1 Kings 1:31
in 1 Kings 1Bathsheba bowed facedown in homage to the king and said, “May my lord King David live forever!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did obeisance to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever.
KJV
Then Bath–sheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever.
⋯
This verse in 1 Kings 1
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
A lower and humbler obeisance than before 1Ki 1:16. In the Assyrian sculptures ambassadors are represented with their faces actually touching the earth before the feet of the monarch.
This site's exposition
I certainly do this day
on 1 Kings 1:30-31
David repeats the earlier promise nearly word for word, that Solomon shall reign and sit on his throne in his stead, and closes it, even so will I certainly do this day, turning a private oath into a public act. Bathsheba's answer is not thanks but a subject's blessing on the king who still reigns, let my lord king David live for ever, the standard court formula. The moment the promise is renewed is also the moment the throne visibly still belongs to David and to no one else.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king,....
The express orders he gave for the proclaiming of Solomon. The persons he entrusted with this great affair were Zadok, Nathan, and Benaiah, men of power and interest whom David had always reposed a confidence in and found faithful to him, and whom Adonijah had passed by in his invitation,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Then king David answered and said, Call me Bath-sheba--He renews to her the solemn pledge he had given, in terms of solemnity and impressiveness which show that the aged monarch had roused himself to the duty the emergency called for. SOLOMON, BY DAVID'S APPOINTMENT, IS ANOINTED KING.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתִּקֹּ֨ד | vatikod | and she bowed low | H6915 → | |
| בַּת־ | bat- | Bath- | H1339 → | 20 times |
| שֶׁ֤בַע | sheva' | -sheba | H1339 → | 20 times |
| אַפַּ֙יִם֙ | ʾapayim | face | H639 → | |
| אֶ֔רֶץ | ʾeretz | ground | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וַתִּשְׁתַּ֖חוּ | vatishtachu | and she bowed down | H7812 → | 172 times |
| לַמֶּ֑לֶךְ | lamelekh | to the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וַתֹּ֕אמֶר | vatomer | and she said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְחִ֗י | yechi | may he live | H2421 → | 282 times |
| אֲדֹנִ֛י | ʾadoni | lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
| הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| דָּוִ֖ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| לְעֹלָֽם׃ פ | leolam | for ever | H5769 → | 438 times |
וַתִּקֹּ֨דand she bowed low
vatikodH6915 →
בַּת־Bath-
bat-H1339 →20 times
שֶׁ֤בַע-sheba
sheva'H1339 →20 times
אַפַּ֙יִם֙face
ʾapayimH639 →
אֶ֔רֶץground
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
וַתִּשְׁתַּ֖חוּand she bowed down
vatishtachuH7812 →172 times
לַמֶּ֑לֶךְto the king
lamelekhH4428 →2525 times
וַתֹּ֕אמֶרand she said
vatomerH559 →5305 times
יְחִ֗יmay he live
yechiH2421 →282 times
אֲדֹנִ֛יlord my
ʾadoniH113 →333 times
הַמֶּ֥לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
דָּוִ֖דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
לְעֹלָֽם׃ פfor ever
leolamH5769 →438 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Daniel 2:4Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “O king, may you live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”
it leads to
- Daniel 5:10
Hearing the outcry of the king and his nobles, the queen entered the banquet hall. “O king, may you live forever!” she said. “Do not let your thoughts terrify you, or your face grow…
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Daniel 3:9
saying to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, may you live forever!
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Daniel 6:21
Then Daniel replied, “O king, may you live forever!
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Ezra 4:7
And in the days of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. It was written in Aramaic and then translated.
- Isaiah 36:11
Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Do not speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on…
- Daniel 5:10
Through
Nehemiah 2:3and replied to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should I not be sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by…
it leads to
- Daniel 2:4
Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “O king, may you live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Nehemiah 1:3
And they told me, “The remnant who survived the exile are there in the province, in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”
- Daniel 2:4
Through
Daniel 3:9saying to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, may you live forever!
it leads to
- Daniel 6:6
So the administrators and satraps went together to the king and said, “O King Darius, may you live forever!
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Daniel 6:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About 1 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.