Discovery Box1 Kings 1:5-40 
Context1:5 Now Adonijah, son of David and Haggith, 1 was promoting himself, 2 boasting, 3 “I will be king!” He managed to acquire 4 chariots and horsemen, as well as fifty men to serve as his royal guard. 5 1:6 (Now his father had never corrected 6 him 7 by saying, “Why do you do such things?” He was also very handsome and had been born right after Absalom. 8 ) 1:7 He collaborated 9 with Joab son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they supported 10 him. 11 1:8 But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and David’s elite warriors 12 did not ally themselves 13 with Adonijah. 1:9 Adonijah sacrificed sheep, cattle, and fattened steers at the Stone of Zoheleth near En Rogel. He invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, 14 as well as all the men of Judah, the king’s servants. 1:10 But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the elite warriors, 15 or his brother Solomon.
1:11 Nathan said to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, “Has it been reported to you 16 that Haggith’s son Adonijah has become king behind our master David’s back? 17 1:12 Now 18 let me give you some advice as to how 19 you can save your life and your son Solomon’s life. 1:13 Visit 20 King David and say to him, ‘My master, O king, did you not solemnly promise 21 your servant, “Surely your son Solomon will be king after me; he will sit on my throne”? So why has Adonijah become king?’ 1:14 While 22 you are still there speaking to the king, I will arrive 23 and verify your report.” 24
1:15 So Bathsheba visited the king in his private quarters. 25 (The king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king.) 1:16 Bathsheba bowed down on the floor before 26 the king. The king said, “What do you want?” 1:17 She replied to him, “My master, you swore an oath to your servant by the Lord your God, ‘Solomon your son will be king after me and he will sit on my throne.’ 1:18 But now, look, Adonijah has become king! But you, 27 my master the king, are not even aware of it! 28 1:19 He has sacrificed many cattle, steers, and sheep and has invited all the king’s sons, Abiathar the priest, and Joab, the commander of the army, but he has not invited your servant Solomon. 1:20 Now, 29 my master, O king, all Israel is watching anxiously to see who is named to succeed my master the king on the throne. 30 1:21 If a decision is not made, 31 when my master the king is buried with his ancestors, 32 my son Solomon and I 33 will be considered state criminals.” 34
1:22 Just then, 35 while she was still speaking to the king, Nathan the prophet arrived. 1:23 The king was told, “Nathan the prophet is here.” Nathan entered and bowed before the king with his face to the floor. 36 1:24 Nathan said, “My master, O king, did you announce, ‘Adonijah will be king after me; he will sit on my throne’? 1:25 For today he has gone down and sacrificed many cattle, steers, and sheep and has invited all the king’s sons, the army commanders, and Abiathar the priest. At this moment 37 they are having a feast 38 in his presence, and they have declared, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ 39 1:26 But he did not invite me – your servant – or Zadok the priest, or Benaiah son of Jehoiada, or your servant Solomon. 1:27 Has my master the king authorized this without informing your servants 40 who should succeed my master the king on his throne?” 41
1:28 King David responded, 42 “Summon Bathsheba!” 43 She came and stood before the king. 44 1:29 The king swore an oath: “As certainly as the Lord lives (he who has rescued me 45 from every danger), 1:30 I will keep 46 today the oath I swore to you by the Lord God of Israel: ‘Surely Solomon your son will be king after me; he will sit in my place on my throne.’” 1:31 Bathsheba bowed down to the king with her face to the floor 47 and said, “May my master, King David, live forever!”
1:32 King David said, “Summon Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, 48 and Benaiah son of Jehoiada.” They came before the king, 1:33 and he 49 told them, “Take your master’s 50 servants with you, put my son Solomon on my mule, and lead him down to Gihon. 51 1:34 There Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet will anoint 52 him king over Israel; then blow the trumpet and declare, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ 1:35 Then follow him up as he comes and sits on my throne. He will be king in my place; I have decreed 53 that he will be ruler over Israel and Judah.” 1:36 Benaiah son of Jehoiada responded 54 to the king: “So be it! 55 May the Lord God of my master the king confirm it! 56 1:37 As the Lord is with my master the king, so may he be with Solomon, and may he make him an even greater king than my master King David!” 57
1:38 So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites, and the Pelethites 58 went down, put Solomon on King David’s mule, and led him to Gihon. 1:39 Zadok the priest took a horn filled with olive oil 59 from the tent and poured it on 60 Solomon; the trumpet was blown and all the people declared, “Long live King Solomon!” 1:40 All the people followed him up, playing flutes and celebrating so loudly they made the ground shake. 61
1 tn Heb “son of Haggith,” but since this formula usually designates the father (who in this case was David), the translation specifies that David was Adonijah’s father.
sn Haggith was one of David’s wives (2 Sam 3:4; 2 Chr 3:2).
