1 Kings 2:17
Ver. 17. And he said, speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king,.... He owns him to be king, and which he the rather did to engage her to take his suit in hand, and to cover his design:for he will not say thee nay; or turn away thy face, or deny thy request; she being his mother, for whom he had a great affection, and to whom he was under obligation on all accounts:that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife; which was contrary to the law of God, Le 18:8; which surely Adonijah must have been ignorant of, and Bathsheba likewise; or the one would never have made such a request, nor the other have undertaken to try to obtain it; but perhaps they did not take her to be David's wife, or the marriage to be consummated, because he knew her not: but yet not being returned to her father's house, and being at the dispose of Solomon, prove that she must be a concubine wife, and which became the property of the next heir and successor; see 2Sa 12:8; nor did Adonijah apply to her or her friends; which, if he was really in love with her, he would have done, if at her own or their disposal; but this he knew, that she was solely at the disposal of Solomon, to whom he did not care to apply himself, but makes use of his mother. 1 Kings 2:18Ver. 18. And Bathsheba said, well,.... Very well spoken, the thing is good and right:I will speak for thee unto the king; and use her interest with him, not seeing into his design, but pitying an unfortunate man. 1 Kings 2:19Ver. 19. Bathsheba therefore went unto King Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah,.... She went from her own house to the palace; for she might not live at court; or however had an apartment to herself, from whence she went to the king with her suit in favour of Adonijah:and the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her; upon her entrance into the presence chamber, in honour to her as a parent, he rose up from his throne, and made his obeisance to her, as a dutiful son:and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king's mother; a magnificent seat or throne, as the word is, was ordered to be set for her:and she sat on his right hand; where he placed her in honour to her as his mother; so Nero {a} placed Tiridates king of Armenia at his right hand, to do him honour.{a} Suetonius in Vit. Neron. c. 13. 1 Kings 2:20Ver. 20. Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee,.... It was but one, and a little one, and therefore she hoped it would be granted:[I pray thee], say me not nay; do not refuse it, or deny it me, or turn away my thee with shame and disappointment:and the king said, ask on, my mother, for I will not say thee nay; since it is a small one, as thou sayest, and provided it is fit and lawful to be granted. 1 Kings 2:21Ver. 21. And she said, let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother to wife. For so Adonijah was by his father's side; and Bathsheba makes use of the relation, the more to move upon him to grant the request. 1 Kings 2:22Ver. 22. And King Solomon answered and said unto his mother,.... With as much gentleness and mildness as he could, but inwardly fired at her request, and amazed at it, and could not forbear using some degree of tartness and resentment:and why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? is this a small petition? is this a fit and lawful one?ask for him the kingdom also; for this is what he means by it, that by marrying the king's widow he may step into the throne whenever any opportunity offers, as any uneasiness, or insurrection in the kingdom, or the death of Solomon; for none but a king, the Jews say {b}, might marry a king's widow, not any private man; and therefore for Adonijah to ask this was interpreted affecting the kingdom, and aspiring to it, and taking his measures to obtain it; yea, it is said {c}, that none but another king, the successor, might make use of his servants, handmaids, and ministers; and it is observed, that Abishag was free to Solomon, but not to Adonijah:for he [is] mine elder brother; and has that to plead in his favour, and if he could obtain this, it would strengthen his title, or at least be a plausible pretence, which he might make use of, when opportunity served, to gain the people to his interest:even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah; she might as well ask for them as for him; whose interest it was, and therefore desirous it might be that he should be king, that so the one might be continued in the office of high priest, and the other as general of the army; who, Solomon knew, bore him no good will, but were secretly his enemies; and he suspected that this was a scheme of theirs, and that it was by their advice Adonijah made this request; so the Targum,"are not he, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the son of Zeruiah, in the counsel?''in this counsel; it is what they had consulted among themselves as a preparation to bring about a design they are contriving; probably Solomon had private notice that they were plotting against him, and this confirmed him in the truth of it; and therefore all of them were upon this punished with deprivation of office, or loss of life.{b} Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 2. sect. 2. {c} Maimon. Hilchot Sanhedrin, c. 2. sect. 1. 