Discovery Box1 Kings 1:2-3 
Context1:2 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 1:3 So they looked through all Israel 6 for a beautiful young woman and found Abishag, a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
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 Heb “through all the territory of Israel.”
