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Nathan to Batlislieba, and at the prophet's advice she informed tlie king, and reminded him of a promise tliat her son should rei^n. liy agreement Nathan came iu and confirmed lier words, where- upon D. repeated with an oath to Bathsheba the promise that Solomon should succeed. Then, rousing himself to act, the old king commanded Nathan, Zadok, and Benaiah to place Solomon on the royal mule, conduct him to the spring of Gihon, and solemnly proclaim him king. The support of Benaiah and the troops would make opposition useless. D.'s orders were carried out, Solomon was anointed, and a rejoicing crowd escorted the young king back to the city to set him on the royal throne. The shouts from Gihon. half-way up the Kidron Valley, had reached Adonijah at his feast, when Jonathan the son of Abialhar came in with news of Solomon's corona- tion. The guests fled, and Adonijah took sanctuary at the altar, but received from Solomon a promise of his life on condition of good conduct (1 K 1).
Our narrative in 1 K 2'-'- gives us an unplcasing picture of D.'s last days, lie is represented as counselling Solomon to do good to Barzillai, but not to let Joab or Shimei die in peace. The genuineness of the narrative is much disputed. Vv.--' are doubtle.ss a later edition by a Deutero- nomic editor; Wellh.. Stade, Kautz.sch reject the whole of vv.i-«; but it seems more probable that w.^« formed part of the original document (.so Kuenen, Budde, Kittel. Cheyne). Their historical character is another question, which can only be judged on subjective grounds. It is argued, with considerable exaggeration, that 1). was too infirm to trouble about public matters, or to counsel his successor ; and that another tradition gives us a religious song under the title of D.'s ' Last Words' (2 S 28'-"). We must not measure the advice ascribed to D. by our own standard. A young and untried ruler like Solomon might be endangered by opponents whom D. was strong enough to spare ; and the king, who had delivered up to death Saul's seven sons to atone for their father's guilt, may have feared that the curse of Shimei, or the murders of Joab, unless avenged, would bring down punishment on some other man. To us the words put into D.'s mouth do not appear seemly for a dying man, or in accordance with the noblest traits of D.'s character ; it cannot be said they are impossible. Many would be glad to think that they are only due to the historian, who represented D. as the real author of some of Solomon's earliest acts, hoping to glorify the aged king, or else to clear the memory of the buihler of the temple. It is easy to understand why a later historian pre- ferred to a.scribe to D. far nobler .sentiments when he recorded the king's last words and his final charge to SoIonKm (1 Ch 28. 2y).
D. is recorded to have reigned 7 years and 6 months in Hebron, and '.i3 years in Jerus. (2 S 2" 5*', 1 K 2"). Forty years is a conventional round number in lleb. chronology, but the figure is approximately correct. Ab.salom, who was born in Hebron (2 S ;5-), was grown up at the time of Amnon's outrage ; his rebellion look place some 10 or 11 years later (13-'- »» 14-» 1,">";, and, as was remarked above, several years mu.st have intervened between this and D.'s death. Again, the Philis- tines and Moabiles had been subdued before the Ammonite war; the marriage of Bathsheba took )ilace in the third campaign against Animnn ; and Solomon, her second son by D., was of full age when he came to the throne. Since 1)., when he first appears before Saul, is a tried warrior, he must have died at an advanced age. According to 2 S .1*' he reached 70 years. Ho was buried in the capital, which received from him tlie name of the ' city of David ' ; and after the return from exile
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the sepulchres of D. were still pointed out between Siloam and the ' house of the mighty men ' (Neh 3'W-; cf. AC2"-').
Later biblical writers and editors describe D. as he appearLMi to the Jews of their own a^'e. To the compiler of tlie IJooks of Kiiit;s I), is a standard of piety, with whom his successors are com i)ared ; he is the kin^ whose * heart was perfect with J " ' (1 K 11* etc.), 'who turned not aside save in the matter of tlriah the Hittite ' (*7>. 1.')''). The Chronicler, from fcelinps easily understood, passes entirely over the darker side of D.'s life, anil the troubles in his family (see esp. 1 Ch '20). He represents the pious kinp in his later years as absorbed in preparations for the temple ; for this he has .accumulated vast treasures, and he exhorts the people to f^ive freely for the same purpose (1 Ch '2'2. '2y). He arranjres for the services of the future sanctuary, ortranizinp the sacred choirs, and determininf^ tlie courses of priests and Levltes, porters and treasurers (chs. '2"2-2ti). Finally, tie hands to Solomon the pattern of the temple, which has been revealed to him by God ('25i>-'*'). and admonislies his sou on the creatness of the sacred duty which has been laid upon him ^.j'jo-is 2S1-I0. 30f.^_ I'ljt, figures given in these chapters, as in many parts of Chronicles, are incredibly larpe ; the arrangements described for the .sacred ministers and services are those of Zerubbabel's temple, though ou a {grander scale. In the older records the only direct connexion between D. and the temple is that implied in his sacriiice at Araunah's thresliinf,'.floor ('2 8 241S-26), and possibly in his dedication of his spoils ((ft. S'"). Older material may well underlie the narrative ol the t'hronicler or his authority ; but for our general estimate of D. and his times we must rely entirely on the Books of Samuel.