The First Book of the Kings, commonly called the Third Book of the Kings
1 Kings 2
Chapter II · Vol. II, pp. 718–721
1 David, having given a charge to Solomon, 3 of religiousness, 5 of Joab, 7 of Barzillai, 8 of Shimei, 10 dieth. 12 Solomon succeedeth him. 13 Adonijah, moving Bathsheba to sue unto Solomon for Abishag, is put to death. 26 Abiathar, having his life spared, is deprived of the priesthood. 28 Joab fleeing to the horns of the altar is there slain. 35 Benaiah is put in Joab's room, and Zadok in Abiathar's. 36 Shimei, confined to Jerusalem, by occasion of going thence to Gath in defiance of the king's orders, is put to death.
1 Now the days of David drew nigh athat he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,
B.C. 1015.
2 I go bthe way of all the earth: cbe thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man;
b Jos.23.14. He.9.27. Job 30.23.
c Jos.1.7; 23.6. 1 Ch.29.20. Pr.16.32. 1 Ti.4.2. 2 Ti.2.1. 1 Co.16.13.
3 And dkeep the charge1 of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies,2 as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself;
d Jos.1.7. De.4.1; 29.9; 6.2; 17.18. Mal.4.4. 1 Ch.22.6-16; 28.9-21.
1 Keep his charge, i.e. what he has given thee to keep; walk in his ways and not in thine own; keep his statutes, receiving all his appointments as holy, just, and good; keep his commandments, doing what he bids, avoiding what he forbids; keep his judgments and his testimonies, for what he deems evil is evil, and what he calls good is good.—I.
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2 Testimonies, these chiefly signify those various forms in which God has borne witness to his Son Jesus Christ, whether by prophecy, miracle, type, declaration, or promise, 1 Jn.5.9.—C.
4 That the LORD may econtinue his word3 which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth, with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.
e 2 Sa.7.25,11-16. Ps.132.11,12. 1 Ch.22.13; 28.8,9. 2 Ti.4.5. Lu.1.6. De.6.5. 2 Ki.23.3,25. 1 Th.2.10.
3 His word of promise.—C.
5 Moreover, thou knowest also fwhat Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.
f 2 Sa.19.5,6; 3.27; 18.14,15; 20.10.
6 Do therefore gaccording to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace.4
g ver.9; ch.3.12. Pr.20.26. Ec.8.11,13. Is.65.20.
4 Joab, it will be remembered, was always 'too strong' for David. Being at the head of the army, David was never able to bring him to justice for his murders. He does not now, therefore, revengefully seek his destruction, but to his mightier successor commends the legal investigation and punishment of his crimes. C.——Hales says, 'David did not advise Solomon to put Joab to death absolutely or unconditionally. His words imply, Though you have now pardoned Joab through policy, and as I was compelled to do myself, by the exigency of the times, and the predominate influence of the sons of Zeruiah, yet should he offend again, act according to your discretion, and then punish him as a hoary murderer and confirmed traitor with death.'—I.
7 But hshow kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table: for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother.
h 2 Sa.19.31-38; 9.10; 17.28,29. Lu.22.28-30. Pr.27.10.
8 And, behold, thou hast with thee iShimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous5 curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: kbut he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.
9 Now therefore lhold him not guiltless: for thou art a mwise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood.6
l Ex.20.7; 22.28. Job 9.28. 2 Sa.19.23.
m ver.6; ch.3.12.
6 By rendering literally, and not idiomatically, the translators here have misrepresented the meaning, and thereby exposed the character of David. When the first member of a sentence in Hebrew contains not, it is frequently omitted, while implied and required in the second. For examples, see Ps. 1?. 5; 9. 18; 38. 1. Accordingly the charge should stand, 'but his hoar head bring thou not down to the grave with blood.' And it is evident that Solomon so understood him; for while he sentenced Joab to death, ver. 31, he merely confined Shimei to Jerusalem, ver. 36, where his conduct might be under the royal surveillance, and his seditious spirit restrained.—C.
