1 Kings 20:25
Context20:25 Muster an army like the one you lost, with the same number of horses and chariots. 1 Then we will fight them in the plains; we will certainly overpower them.” He approved their plan and did as they advised. 2
1 Kings 1:2
Context1:2 His servants advised 3 him, “A young virgin must be found for our master, the king, 4 to take care of the king’s needs 5 and serve as his nurse. She can also sleep with you 6 and keep our master, the king, warm.” 7
1 tn Heb “And you, you muster an army like the one that fell from you, horse like horse and chariot like chariot.”
2 tn Heb “he listened to their voice and did so.”
3 tn Heb “said to.”
4 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).
5 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).
6 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.
7 tn Heb “and my master, the king, will be warm.”