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:
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This verse in 1 Kings 1
Commentary
5 notes on this verse[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 me Zadok the priest
on 1 Kings 1:32-33
David summons the same three men Adonijah's guest list had excluded, Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet and Benaiah, and gives the order himself rather than leaving it to Bathsheba or Nathan alone. Solomon is to ride the king's own mule, a mount reserved to the reigning king and never shared with a rival claimant. Riding it to Gihon is itself a public claim before a word of ceremony is spoken.
The record, by era
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.
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 Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| לָהֶ֗ם | lahem | to them | ||
| קְח֤וּ | kechu | take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| עִמָּכֶם֙ | ʾimakhem | with you | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַבְדֵ֣י | ʾavdei | [the] servants of | H5650 → | 799 times |
| אֲדֹנֵיכֶ֔ם | ʾadoneikhem | lord<s> your | H113 → | 333 times |
| וְהִרְכַּבְתֶּם֙ | vehirkavtem | and you will cause to ride | H7392 → | 78 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹ֣ה | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| בְנִ֔י | veni | son my | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַפִּרְדָּ֖ה | hapirdah | the mule | H6506 → | 3 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לִ֑י | li | [belongs] to me | ||
| וְהוֹרַדְתֶּ֥ם | vehoradtem | and you will take down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| אֹת֖וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| גִּחֽוֹן׃ | gichon | Gihon | H1521 → | 6 times |
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 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
1 Kings 1:38Then 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.
- 2 Samuel 8:18
Through
2 Chronicles 33:14After 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…
- Nehemiah 3:3
Through
2 Chronicles 32:30It 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.
- 1 Kings 1:45
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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); F. W. Farrar, The First Book of Kings (Expositor's Bible); Ishodad of Merv, BOOKS OF SESSIONS 1 KINGS 1:33; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Keil, The Books of the Kings.