1 Kings 2:23Ver. 23. Then King Solomon sware by the Lord,.... To prevent his mother pressing him to have her petition granted:saying, God do so to me, and more also; lay such and such evils upon me, and more than I care to express:if Adonijah have not spoken this word against his own life; to his own prejudice, and even to the loss of his life; in which Solomon suggests it would issue, being a fresh overt act of treason; he knew, from what Bathsheba said, that this was his petition, and that he had spoken of this to her, and put her upon making it for him; and who no doubt related to Solomon the whole of the conversation that passed between them, and to which he seems to have some respect in his answer. 1 Kings 2:24Ver. 24. Now therefore, as the Lord liveth,.... Which is another oath; and one may easily perceive hereby in what a temper and disposition Solomon was, how warm, earnest, and vehement, how resolute against the petition, and how determined he was to punish Adonijah and his confederates:which hath established me, and set me upon the throne of David my father, and who hath made me an house, as he promised; who had placed him on his father's throne, and established him there, in spite of all his enemies, and had given him a firm and stable kingdom, which was not to be shaken and subverted by the power and policy of conspirators, according to the promise of God by Nathan, 2Sa 7:11;Adonijah shall be put to death this day; both for his former conspiracy, he only having had a reprieve, and which was to continue on his good behaviour, 1Ki 1:51, and for his fresh attempt in forming treasonable schemes to ascend the throne if possible; wherefore, being a dangerous man, and no longer to be trusted, Solomon was determined to dispatch him at once, and being established in his kingdom, he had nothing to fear from those in the conspiracy with him. 1 Kings 2:25Ver. 25. And King Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada,.... Orders to execute him, and proper persons to do it; perhaps some of the Cherethites and Pelethites under him, to assist at least in it:and he fell upon him, that he died; Benaiah rushed in upon him with his men, and thrust his sword into him, and killed him; executions used to be done in those times and countries by great personages, as the instances of Gideon, Doeg, and others, show, and not by common executioners. 1 Kings 2:26Ver. 26. And unto Abiathar the priest said the king,.... Who was either at court, or he sent for him, and thus addressed him:get thee to Anathoth; a city of the tribe of Benjamin, given to the priests, Jos 21:18; of which place Abiathar might be originally, and whither he is bid to return:unto thine own fields; which belonged to him there, either by inheritance or purchase; and these he was to mind, and not perform the functions of his office, however as high priest, and at Jerusalem, and the tabernacle there, and still less appear at court, or meddle with state affairs, only to attend to his private domestic concerns:for thou [art] worthy of death; in joining with Adonijah in the lifetime of David, and setting him up as a king without his knowledge, and in opposition to Solomon, contrary to the will of God, and promise of David, of which he, being high priest, cannot be thought to be ignorant, and for his late confederacy with Adonijah, of which Solomon had knowledge:but I will not at this time put thee to death; he does not give him a full pardon, only a respite; suggesting, that should he be guilty of any overt act, he would be put to death another time, though not now:because thou barest the ark of the Lord God before David my father; when he fled from Absalom, 2Sa 15:24;and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted; shared with him in all his afflictions under the persecutions of Saul, from the time he slew the priests at Nob, and at the rebellion of Absalom; in each of which he accompanied him, and suffered and sympathized with him. 1 Kings 2:27Ver. 27. So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the Lord,.... He deposed him from his office of high priest, otherwise I suppose he might officiate as a common priest, at least in some of the branches of it; this was done by his own authority as a king, and not as a prophet, as Bellarmine vainly distinguishes; and not by the authority of the college of the, priests, at the instance of Solomon, as Fortunatus Schacchus says {d} for which there is no foundation:that he might fulfil the word of the Lord; which he might do intentionally, having knowledge of it, or however eventually:which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh; of which house Abiathar was, and which, according to that prophecy, was to be demolished, and the priesthood translated from it, which was in the line of lthamar, to another house, in the line of Eleazar; the word of the Lord, referred to, is in 1Sa 2:31.{d} Elaeochrism. Myrothec. l. 3. c. 50. col. 1069. 