2 tn Heb “lifting himself up.”
3 tn Heb “saying.”
4 tn Or “he acquired for himself.”
5 tn Heb “to run ahead of him.”
6 tn Or “disciplined.”
7 tn Heb “did not correct him from his days.” The phrase “from his days” means “from his earliest days,” or “ever in his life.” See GKC 382 §119.w, n. 2.
8 tn Heb “and she gave birth to him after Absalom.” This does not imply they had the same mother; Absalom’s mother was Maacah, not Haggith (2 Sam 3:4).
9 tn Heb “his words were.”
10 tn Heb “helped after” (i.e., stood by).
11 tn Heb “Adonijah.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
12 tn Or “bodyguard” (Heb “mighty men”).
13 tn Heb “were not.”
14 tc The ancient Greek version omits this appositional phrase.
15 tn Or “bodyguard” (Heb “mighty men”).
16 tn Heb “Have you not heard?”
17 tn Heb “and our master David does not know.”
18 tn Heb “now, come.” The imperative of הָלַךְ (halakh) is here used as an introductory interjection. See BDB 234 s.v. חָלַךְ.
19 tn Or “so that.”
20 tn Heb “come, go to.” The imperative of הָלַךְ (halakh) is here used as an introductory interjection. See BDB 234 s.v. חָלַךְ.
21 tn Or “swear an oath to.”
22 tn In the Hebrew text the sentence is introduced by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), which here draws attention to Nathan’s concluding word of assurance and support. For this use of the word, see HALOT 252 s.v. הִנֵּה.
23 tc The Hebrew text reads, “I will come after you.”
24 tn Heb “fill up [i.e., confirm] your words.”
25 tn Or “bedroom.”
26 tn Heb “bowed low and bowed down to.”
27 tc Instead of עַתָּה (’attah, “now”) many Hebrew
28 tn Heb “you do not know [about it].”
29 tc Many Hebrew
30 tn Heb “the eyes of all Israel are upon you to declare to them who will sit on the throne of my master the king after him.”
31 tn The words “if a decision is not made” are added for clarification.
32 tn Heb “lies down with his fathers.”
33 tn Heb “I and my son Solomon.” The order has been reversed in the translation for stylistic reasons.
34 tn Heb “will be guilty”; NASB “considered offenders”; TEV “treated as traitors.”
35 tn Heb “look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) here draws attention to Nathan’s arrival and invites the audience to view the scene through the eyes of the participants.
36 tn Heb “ground.” Since this was indoors, “floor” is more appropriate than “ground.”
37 tn Heb “look.”
38 tn Heb “eating and drinking.”
39 tn Heb “let the king, Adonijah, live!”
40 tc Many Hebrew
41 tn Heb “From my master the king is this thing done, and you did not make known to your servants who will sit on the throne of my master the king after him?”
42 tn Heb “answered and said.”
43 sn Summon Bathsheba. Bathsheba must have left the room when Nathan arrived (see 1:22).
44 tn Heb “she came before the king and stood before the king.”
45 tn Or “ransomed my life.”
46 tn Or “carry out, perform.”
47 tn Heb “bowed low, face [to] the ground, and bowed down to the king.”
48 sn Summon…Nathan. Nathan must have left the room when Bathsheba reentered.
49 tn Heb “the king.”
50 tn The plural form is used in the Hebrew text to indicate honor and authority.
51 tn Heb “mount Solomon my son on the mule that belongs to me and take him down to Gihon.”
52 tn Or “designate” (i.e., by anointing with oil).
53 tn Or “commanded.”
54 tn Heb “answered and said.”
55 tn Or “Amen.”
56 tn Heb “So may the
57 tn Heb “and may he make his throne greater than the throne of my master King David.”
58 sn The Kerethites and Pelethites were members of David’s royal guard (see 2 Sam 8:18). The Kerethites may have been descendants of an ethnic group originating in Crete.
59 tn Heb “the horn of oil.” This has been specified as olive oil in the translation for clarity.
sn A horn filled with oil. An animal’s horn was used as an oil flask in the anointing ceremony.
60 tn Or “anointed.”
61 tn Heb “and all the people went up after him, and the people were playing flutes and rejoicing with great joy and the ground split open at the sound of them.” The verb בָּקַע (baqa’, “to split open”), which elsewhere describes the effects of an earthquake, is obviously here an exaggeration for the sake of emphasis.
