—Those who are high in favor with the powerful are often used, without their wish or knowledge, for unworthy ends.

1 Kings 2:19-25. Bath-sheba before the king: (a) How she was received by him (1 Kings 2:19-20), but (b) was refused her petition (1 Kings 2:22-24).

1 Kings 2:19. Solomon, when on the throne, did not forget what he owed his mother. How often do children forget their parents and nearest relations, and even become ashamed of them, when they attain to great riches and honor; but no position or rank dispenses with our observance of the fourth commandment, the first with promise (Ephes. 1 Kings 6:2; Proverbs 19:26).

1 Kings 2:21. Starke: Even pious Christians are often ignorant of what they ask (Romans 8:26), and are therefore often unheard (Matthew 20:22).

1 Kings 2:22. Kings and princes should not grant even an apparently small petition, that interferes with the welfare of the kingdom and people committed to their charge. Seeming severity is in such cases sacred duty.—Hall: Considerations arising from personal relationship must be laid aside in the official acts of rulers.

1 Kings 2:25. Punishment of Adonijah, how far it was (a) according to law, (b) just and deserved.

1 Kings 2:26-46. Solomon’s treatment of his enemies (see Historical).

1 Kings 2:26-27. Ecclesiastical office can be no protection from just punishment of crime (see Luke 12:47; 1 Corinthians 9:27).—Former fidelity cannot efface later treachery. It is most lamentable that a man who was faithful in times of trouble should end his career as a sinner (1 Corinthians 10:12).—[Bp. Hall: No man held so close to David,… yet now is he called to reckon for his old sins, and must repay blood to Amasa and Abner.—E. H.] When circumstances permit, mildness and forgiveness should go hand in hand with justice.—Children should not forget kindness shown to their parents, but look on it as done to themselves; this is fulfilling the fourth commandment.—The promises of God are yea and amen; but so are also His threatenings, which are often executed when men have forgotten them.

1 Kings 2:28-34. The terrible end of Joab: (a) He dies conscious of his guilt, without peace and pardon; (b) even in the very jaws of death he is defiant, rough, and proud; (c) he does not leave the world like a hero, but like a criminal. How differently David dies! (1 Kings 2:2).

1 Kings 2:28. An evil conscience can put to flight a hero who never yielded to the enemy in a single bloody field.—Starke: It is thus the wicked act when they get into danger; though they never before cared about God and His children, they will seek their protection then.

1 Kings 2:30. What good is there in dying in a sacred place if one has not a sanctified heart and pure conscience? Proverbs 3:21-26.

1 Kings 2:31 sq. Starke: God has no sanctuary or city of refuge for an intentional murderer (Exodus 21:14).—Lange: If a ruler leaves shed blood unavenged, the guilt attaches to himself; through just revenge it is averted.

1 Kings 2:33. Only that throne stands firm upon which justice, without respect of persons, is exercised (Proverbs 25:5).

1 Kings 2:36-46. Shimei’s fate plainly proves the truth of the word Job 34:11; Psalms 141:10; Proverbs 5:22.

1 Kings 2:39. Avarice, i.e., covetousness, is the root of all evil. The loss of two servants led Shimei to disobedience, even to forget his oath and to risk his life. [1 Kings 2:40 sq. Bp. Hall: “Covetousness, and presumption of impunity, are the destruction of many a soul: Shimei seeks his servants and loses himself.”—E. H.]

1 Kings 2:41 sq. Divine justice at length overtakes those whose crimes have long been unpunished, and when they least expect it.—Those also who have cursed the anointed of the Lord, the eternal king of God’s realm, and who have shot their poisoned shafts at Him, shall hereafter say to the mountains: Fall on us! and to the hills: cover us! (Luke 23:30).

Footnotes:

1 Kings 2:13; 1 Kings 2:13.—[The Sept. adds καὶ προσεκύνησεν αὐτῇ (Al. αὐτήν).

1 Kings 2:14; 1 Kings 2:14.—[Two MSS. and some editions (followed by the Sept., Vulg., and Syriac) add לוֹ = to him.

1 Kings 2:22; 1 Kings 2:22.—[All the VV. here give a sense which seems based on the supposition that ל before Abiathar and before Joab is pleonastic; but for this there is no authority. Thus the Vulg.: “et habet Abiathar,” etc. Sept.: καὶ αὐτῷ ’Αβιάθαρ κ.τ.λ. Similarly Syr. and Arab. The Chald.: “nonne in consilio fuerunt ille et Abiathar,” etc.