10 So nDavid slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.
n ch.1.21. Ac.2.29; 13.36. 2 Sa.5.7. 1 Ch.29.28.
11 And othe days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.
o 2 Sa.5.4; 2.11. 1 Ch.29.26-30; 3.4.
12 Thenp sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly.
p ch.1.46. 2 Sa.7.12,13. Ps.132.12. 1 Ch.29.23-25.
13 And qAdonijah the son of Haggith came to Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon: and she said, Comest thou rpeaceably? And he said, Peaceably.
q ch.1.5-11,51-53.
14 He said moreover, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And she said, Say on.
15 And he said, Thou knowest sthat the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother's; for tit was his from the LORD .
16 And now I ask one petition of thee, udeny me not. And she said unto him, Say on.
u Heb. turn not away my face, ver.17,20.
17 And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king, (for he will not say thee nay,) that he give me xAbishag the Shunammite to wife.
19 Bath-sheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king zrose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king's mother; and she sat on his aright hand.
20 Then she said, I desire7 one small petition of thee; I pray thee, say me not nay. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother; for I will not8 say thee nay.9
7 She saw nothing important involved in the request, and the law, Le. 18. 8, did not seem to apply where the woman had only acted as a nurse. Bathsheba, however, might have suspected something from the manner in which Adonijah had spoken to her of the loss of the succession, 'when all Israel had set their faces on him that he should reign,' ver. 15. Solomon was at no loss to discover his latent motive, and acted accordingly.—I.
8 If it be proper to grant it.
9 Did Solomon break or keep his word on this occasion? He kept it. 'Ask on, my mother, I will not say thee,' (as a mother loving her son, and therefore seeking his good) 'I will not say thee nay.' But she spoke as one deceived, over reached, and rendered an unintentional accomplice in seeking his hurt—to the loving mother he would not say nay—to the deceived intercessor he refuses.—C.
22 And king Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him cthe kingdom also; (for he is mine elder brother;) even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.1
c 2 Sa.3.7; 12.8; 16.21. To get the late king's wife, or concubine, was a step to the throne.
1 Solomon was doubtless cognizant of a plot amongst the parties to render Adonijah's marriage with the Shunammite, the first step to the throne. So far, however, as the narrative reveals the facts, we are unable to justify the severity of Solomon. But while ignorant of all the circumstances of the conspiracy, and the guilty intentions and acts of the parties (see ver. 26), neither can we unreservedly condemn him.—C.
23 Then king Solomon sware by the LORD, saying, dGod do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah have not spoken this word against his own life.
d Ru.1.17. 1 Sa.14.44. 2 Sa.3.9,35; 19.13. ch.20.10. 2 Ki.6.31.
24 Now therefore, eas the LORD liveth, which hath established me, and fset me on the throne of David my father, and who hath gmade me an house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be hput to death this day.
e ch.1.29; ver.12.
f ch.10.9. 1 Ch.22.10; 28.5; 29.23.
g Ex.1.21. 1 Sa.25.28. 2 Sa.7.12,13,27. Ps.127.1.
h Pr.21.30. Ec.8.11,13.
25 And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he ifell upon him2 that he died.
i 2 Sa.1.15; 4.12. Ju.8.20,21. ver.34,46.
2 Probably being attended by guards. Death was often inflicted by military officers and not by common executioners. 'When a great man,' says Thevenot, 'is doomed by the sultan to die, the capidgi, or officer who executes such orders, is sent to him with some assistants, and showing his orders, strangles him and cuts off his head.'—I.
26 And unto Abiathar the priest said the king, Get kthee to Anathoth, unto thine own fields; for thou art lworthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou mbarest the ark of the LORD God before David my father, and nbecause thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted.
