1 Kingschapter 2

A.Be strong, and show thyself a man — David's charge and deathvv. 1-12

1 As the time drew near for David to die, he charged his son Solomon, 2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth. So be strong and prove yourself a man. 3 And keep the charge of the LORD your God to walk in His ways and to keep His statutes, commandments, ordinances, and decrees, as is written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you turn, 4 and so that the LORD may fulfill His promise to me: ‘If your descendants take heed to walk faithfully before Me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’ 5 Moreover, you know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether, the two commanders of the armies of Israel. He killed them in peacetime to avenge the blood of war. He stained with the blood of war the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet. 6 So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace. 7 But show loving devotion to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, because they stood by me when I fled from your brother Absalom. 8 Keep an eye on Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim who is with you. He called down bitter curses against me on the day I went to Mahanaim, but when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD: ‘I will never put you to the sword.’ 9 Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You know what you ought to do to him to bring his gray head down to Sheol in blood.” 10 Then David rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. 11 The length of David’s reign over Israel was forty years—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 12 So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was firmly established.

B.Adonijah asks for Abishag and loses his lifevv. 13-25

13 Now Adonijah son of Haggith went to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, and she asked, “Do you come in peace?” “Yes, in peace,” he replied. 14 Then he said, “I have something to tell you.” “Say it,” she answered. 15 “You know that the kingship was mine,” he said. “All Israel expected that I should reign, but the kingship has turned to my brother, for it has come to him from the LORD. 16 So now I have just one request of you; do not deny me.” “State your request,” she told him. 17 Adonijah replied, “Please speak to King Solomon, since he will not turn you down. Let him give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.” 18 “Very well,” Bathsheba replied. “I will speak to the king for you.” 19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. The king stood up to greet her, bowed to her, and sat down on his throne. Then the king had a throne brought for his mother, who sat down at his right hand. 20 “I have just one small request of you,” she said. “Do not deny me.” “Make your request, my mother,” the king replied, “for I will not deny you.” 21 So Bathsheba said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to your brother Adonijah as his wife.” 22 King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Since he is my older brother, you might as well request the kingdom for him and for Abiathar the priest and for Joab son of Zeruiah!” 23 Then King Solomon swore by the LORD: “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if Adonijah has not made this request at the expense of his life. 24 And now, as surely as the LORD lives—the One who established me, who set me on the throne of my father David, and who founded for me a dynasty as He promised—surely Adonijah shall be put to death today!” 25 So King Solomon sent the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who struck down Adonijah, and he died.

C.Abiathar banished; Joab dies gripping the horns of the altarvv. 26-35

26 Then the king said to Abiathar the priest, “Go back to your fields in Anathoth. Even though you deserve to die, I will not put you to death at this time, since you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before my father David, and you suffered through all that my father suffered.” 27 So Solomon banished Abiathar from the priesthood of the LORD and thus fulfilled the word that the LORD had spoken at Shiloh against the house of Eli. 28 When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah but not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the LORD and took hold of the horns of the altar. 29 It was reported to King Solomon: “Joab has fled to the tent of the LORD and is now beside the altar.” So Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down!” 30 And Benaiah entered the tent of the LORD and said to Joab, “The king says, ‘Come out!’” But Joab replied, “No, I will die here.” So Benaiah relayed the message to the king, saying, “This is how Joab answered me.” 31 And the king replied, “Do just as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so remove from me and from the house of my father the innocent blood that Joab shed. 32 The LORD will bring his bloodshed back upon his own head, for without the knowledge of my father David he struck down two men more righteous and better than he when he put to the sword Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army. 33 Their blood will come back upon the heads of Joab and his descendants forever; but for David, his descendants, his house, and his throne, there shall be peace from the LORD forever.” 34 So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up, struck down Joab, and killed him. He was buried at his own home in the wilderness. 35 And the king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada in Joab’s place over the army, and he appointed Zadok the priest in Abiathar’s place.

D.Shimei confined to Jerusalem, until the day he crossed the brookvv. 36-46

36 Then the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem and live there, but do not go anywhere else. 37 On the day you go out and cross the Kidron Valley, know for sure that you will die; your blood will be on your own head.” 38 “The sentence is fair,” Shimei replied. “Your servant will do as my lord the king has spoken.” And Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time. 39 After three years, however, two of Shimei’s slaves ran away to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. And Shimei was told, “Look, your slaves are in Gath.” 40 So Shimei saddled his donkey and set out to Achish at Gath in search of his slaves, and he brought them back from Gath. 41 When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned, 42 the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the LORD and warn you, ‘On the day you leave and go elsewhere, know for sure that you will die’? And you told me, ‘The sentence is fair; I will comply.’ 43 So why have you not kept your oath to the LORD and the command that I gave you?” 44 The king also said, “You know in your heart all the evil that you did to my father David. Therefore the LORD will bring your evil back upon your head. 45 But King Solomon will be blessed and David’s throne will remain secure before the LORD forever.” 46 Then the king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down, and he died. Thus the kingdom was firmly established in the hand of Solomon.