1 Kings 2:26; 1 Kings 2:26.—[The Sept., without authority, alters the place of the conjunction so as to read ἀνἠρ θανάτου εῖ σὺ ἐν τῇ ἡμἑρᾳ ταὑτῃ, καὶ οὐ θανατώσω σε.

1 Kings 2:28; 1 Kings 2:28.—[The Vulg., Sept.. (Vatican) and Syr. curiously substitute here the name of Solomon for that of Absalom. The Arab. attempts to reconcile both by translating “neither did he love Solomon.”

1 Kings 2:29; 1 Kings 2:29.—[The Sept. and “And king (Alex. omit king) Solomon sent to Joab, saying, What has been done to thee that thou hast fled to the altar? And Joab said, Because I was afraid of thee, and I fled to the Lord.”

1 Kings 2:29; 1 Kings 2:29.—[The Sept. add “and bury him.” See 1 Kings 2:31.

1 Kings 2:30; 1 Kings 2:30.—[One MS., followed by the Sept., Vulg., and Syr., adds אצא after לֹא.

1 Kings 2:31; 1 Kings 2:31.—[The Sept. add σήμερον and translate הִנָם accurately “without cause.” The Chald. gives both senses. The Vatican Sept. omits the name of Joab.

1 Kings 2:32; 1 Kings 2:32.—[Sept. = the blood of his iniquity.

1 Kings 2:32; 1 Kings 2:32.—[There is no reason for omitting the conjunction and changing the preterite of the Hebr. which are preserved in the Sept. and the Chald.

1 Kings 2:35; 1 Kings 2:35.—[The Sept. add καὶ ἡ βασιλεία κατωρθοῦτο ἐν ‘Ιερουσαλήμ. Cf. 1 Kings 2:46.

1 Kings 2:35; 1 Kings 2:35—[The Sept. add καὶ Σαλωμὼν υἱὸς Δαυὶδ ἐβασίλευσεν ἐπὶ ’Ισραὴλ καὶ ’Ιούδα ἐν ‘Ιερουσαλήμ.. (Thus far Alex. Omits) καὶ ἔδωκε κύριος φρόνησιν τῷ Σαλωμὼν καὶ σοφἱαν πολλὴν σφόδρα καὶ πλάτος καρδίας ὡς ἡ ἄμμος ἡ παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν. (See 1 Kings 4:29.) Then follows the first verse of chap. 3 much altered, and a long interpolation which may he thus translated: “And the wisdom of Solomon was increased greatly above the wisdom of all the ancients and above all the wise men of Egypt (see 1 Kings 4:30), and he (1 Kings 3:1) took Pharaoh’s daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until ho had made an end of building his own house and the house of the Lord in the first place, and the wall of Jerusalem round about: in seven years he made and finished them.” V. 15 follows then… “And Solomon made the sea and the bases and the great levers and the pillars and the fountain of the court and the brazen sea. And he built the citadel and battlements upon it, he divided the city of David. So Pharaoh’s daughter went up from the city of David into her own house which he built for her. Then he built the citadel. And three times in the year Solomon offered whole, burnt-offerings and peace-offerings upon the altar which he built to the Lord, and he offered incense before the Lord, and finished the house. And these were the chiefs (1 Kings 5:16) which were set over the works of Solomon: three thousand and six hundred rulers of the people that wrought in the work. And he built Asshur and Magdo and Gezer (1 Kings 9:15; 1 Kings 9:17-18) and Bethhoron the upper and Ballath. Besides his building the house of the Lord and the wall of Jerusalem round about, after these he built these cities.” Then follows, with some variations, 1 Kings 2:8-9, which form the junction again with 1 Kings 2:36.

1 Kings 2:37; 1 Kings 2:37.—[The Sept. add καὶ ὥρκισεν αὐτὸν ὁ βασιλεὺς ἰν τῆ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκεινῃ. Cf. 1 Kings 2:42-43.

1 Kings 2:42; 1 Kings 2:42.—[The Vatican Sept. omits the rest of 1 Kings 2:42. The last clause is sometimes pointed, “The word is good: I have heard.”

1 Kings 2:46; 1 Kings 2:46.—[Here follows in the Sept. a passage made up of extracts from chap. 4 and containing about one-fourth of that chapter, most of which is omitted from its place.—F. G.]