27 So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD; that he might fulfilo the word of the LORD which he spake concerning the house of Eli in pShiloh.3
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o 1 Sa.2.33-36; 3.12-14. Mat.13.35. Jn.12.38.
p Jos.18.1. Ps.78.60. Je.7.12,14.
3 Thus was fulfilled the prophetic threatening, 1 Sa. 2. 30-36. Abiathar was the last priest descended from Ithamar. Zadok, his successor, was of the family of Eleazar.—C.
28 Then tidings came to Joab; (for qJoab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom:) and Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD, and rcaught hold on the horns of the altar.
q ch.1.7, with 2 Sa.18.2,14,15.
r ch.1.50. Ex.21.14.
29 And it was told king Solomon that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD; and, behold, he is by the altar: then Solomon ssent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him.
s ver.25,46. 2 Sa.1.15; 4.12. Ju.8.20,21.
30 And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here.4 And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.
4 There is something very striking in so bad a man taking refuge in the tabernacle, not as a sanctuary where he might escape punishment, but as a place where he might die. Similar instances, however, are still common in point of fact—when wicked men superstitiously seek refuge in rites and ceremonies, and to avoid condemnation by purchase, not by grace and conversion to the Lord, Mat.18.3. Ro.5.1; 8.1. Ep.2.8.—C.
31 And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and tfall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father.
32 And the LORD shall ureturn his blood upon his own head, who fell upon xtwo men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing thereof, 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.
33 Their blood yshall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but zupon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the LORD.
34 So aBenaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him:5 and he was buried in his own house in the bwilderness.6
a ver.25,46.
5 God decreed (Ex. 21. 12-14) that the presumptuous murderer who had taken refuge at his altar should be dragged thence and put to death.—I.
6 'It is usual now,' says Roberts, 'in some parts of the East, for parents or children to build a house, often a splendid one, in some lonely spot, for the purpose of there depositing their dead.'—I.
35 And the king cput Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host: and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar.
c Ps.109.8. Nu.25.11,13. 1 Sa.2.35. 1 Ch.6.50; 24.3. ver.27. But Abiathar was still called priest, ch.4.4.
36 And the king sent and called for Shimei,d and said unto him, Build thee an house in eJerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither.7
d 2 Sa.16.5-9. ver.8,9.
e Pr.20.8,26; 21.3.
7 'No doubt Solomon suspected that Shimei's influence would be dangerous upon his own estate, and among his numerous dependants in different parts of the land, and therefore he proposed to him, as the condition of his indemnity for former crimes, that he should live in Jerusalem under his eye, and by no means remove thence. These terms Shimei readily agreed to, and solemnly sware to observe, and for three years he lived unmolested and in affluence. But growing secure, in contempt of Solomon's authority and of the oath of God, upon an unnecessary business he took a journey, which, according to his own engagement, forfeited his life. Thus the Lord left him to be infatuated, that due punishment might be inflicted upon him, in order that every ringleader of opposition to Solomon's kingdom might be crushed, and others be intimidated by their examples; and that his throne might be established in peace as the type of the Redeemer's kingdom of peace and righteousness.'—Scott.
37 For it shall be, that on the day thou goest out, and passest over the fbrook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die: gthy blood shall be upon thine own head.
38 And Shimei said unto the king, hThe saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do.8 And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.
h ch.20.4. 2 Ki.20.19.
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8 From 2 Sa.19.17 it is evident that Shimei was a powerful prince in Benjamin, for his followers were a thousand warriors. His confinement to Jerusalem was therefore a prudent precaution, and Jerusalem being in the neighbourhood of his own tribe and estate, the sentence was most lenient and favourable.—C.
39 And it came to pass at the end of three years,9 that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto iAchish, son of Maachah king of Gath: and they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants be in Gath.
40 And Shimei karose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants: and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath.
41 And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again.
42 And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, lDid I not make thee to swear by the LORD, and protested unto thee, saying, Know for a certain, that on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, that thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst unto me, The word that I have heard is good.