1 Kings 2:28Ver. 28. Then tidings came to Joab,.... Of the death of Adonijah, and the deposition of Abiathar:for Joab had turned after Adonijah; publicly appeared at his feast, when he was saluted king by him, and others, and privately gave him advice in the affair of Abishag:though he turned not after Absalom; did not join with him in his rebellion, but faithfully adhered to David; and yet both in his lifetime, and after his death, acted the traitorous part in favour of Adonijah: Ben Gersom gives these words a different sense, as if he was blameworthy in both cases; that he turned after Adonijah to make him king, without consulting David, and having his consent; and he did not turn after Absalom, to deliver him from death, as David commanded him; but the former sense is best:and Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the Lord; which was at Gibeon, see 2Ch 1:3; it was four miles from Jerusalem to the north, situated on an hill {e}; according to Josephus {f}, it was forty furlongs, or five miles, from it; though Kimchi thinks it was the altar in Jerusalem he fled to, which was before the ark, in the tent David made for it; but that is never called the tabernacle of the Lord, only that of Moses: Joab's fleeing hither showed guilt, and that he was in the conspiracy of Adonijah, and was conscious he deserved to die, and now expected it, since Adonijah was put to death; while he remained reprieved or pardoned, he thought himself safe, but now in danger, and therefore fled for it:and caught hold of the horns of the altar; See Gill on "1Ki 1:50".{e} Bunting's Travels, &c. p. 98. {f} Antiqu. l. 7. c. 11. sect. 7. 1 Kings 2:29Ver. 29. And it was told King Solomon that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the Lord,.... This account was brought him very probably by some of his courtiers:and, behold, [he is] by the altar; to which he betook himself for refuge, laying hold on the horns of it:then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, go, fall upon him; slay him; Josephus {g} says, the orders were to cut off his head; but perhaps it might be only to lay hold on him, and take him thence, and bring him to Solomon to have judgment passed upon him; for the Targum is,"exercise your power over him,''take him into custody; and certain it is that the first orders were not to slay him, at least upon the spot where he was.{g} Antiqu. l. 8. c. 1. sect. 4. 1 Kings 2:30Ver. 30. And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the Lord,.... At Gibeon:and said unto him; that is, to Joab:thus saith the king, come forth; meaning, out of the tabernacle; which plainly shows that his orders were not to slay him in it:and he said, nay, but I will die here; since he must die, he chose to die there; but what was his reason for it is not so clear; the Jews, some of them, say, to save his goods, and that they might come to his heirs, which would have been forfeited to the crown if he had been tried and condemned in a court of judicature; others, that he might be buried with his ancestors, whereas, had he been sentenced to death by the court, he would have been buried in the common place of malefactors; but rather he thought, or at least hoped, he should not die at all; either that, by gaining time, Solomon might be prevailed upon to pardon him; or however that he would not defile that sacred place with his blood; or, if he should die, he chose to die there, as being a sacred place, and so might hope to receive some benefit from it, as to his future state, where sacrifices were offered to atone for sin:and Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, thus said Joab, and thus he answered me; told me he would not come out, and, if he must die, he would die there. 1 Kings 2:31Ver. 31. And the king said unto him, do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him,.... Let him die where he is, slay him upon the spot, and then bury him; not by the altar, but in his own sepulchre, as later related, that in, give orders to bury him there; for Benaiah being a priest, could not be concerned in the burial of him, and besides it was below the dignity of his office:(see Gill on "1Ch 27:2" where Gill advances resaons for Benaiah not being a priest. Editor.)that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father; which had been too long connived at, and had called for vengeance; and now here was a proper opportunity upon fresh sins committed to avenge it, and so remove the guilt, which lay upon him and his father's house, for not inflicting deserved punishment on him for it. 1 Kings 2:32Ver. 32. And the Lord shall return his blood upon his own head,.... By way of retaliation, blood for blood:who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he; later named; for though they had been in open rebellion against David, yet had submitted, and were reconciled and received into favour; and even their open crimes were not so bad, Solomon judged, as his secret treacherous murders of innocent persons in cool blood; they were men of more honour and integrity than he was, not so cruel and barbarous, though guilty in other respects:and slew them with the sword, my father not knowing [thereof]; this is observed to remove all suspicion, and which doubtless had been entertained by some, that David had an hand in their death; and that Joab did what he did with his knowledge and consent, and by his advice and order; they having been both concerned in rebellion against him, the one under Ishbosheth, and the other under Absalom:[to wit], Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah: the reason of the two hosts, of which they were captains or generals, being thus distinguished, is, because the tribes of Israel were on the side of Ishbosheth, whose general Abner was, in opposition to Judah, who made David their king; and, on the other hand, they were the men of Judah that were first and chiefly in the rebellion of Absalom, whose general Amasa was; of the murder of these two men by Joab, see 2Sa 3:27. 