1 Kings 1:2

1:2 His servants advised ¹  him, “A young virgin must be found for our master, the king, ²  to take care of the king’s needs ³  and serve as his nurse. She can also sleep with you ⁴  and keep our master, the king, warm.” ⁵ 

1 Kings 2:19

2:19 So Bathsheba visited King Solomon to speak to him on Adonijah’s behalf. The king got up to greet ⁶  her, bowed to her, and then sat on his throne. He ordered a throne to be brought for the king’s mother, ⁷  and she sat at his right hand.

1 Kings 3:26

3:26 The real mother ⁸  spoke up to the king, for her motherly instincts were aroused. ⁹  She said, “My master, give her the living child! Whatever you do, don’t kill him!” ¹⁰  But the other woman said, “Neither one of us will have him! Let them cut him in two!”

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¹ tn Heb “said to.”

² tn Heb “let them seek for my master, the king, a young girl, a virgin.” The third person plural subject of the verb is indefinite (see GKC 460 §144.f). The appositional expression, “a young girl, a virgin,” is idiomatic; the second term specifically defines the more general first term (see IBHS 230 §12.3b).

³ tn Heb “and she will stand before the king.” The Hebrew phrase “stand before” can mean “to attend; to serve” (BDB 764 s.v. עָמַד).

⁴ tn Heb “and she will lie down in your bosom.” The expression might imply sexual intimacy (see 2 Sam 12:3 [where the lamb symbolizes Bathsheba] and Mic 7:5), though v. 4b indicates that David did not actually have sex with the young woman.

⁵ tn Heb “and my master, the king, will be warm.”

⁶ tn Or “meet.”

⁷ tn Heb “he set up a throne for the mother of the king.”

⁸ tn Heb “the woman whose son was alive.”

⁹ tn Heb “for her compassions grew warm for her son.”

¹⁰ tn The infinitive absolute before the negated jussive emphasizes the main verb.