43 Why then hast thou not kept mthe oath of the LORD, and the commandment that I have charged thee with?1
m Ex.22.11. Ec.8.2. Eze.17.18,19.
1 Perjury and disobedience were two heinous crimes—but Shimei seems to have been an actual conspirator against Solomon, as well as against David, for it is not until after his death that the tranquillity of Solomon's reign seems to have been established. See ver.46.—C.
44 The king said moreover to Shimei, nThou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, othat thou didst to David my father: therefore the LORD shall preturn thy wickedness upon thine own head;
45 And king Solomon shall be qblessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever.
q Nu.25.11,12. Ps.lxxii. Is.9.6,7. ver.33.
Notes
[Ver. 1. At the very close of his life we observe a striking revival alike of David's early spirit and early piety. With a vigour and ability worthy of his best days, he put down the attempt to transfer the succession to Adonijah, although favoured by Joab, the commander-in-chief of the army, and for years the leading man in the kingdom. Every trace of weakness, fear, and submission to the will of others had now disappeared from the mind of David. His trust was in God alone; and fully conscious of pardon, acceptance, and divine guidance, he regarded not the opposition of one who had so long swayed the destinies of the empire. His 'last words' too, and his charge to Solomon, show not only the full power of his poetic genius, but show also that the Spirit of God inspired him with thoughts purer, holier, and more sublime than those of earth. P.]
Reflections.—Happy are they who die in the Lord, encouraging their survivors to their proper duty! But none can be faithful to God without holy courage answerable to their station. In the way of obedience to God's precepts we may expect the fulfilment of his promises. And all, especially magistrates, ought to be careful in executing justice upon offenders, and discharging the obligations of gratitude. Some, however happy their lot, cannot rest till they ruin themselves; and the most dangerous designs have often fair pretences. While such as mean no ill themselves are, by the craft of others, rendered instruments of ambition. Such, therefore, who have the ear of princes ought carefully to consider their request, lest they abuse their influence to the hurt of their benefactor. No station should protect criminals from justice. And often the awakening of their guilty conscience, and punishment of their sins, meet them in a time and manner which they never expected. But while kindness to God's suffering saints ought to be remembered even in criminals, nothing must satisfy for murder but the blood of the guilty. Wicked men entail a curse on their posterity: and negligent magistrates must bear the sin of those crimes which they are not duly careful to avenge: for the due execution of justice is the establishment of their throne. Men ruin themselves by sinning against their own mercies. Our heart contains much wickedness, to which only God and our conscience are privy. And dreadful is the account to which God will call men at last for their perjury and other sins.—But in David I behold a lively figure of Jesus, God's chosen One; the man according to his own heart, born in Bethlehem, and who fulfils all his counsels. How amazing his fidelity, meekness, humility, faith in God, love to him, zeal for his honour, and devout intimacy with him! Thrice—in his conception, at his baptism, and in his ascension—he was plentifully anointed with the Holy Ghost to his arduous and extensive office. He is the living head of all faithful people who are made kings and priests unto God. He is our sweet Psalmist, who tunes our hearts and indites our songs of praise. He is our great Prophet and King, who instructs, forms, and governs his church, the Israel of God. Through debasement, labour, reproach, and temptations on every side—and all endured with holy courage, steady regard to his Father's love, full resignation to his will, and firm confidence of a happy issue—he entered into his kingdom and glory. How skilful, prudent, kind, and righteous is he in governing his subjects! and how active in framing and fixing the worship of God, preparing the temple above for his people, and them for it! All his faithful soldiers are such as, convinced of their spiritual guiltiness, pollution, poverty, and debt, have been led to enlist in his service. His mighties, prophets, apostles, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, by the whole armour of God, particularly the sword of the Spirit, do marvellous exploits. He himself defeated the lions, the bears, the giants of hell. He fulfilled the law, destroyed death and the grave: and by the gospel he persuades the nations to the obedience of faith, and puts all the faithful in the full possession of their promised blessings.