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Chapter summary

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David's last charge is a father's and a king's at once: 'I am going the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man' (2:2), keep the charge of Jehovah, and the promise of a man never cut off from the throne stands. Then the unfinished accounts: Joab, Shimei, and kindness to the sons of Barzillai. David sleeps with his fathers after forty years. Adonijah's request for Abishag reaches for the throne and costs him his life; Abiathar is deposed, fulfilling the word against Eli's house; Joab dies gripping the altar; Shimei crosses the Kidron he swore not to cross. 'The kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.'

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary and John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament.

Context

History · Jeremiah — 1 Kings overview

A. 1–12 Be strong, and show thyself a man — David's charge and death
B. 13–25 Adonijah asks for Abishag and loses his life
C. 26–35 Abiathar banished; Joab dies gripping the horns of the altar
D. 36–46 Shimei confined to Jerusalem, until the day he crossed the brook

Top cross-references8 chapters ▾

1 Kings 29 verses
- 1 Kings 2:6So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace.
- 1 Kings 2:8Keep an eye on Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim who is with you. He called down bitter curses against me on the day I went to Mahanaim, but when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD: ‘I will never put you to the sword.’
- 1 Kings 2:9Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You know what you ought to do to him to bring his gray head down to Sheol in blood.”
- 1 Kings 2:12So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was firmly established.
- 1 Kings 2:24And now, as surely as the LORD lives—the One who established me, who set me on the throne of my father David, and who founded for me a dynasty as He promised—surely Adonijah shall be put to death today!”
- 1 Kings 2:25So King Solomon sent the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who struck down Adonijah, and he died.
- Read 1 Kings 2: 3 more there →
1 Kings 18 verses
- 1 Kings 1:2So his servants said to him, “Let us search for a young virgin for our lord the king, to attend to him and care for him and lie by his side to keep him warm.”
- 1 Kings 1:3Then they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful girl, and they found Abishag the Shunammite and brought her to the king.
- 1 Kings 1:5At that time Adonijah, David’s son by Haggith, began to exalt himself, saying, “I will be king!” And he acquired chariots and horsemen and fifty men to run ahead of him.
- 1 Kings 1:7So Adonijah conferred with Joab son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, who supported him.
- 1 Kings 1:21Otherwise, when my lord the king rests with his fathers, I and my son Solomon will be counted as criminals.”
- 1 Kings 1:25For today he has gone down and sacrificed an abundance of oxen, fattened calves, and sheep, and has invited all the sons of the king, the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest. And behold, they are eating and drinking before him, saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’
- Read 1 Kings 1: 2 more there →
2 Samuel 162 verses
- 2 Samuel 16:5As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the family of the house of Saul was just coming out. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and as he approached, he kept yelling out curses.
- 2 Samuel 16:21Ahithophel replied, “Sleep with your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the palace. When all Israel hears that you have become a stench to your father, then the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.”
- Read 2 Samuel 16 →
2 Samuel 72 verses
- 2 Samuel 7:25And now, O LORD God, confirm forever the word You have spoken concerning Your servant and his house. Do as You have promised,
- 2 Samuel 7:27For You, O LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant when You said, ‘I will build a house for you.’ Therefore Your servant has found the courage to offer this prayer to You.
- Read 2 Samuel 7 →

4 more chapters this one speaks with

2 Samuel 32 verses
- 2 Samuel 3:7Meanwhile, Saul had a concubine named Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. So Ish-bosheth questioned Abner, “Why did you sleep with my father’s concubine?”
- 2 Samuel 3:27When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pulled him aside into the gateway, as if to speak to him privately, and there Joab stabbed him in the stomach. So Abner died on account of the blood of Joab’s brother Asahel.
- Read 2 Samuel 3 →
2 Samuel 182 verses
- 2 Samuel 18:2He sent out the troops, a third under Joab, a third under Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the troops, “I will surely march out with you as well.”
- 2 Samuel 18:5Now the king had commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, “Treat the young man Absalom gently for my sake.” And all the people heard the king’s orders to each of the commanders regarding Absalom.
- Read 2 Samuel 18 →
Ecclesiastes 82 verses
- Ecclesiastes 8:2Keep the king’s command, I say, because of your oath before God.
- Ecclesiastes 8:11When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing evil.
- Read Ecclesiastes 8 →
1 Chronicles 292 verses
- 1 Chronicles 29:23So Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in place of his father David. He prospered, and all Israel obeyed him.
- 1 Chronicles 29:26David son of Jesse was king over all Israel.
- Read 1 Chronicles 29 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.