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1 Kings 1:33

in 1 Kings 1

“Take my servants with you,” said the king. “Set my son Solomon on my own mule and take him down to Gihon.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the king said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon:

KJV

The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon:

This verse in 1 Kings 1

Commentary

9 notes on this verse

A commentator

Ishodad of Merv

BOOKS OF SESSIONS 1 KINGS 1:33 · Written before 850.

[David] orders [Zadok, Nathan and Benaiah] to make "Solomon ride [his] mule," because this animal was highly valued among the Hebrews, just like the white donkey among the Romans. The Jews, in fact, did not possess mules, since they were not allowed to "breed their …

This site's exposition

Call in for me Zadok the priest

on 1 Kings 1:32-33

David summons the three men Adonijah's guest list had excluded, Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet and Benaiah. Solomon is to ride the king's own mule, a mount reserved to the reigning king. Riding it to Gihon is itself a public claim before a word of ceremony is spoken.

This site's exposition

take him down to Gihon

Adam Clarke and John Gill take the servants to be the royal guard, the Cherethites and Pelethites under Benaiah. John Wesley offers three reasons for Gihon. It lay apart from Adonijah's party, made a public answer to his claim, and was a gathering place large enough for the crowd.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Ishodad of Merv

BOOKS OF SESSIONS 1 KINGS 1:33 · Written before 850.

proposed

[David] orders them to bring [Solomon] down to Šiloha, where the tabernacle was, not far from the spring of water, which is called Šiloha. Šiloha is a Hebrew name, which is given because the water of the spring gushes out straight up and on and …

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

And the king said unto them, take ye the servants of your lord,.... Meaning his own servants, his bodyguards, the Cherethites and Pelethites, as appears from 1Ki 1:38; the Jews (a) from hence gather, that a king is superior to an high priest, since David calls himself the lord of Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet: and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule; for it seems on such a creature David used to ride, as did his sons; horses not being so common in Judea as they were afterwards.

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

This place David chose, either, as remote from Adonijah and his company, that so the people might be there without fear of tumults or bloodshed; or, to shew that Solomon was chosen king in opposition to Adonijah: or, because this was a place of great resort, and fit to receive and display that numerous company, which he knew would follow Solomon thither.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Mules and horses seem to have been first employed by the Israelites in the reign of David, and the use of the former was at first confined to great personages 2Sa 13:29; 2Sa 18:9. The rabbis tell us that it was death to ride on the king’s mule without his permission; and thus it would be the more evident to all that the proceedings with respect to Solomon had David’s sanction.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule--Directions were forthwith given for the immediate coronation of Solomon. A procession was to be formed by the "servants of their lord"--that is, the king's bodyguard.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Take with you the servants of your lord - By these we may understand the kings guards, the guards of the city, the Cherethites and Pelethites, who were under the command of Benaiah; and in short, all the disposable force that was at hand. Solomon - to ride upon mine own mule - No subject could use any thing that belonged to the prince, without forfeiting his life. As David offered Solomon to ride on his own mule, this was full evidence that he had appointed him his successor.

The words behind it

20 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.

  • וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • הַמֶּ֜לֶךְthe king

    hamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • לָהֶ֗םto them

    lahem

  • קְח֤וּtake

    kechuH3947 →966 times

  • עִמָּכֶם֙with you

    ʾimakhemH5973 →1050 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • עַבְדֵ֣י[the] servants of

    ʾavdeiH5650 →799 times

  • אֲדֹנֵיכֶ֔םlord<s> your

    ʾadoneikhemH113 →333 times

  • וְהִרְכַּבְתֶּם֙and you will cause to ride

    vehirkavtemH7392 →78 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • שְׁלֹמֹ֣הSolomon

    shelomohH8010 →291 times

  • בְנִ֔יson my

    veniH1121 →4930 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • הַפִּרְדָּ֖הthe mule

    hapirdahH6506 →3 times

  • אֲשֶׁר־which

    ʾasher-H834 →5497 times

  • לִ֑י[belongs] to me

    li

  • וְהוֹרַדְתֶּ֥םand you will take down

    vehoradtemH3381 →381 times

  • אֹת֖וֹ<obj.> him

    ʾotoH853 →10935 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • גִּחֽוֹן׃Gihon

    gichonH1521 →6 times

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

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 Kings 1:38

    Then Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, along with the Cherethites and Pelethites, went down and set Solomon on King David’s mule, and they escorted him to Gihon.

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 8:18

      Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were priestly leaders.

    • 1 Kings 1:8

      But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and David’s mighty men would not join Adonijah.

  • Through

    2 Chronicles 33:14

    After this, Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David from west of Gihon in the valley to the entrance of the Fish Gate, and he brought it around the hill of…

    it leads to

    • Nehemiah 3:3

      The Fish Gate was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah. They laid its beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.

    • 2 Chronicles 27:3

      Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the house of the LORD, and he worked extensively on the wall at the hill of Ophel.

    • Zephaniah 1:10

      On that day,” declares the LORD, “a cry will go up from the Fish Gate, a wail from the Second District, and a loud crashing from the hills.

    • Nehemiah 12:39

      over the Gate of Ephraim, the Jeshanah Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate. And they stopped at the Gate of…

  • Through

    2 Chronicles 32:30

    It was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Spring of Gihon and channeled it down to the west side of the City of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all that he did.

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 1:45

      Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon, and they have gone up from there with rejoicing that rings out in the city. That is the noise you hear.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Psalms 1:1–3

      Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.

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.

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); F. W. Farrar, The First Book of Kings (Expositor's Bible); Ishodad of Merv, BOOKS OF SESSIONS 1 KINGS 1:33; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Keil, The Books of the Kings.