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1 Kings 1:23

in 1 Kings 1

So the king was told, “Nathan the prophet is here.” And Nathan went in and bowed facedown before the king.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And they told the king, saying, Behold, Nathan the prophet. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.

KJV

And they told the king, saying, Behold Nathan the prophet. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.

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This verse in 1 Kings 1

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Adonijah, in common with the people generally, expected that this natural arrangement should be followed in the Hebrew kingdom as in all others. Nathan, who was aware of the old king's solemn promise to Solomon, and, moreover, that this promise was sanctioned by the divine will, saw that no time was to be lost.

This site's exposition

while Bathsheba was still speaking with the king

on 1 Kings 1:22-23

While Bathsheba is still speaking, Nathan arrives exactly as he promised, the second witness taking his place while the first is still in the room. He bows himself to the ground before the king, the same posture of full submission David alone commands in this chapter.

This site's exposition

Nathan the prophet is here

The prophet is announced before he enters. John Gill suggests the servants spoke up so that the failing king would know Nathan had come into the room. Nathan bows to a man lying in bed with the reverence due to a king on his throne.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Athanasius of Alexandria

296–373

Discourses Against the Arians 2.3-4 · Written before 373.

proposed

Thus fathers often call their sons their servants, yet without denying the genuineness of their nature. In fact, they often affectionately call their own servants children, yet without losing sight of the fact they did purchase them originally. For they use the one appellation from their authority as fathers, but in the other they speak from affection. Thus Sara called Abraham lord, although she was not a servant but a wife.

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And they told the king,.... Some that attended at the door, or were in the chamber: saying, behold, Nathan the prophet; or he is in the room, which the king through his infirmities might not be sensible of: and when he was come in before the king; nearer to him, and as to be properly in his presence: he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground; showing him the same reverence, though in bed, as if on his throne.

The words behind it

14 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיַּגִּ֤ידוּand people told

    vaiyagiduH5046 →370 times

  • לַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙to the king

    lamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying

    lemorH559 →5305 times

  • הִנֵּ֖הhere!

    hinehH2009 →843 times

  • נָתָ֣ןNathan

    natanH5416 →41 times

  • הַנָּבִ֑יאthe prophet

    hanavi'H5030 →314 times

  • וַיָּבֹא֙and he came

    vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times

  • לִפְנֵ֣י<to> before

    lifneiH6440 →2123 times

  • הַמֶּ֔לֶךְthe king

    hamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • וַיִּשְׁתַּ֧חוּand he bowed down

    vaiyishtachuH7812 →172 times

  • לַמֶּ֛לֶךְto the king

    lamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • אַפָּ֖יוface his

    ʾapavH639 →

  • אָֽרְצָה׃[the] ground towards

    ʾaretzahH776 →2504 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

7 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

1 Kings 1:16And Bathsheba bowed down in homage to the king, who asked, “What is your desire?”2 works1 Peter 2:17Treat everyone with high regard: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.2 worksRomans 13:7Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.2 works1 Chronicles 17:1After David had settled into his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of the covenant of the LORD is under a tent.”2 works2 Samuel 12:25and sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah because the LORD loved him.2 worksProverbs 28:23He who rebukes a man will later find more favor than one who flatters with his tongue.2 works
The other 1 cross-references, with their words ▾
Proverbs 9:8Do not rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    1 Peter 2:17

    Treat everyone with high regard: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

    it leads to

    • Proverbs 24:21

      My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not associate with the rebellious.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Romans 12:10

      Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.

    • Romans 13:7

      Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.

    • 1 Peter 5:5

      Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

  • Through

    Romans 13:7

    Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.

    it leads to

    • Luke 20:25

      So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

    • 1 Peter 2:17–18

      Treat everyone with high regard: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

    • Matthew 17:25

      “Yes,” he answered. When Peter entered the house, Jesus preempted him. “What do you think, Simon?” He asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs and taxes: from their own sons,…

    • 1 Timothy 5:17

      Elders who lead effectively are worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.

Where this verse is studied

About 1 Kings

The visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon, Sir Edward John Poynter, 1890. Public domain.
The visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon, Sir Edward John Poynter, 1890. Public domain.
1 Kings: the study guide →Read 1 Kings 1 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Athanasius of Alexandria, Discourses Against the Arians 2.3-4; F. W. Farrar, The First Book of Kings (Expositor's Bible); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).

Read on in 1 Kings 1 →