1 Kings 2:33Ver. 33. Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever,.... Not only upon Joab, but upon his posterity as long as there would be any; signifying, that Joab's death would not be a sufficient satisfaction, but the punishment of his murders would be continued to his offspring: see 2Sa 3:29;but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the Lord; such traitors and murderers being removed, peace and happiness might be expected and believed would attend the family and kingdom of David; whether this be considered as a prayer, or a prophecy, it can and will have its full accomplishment only in the kingdom of the Messiah the son of David, of the increase of whose government, and the peace thereof, there shall be no end, Isa 9:7. 1 Kings 2:34Ver. 34. So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up,.... To Gibeon, which was a great high place, 1Ki 3:4;and fell upon him, and slew him; at the altar; or, dragging him from it at some distance, drew his sword and slew him:and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness; not in his dwelling house strictly taken, but in a garden or field adjoining to it, which house in the wilderness; not a waste place uninhabited; for, as Kimchi observes, this word sometimes signifies a place uninhabited, though not tilled, but left for pasture of cattle; and in such a place might Joab's house be, at least his country house, where he might have a farm, and fields, and cattle, as it is plain he had, 2Sa 14:30. 1 Kings 2:35Ver. 35. And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host,.... Advanced him from being captain of his bodyguards to be general of the army:and Zadok the priest did he put in the room of Abiathar; from a common priest he promoted him to the high priesthood; whereby that office was restored to its ancient line, the family or Eleazar, having been in the line of Ithamar for many years; and the prediction of the destruction of Eli's house, made eighty years ago, began to be fulfilled, 1Sa 2:31. 1 Kings 2:36Ver. 36. And the king sent and called for Shimei,.... Who had cursed his father; he lived at Bahurim, in the tribe of Benjamin, and from thence he sent for him to him, 2Sa 16:5;and said unto him, build thee an house in Jerusalem and dwell there,and go not from thence any where; the orders were to remove from Bahurim to Jerusalem, where he was to provide himself a dwelling house, and there continue, and never go out of the city, at least not further on any side of it than it was to the brook Kidron, which was not more than half a mile from the city. This Solomon ordered, to prevent this man going about in the country sowing and stirring up sedition; and that he might be under his eye and notice, that should he commit any evil, and give him an opportunity of punishing him, he might do it as his father had directed him; and he might judge from the temper of the man, and indeed from the nature of men in general, that what they are forbidden they are the most prone unto, that he would transgress in this case, and give him an occasion against him. 1 Kings 2:37Ver. 37. For it shall be, [that] on the day thou goest out,.... Out of the city of Jerusalem: and passest over the brook Kidron: which is particularly mentioned, because this lay in his way to Bahurim, his native place; he must cross that to go to it, see 2Sa 15:23; and where it might reasonably be supposed he would some time or another be inclined to go, through business, or a desire to see it again:thou shalt know for certain that thou shall surely die: it may be depended on as what will be most certainly the case; no reprieve nor pardon will be granted:thy blood shall be on thine own head; fair warning being given, he could blame none but himself, should he be guilty and suffer. 1 Kings 2:38Ver. 38. And Shimei said unto the king, the saying [is] good,.... It was an act of goodness in the king, and what was good, grateful, and acceptable to him; for being sent for by him, and knowing how he had used his father, and hearing of several traitors being put to death, he expected this would have been his case; and wherefore, instead of being put to death, was only obliged to leave his habitation in the country, and come and live at Jerusalem, a pleasant and delightful city, and the metropolis of the nation, it was very agreeable to him:as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do; and he not only promised, but swore to it, which Solomon obliged him to, 1Ki 2:42;and Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days; he accordingly built or purchased a house in Jerusalem, and removed from Bahurim to it, where he lived for the space of three years, as follows. 