1 Kings 1:40
in 1 Kings 1All the people followed him, playing flutes and rejoicing with such a great joy that the earth was split by the sound.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them.
KJV
And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them.
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This verse in 1 Kings 1
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe people piped with pipes - They danced, sang, and played on what instruments of music they possessed. The earth rent - We use a similar expression in precisely the same sense: They rent the air with their cries.
This site's exposition
rejoiced with great joy
on 1 Kings 1:40-41
The people follow Solomon up from Gihon with pipes and such joy that the ground seems to split with the noise, a coronation the size of a nation rather than a faction's feast. Adonijah's guests hear it from En-rogel, close enough to Gihon that Joab recognizes a trumpet the moment it sounds and asks why the city is in an uproar. The two feasts sit near enough that one crowd's celebration reaches the other crowd's ears before any messenger arrives.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
No time was lost, but Solomon was brought in state to the place appointed, and there Zadok (who, though he was not as yet high priest, was, we may suppose, the suffragan, the Jews called him the sagan, or second priest) anointed him by the direction of Nathan the prophet and David the king,
This is the noise that ye have heard. 46 And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the kingdom. 47 And moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, God make the name of Solomon better than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
And all the people came up after him,.... Following him from the fountain to the city, with their loud acclamations: and the people piped with pipes; which were hollow instruments, and full of holes which they blew with their mouths, and upon with their fingers; Jarchi says they were and very probably: and rejoiced with great joy; which they expressed by such loud shouts: so that the earth rent with the sound thereof; an hyperbolical expression, showing the great numbers gathered together on this occasion, and the sonorous acclamations they made.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Piped with pipes - Some prefer “danced with dances” - a meaning which the Hebrew would give by a change in the pointing, and the alteration of one letter. But the change is unnecessary. (Flutepipes were known to the Israelites 1Sa 10:5; they were very ancient in Egypt, and were known also to the Assyrians. The earth rent - If the present Hebrew text is correct we have here a strong instance of Oriental hyperbole. But it is suspected that there is a slight corruption, and that the verb really used meant “resounded.”
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּעֲל֤וּ | vaiyaalu | and they went up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעָם֙ | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אַֽחֲרָ֔יו | ʾacharav | after him | H310 → | 715 times |
| וְהָעָם֙ | vehaam | and the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| מְחַלְּלִ֣ים | mechalelim | [were] playing [the] flute | H2490 → | |
| בַּחֲלִלִ֔ים | bachalilim | with flutes | H2485 → | |
| וּשְׂמֵחִ֖ים | usemechim | and joyful | H8056 → | 21 times |
| שִׂמְחָ֣ה | simchah | joy | H8057 → | |
| גְדוֹלָ֑ה | gedolah | great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| וַתִּבָּקַ֥ע | vatibaka' | and it was split open | H1234 → | |
| הָאָ֖רֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| בְּקוֹלָֽם׃ | bekolam | by noise their | H6963 → | 506 times |
וַיַּעֲל֤וּand they went up
vaiyaaluH5927 →890 times
כָל־all
khol-H3605 →5413 times
הָעָם֙the people
haamH5971 →1873 times
אַֽחֲרָ֔יוafter him
ʾacharavH310 →715 times
וְהָעָם֙and the people
vehaamH5971 →1873 times
מְחַלְּלִ֣ים[were] playing [the] flute
mechalelimH2490 →
בַּחֲלִלִ֔יםwith flutes
bachalilimH2485 →
וּשְׂמֵחִ֖יםand joyful
usemechimH8056 →21 times
שִׂמְחָ֣הjoy
simchahH8057 →
גְדוֹלָ֑הgreat
gedolahH1419 →526 times
וַתִּבָּקַ֥עand it was split open
vatibaka'H1234 →
הָאָ֖רֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
בְּקוֹלָֽם׃by noise their
bekolamH6963 →506 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
Zechariah 9:9Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of…
it leads to
- Matthew 21:4–7
This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
- Zephaniah 3:14–15
Sing for joy, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem!
- John 12:13–16
They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting: “Hosanna!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the King of Israel!”
- Zechariah 2:10
“Shout for joy and be glad, O Daughter of Zion, for I am coming to dwell among you,” declares the LORD.
- Jeremiah 23:5–6
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
- Matthew 21:4–7
Through
Psalms 97:1The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the distant shores be glad.
it leads to
- Psalms 96:10–11
Declare among the nations: “The LORD reigns!” The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity.
- Psalms 99:1
The LORD reigns; let the nations tremble! He is enthroned above the cherubim; let the earth quake!
- Colossians 1:13
He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son,
- Psalms 96:10–11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
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About 1 Kings
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); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.