40
ADONIKAM
ADOPTION
sheba, whose fears he easily awakened by pointing out the danger to which her own life and that of Solomon would be exposed if the attempt of Adonijah should succeed. Bathsheba, who seems to have already obtained from David a promise that Solomon should succeed him on the throne, immediately sought an interview with the aged king, and informed him of what was transpiring at En-Kogel ; while Nathan, in accordance with a prearranged plan, came in opportunely to confirm ber story. The pronliet-counseUor played his part with consummate sKill, notably when (1 K 1") he expressed surprise that the king, if he had sanc- tioned the action of Adonijah, had not taken his old friends and counsellors into his confidence. Yielding to the representations of the queen and the prophet, David renewed his oath to Bathsheba in favour of her son, and took prompt measures to secure the accession of the latter. At such a juncture the support of the royal bodyguard was all-important, and fortunately their loyalty was beyond suspicion. Their commander was ordered by David to escort the youthful Solomon, mounted upon his father's mule, to Gihon, and to have him anointed king by Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet. This commission wais executed amidst the enthusiasm of the people, who rent the air with shouts of ' God save King Solomon ! ' The unwonted noise reached the ears of Adonijah's guests at En-Kogel, causing astonishment, which passed into consternation when Jonathan the son of Abiathar hnrried in with the news that David had chosen Solomon to succeed him. The com- pany broke up in confusion, and Adonijah himself was so much alarmed that he fled for protection to the altar. Solomon, however, agreed to spare his life on condition of future loyalty. If Adonijah displayed no conspicuous wisdom in his attempt to seize the crown, his next act, which cost him his life, is hard to explain, except on the principle, Quem Deus vult perdere prius dementat. After the death of his fatiier he actually requested Solomon to bestow upon him in marria"e Abishag the Shunanimite, the maiden who had attended upon David during his declining years. And as ativo- cate for him in this delicate matter he chose Bathsheba 1 No one who is acquainted with the notions of Eastern courts can wonder at the resentment of Solomon, or that he construed this req^uest as an act of treason. Considering the re- lation in which Abishag had stood to David, the people would certainly infer that Adonijah in taking her for his wife still asserted his right to the cro^vn. (Compare the story of Abner and Ishbosheth in 2 S 3% and of Absalom in 2 S 16-'.) Speedily was sentence pronounced, ' Adonijah hath spoken this word against his own life ; surely he snail be put to death this day ' ; and the sentence was immediately executed by the captain of the guard.
2. One of the Levitea who, according to the Chronicler, was sent by Jehoshaphat to teach in the cities of Judah (2 Ch 17«). 3. One of the 'chiefs of the people' who sealed the covenant (Neh 10"). Same as Adonikam (Ezr 2" 8", Neh 7"*).
J. A. Seldie.
ADONIKAM (Dirnt; 'my Lord has arisen'), Ezr 2" 8", Neh 7", 1 Es 5" 8^. The head of a Jewish family after the Exile ; in Neh 10'« Adonijah.
H. A. White.
ADONIRAM, ADORAM (orJi><. bhin).— The latter nnme occurs 2 S 20'-", 1 K 12", and is probably a corruption of Adoniram. The LXX supjiorts this view, reading 'hSuoapa^, 2 S 20", 1 K 4» 5" (Heb. BTjnit), 1 K 12" (B 'ApoAi, A ' kSuvipaii), and in the parallel 2 Ch 10" 'ASui/fipaM (Heb. oyic, Hadorani). A. was 'over the levy,' that is, he superintended the levies employed in the public works during the
reigns of David, Solomon, and Rehoboani. He waa stoned to death by the rebellious Igr. when sent to them by Rehoboam (1 K 12").
J. F. Stenning.
ADONIS. — Strictly not a name but a title, I'nij 'Adun, ' Lord,' of the god Tauimuz (which see). Is 17'° RVm ' plantings of Adonis ' (D-j;y 'y.:] nit's naamanlm, text 'pleasant plants') and the setting of ' vine slips of a stranger ' (strange god), is mentioned as the result of having ' forgotten the God of thy salvation.' So Ewald, Lagarde, Cheyne. With ' plantings of Adonis,' cf. the Gr. 'ASuiyiSos <o?7roi, quick-growing plants reared in pota or baskets (Plato, Phxedr. 276 B), and olVered to Aphrodite as emblems of her lover's beauty and earl-y death (Theocr. 15. 113).
The meaning of na'amdni/n is, however, doubtfuL Na'aman \aprobably the name of a god ; cf. the name of the Syrian general (2 K 5'), and Ar. Numftn, a kind's name (Tebrizi's scholia to Ilamdsa). The river Belus is now called Nahr Na'amdn. Lagarde (Sem. i. 32) quotes Arab, name of the red anemone, Shaka'iku-n-Nu'mdn, explaining as ' the wound of Adonis ' ; but see Wellhausen, S/dzzen, iii. p. 7.
C. F. BURNEY.
ADONI-ZEDEK (pix 'jnt; 'Lord of righteousness,' AV Adoni-zedec), king of Jerusalem at the time of the Invasion of Canaan by the Israelites under Joshua. After the Gibeonites had succeeded in making a league with Israel, he Induced four other kings, those of Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon, to unite ^vith him against the invaders. First they attacked, as traitors to the common cause, the Gibeonites, who appealed to Joshua for help. By a rapid night march from Gil"al, Joshua came unexpectedly upon the allied kings, and utterly routed them [Joshua, Beth-hokon]. Adoni-zedek and his associates sought refuge in a cave at Makkedah, but were taken and brought before Joshua. The Heb. chiefs set their feet upon their necks in token of triumph. They were then slain, and their bodies hung up until the evening, when they were taken down and flung into the cave where they had hid them.selves, the moutli of which was filled up with great stones (Jos 10'-'-''). In Jos 10='- LXX retids 'ASuvi^iicK, and some have identified the latter with Adonibezek of Jg 1». (See Kittel, Hist, of Heb. i. 307 ; Budde, Richt. u. Sam. 63 f. ; Wellh. Einleit.* [Bleek] 182.)