1 Kings 2:39Ver. 39. And it came to pass, at the end of three years,.... He had dwelt at Jerusalem:that two of the servants of Shimei ran away to Achish the son of Maachah king of Gath; and they told Shimei, saying, behold, thy servant [be] in Gath; he being a churlish, ill-natured man, always cursing or beating them, or imposing too hard service upon them, or not allowing them the necessaries of life; wherefore they broke away from him, and fled to Gath, and put themselves under the protection of the king of that place, who was now at peace with Israel, and a tributary to them: if this Achish was the same that was David's friend, who sheltered him when persecuted by, Saul, he must be an old man; for that was between forty or fifty years ago; and as he seems to be, since he is called the son of Maoch, 1Sa 27:2; which may be thought to be the same with Maachah here. 1 Kings 2:40Ver. 40. And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants,.... And demand them; through the passion he was in with his servants, and his hurry to get them home, and the covetous disposition which prevailed on him, he might forget, or be tempted to neglect, the prohibition he was under not to go out of Jerusalem; or he might think Solomon had forgot it; or that he could come and go secretly without his knowledge; or if he should know of it, he might hope he would never punish him with death for so small a fault; however, so it was ordered by the providence of God leaving him to his own lust, and the temptations of Satan, that he might suffer just punishment for cursing David:and Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath; for the king being at peace with Israel, and a tributary to them also, did not choose to detain them, but delivered them up lest it should be resented, and bring him into trouble. 1 Kings 2:41Ver. 41. And it was told Solomon,.... By the spies he set to watch and observe his motions, or by some others who had seen him go out and return, and knew that it was contrary to the king's orders:that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again; which was thirty four miles from Jerusalem {h}; whereas his utmost bounds, whither he might go, was the brook Kidron, about half a mile from it.{h} Bunting's Travels, &c. p. 124. 1 Kings 2:42Ver. 42. And the king sent and called for Shimei,.... He sent messengers to him, and by them ordered him to come to him, who accordingly came:and he said unto him, did not I make thee swear by the Lord; which, though not before mentioned, was no doubt done, nor did Shimei deny it:and protested unto thee; that is, declared before witnesses:saying, know for certain, that on the day thou goest out; namely, out of the city of Jerusalem:and walkest abroad any whither; further at most than the brook Kidron, or any other place equally distant from Jerusalem, on any side of it; for when he went to Gath, he did not go over Kidron, but went the road the other way around. Kidron lay to the east, and Gath to the west of Jerusalem: now the protestation made to him was, that if he went out of Jerusalem any way,that thou shalt surely die; it would be sure and certain death to him:and thou saidst unto me, the word [that] I have heard [is] good; not only he promised to obey it, and that with an oath, but declared it was agreeable and acceptable to him, and therefore the offence was a very aggravated one. 1 Kings 2:43Ver. 43. Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the Lord,.... Which was made by him, and in his presence, and in which he was appealed to, and so by not keeping it was guilty of perjury:and the commandment that I have charged thee with? and so guilty of disobedience to him as his sovereign; for which two reasons he ought to die. 1 Kings 2:44Ver. 44. The king said moreover to Shimei,.... Not as another reason for his putting him to death, but to remind him of his former sins, and to observe to him the providence of God in suffering him to fall into others, that justice might take place upon him for them also:thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father; which conscience must bear witness to, and accuse him of, not only of the words and actions themselves uttered and done by him, but of the malice and wickedness from whence they sprung:therefore the Lord shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head; the punishment of it; which though not directly inflicted for that, yet in providence was brought about as a just retaliation for it. 1 Kings 2:45Ver. 45. And King Solomon [shall be] blessed,.... With a long and peaceable reign, and large dominions, notwithstanding all the attempts to make him unhappy:and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord for ever; the kingdom of David over Judah for a long time, in his natural line; and the kingdom of Israel, spiritual Israel, for ever in his son the Messiah; and that in the presence of the Lord, he observing, ordering, and succeeding all things to that purpose. 1 Kings 2:46Ver. 46. So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, which went out,.... From the presence of the king, and took Shimei with him to the proper place of execution, it not being fitting to execute him before the king:and fell upon him, that he died; put him to death by the sword:and the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon; Adonijah the usurper, and Joab the general of the army, who took on his side, being both put to death; and Abiathar the high priest deposed, who was in the same conspiracy; and Shimei, a dangerous and troublesome man, dispatched, there remained none to give any disturbance; so that he now sat easy and quiet on his throne, and things with respect to the civil government were on a firm and settled foundation.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.