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1 Kings 1:7

in 1 Kings 1

So Adonijah conferred with Joab son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, who supported him.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah helped him.

KJV

And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah helped him.

This verse in 1 Kings 1

Commentary

6 notes on this verse
Joab’s defection on this occasion, after his faithful adherence to David during the troubles caused by Absalom 2 Sam. 18:2-17, may be accounted for by his fear that Solomon would be a “man of rest” 1Ch 22:9 and by his preference for the character of Adonijah. He may also have thought that Adonijah, as the eldest son 1Ki 1:5, had almost a right to succeed. Abiathar’s defection is still more surprising than Joab’s. For his history, see 1Sa 22:20 note. Hereto, David and he had been the firmest of friends.

This site's exposition

Joab the son of Zeruiah

on 1 Kings 1:7-8

Two camps form around the old king while he is still breathing. Joab, David's own general, and Abiathar, priest since the days at Nob, side with Adonijah, while Zadok the priest, Benaiah, Nathan the prophet and David's mighty men do not. The split sets up the close of the next chapter, where Solomon puts Joab to death and expels Abiathar from the priesthood, discharging the sentence spoken against Eli's house at 1 Sam 2:27-36.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

proposed

They helped - Either because they thought the right of the crown was his: or to secure and advance their own interest. It seems God left them to themselves, to correct them for former miscarriages, with a rod of their own making.
And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

They could not propose any advantage to themselves by supporting Adonijah, for they were both at the top of their preferment and stood fast in it. They could not be ignorant of the entail of the crown upon Solomon, which it was not in their power to cut off, and therefore it was their interest to oblige him.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

And he conferred with Joab - Joab well knew, if he made the new king, he would necessarily be continued in the command of the army, and so govern him.

The words behind it

12 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.

  • וַיִּהְי֣וּand they were

    vaiyihyuH19613559 times

  • דְבָרָ֔יוwords his

    devaravH16971440 times

  • עִ֚םwith

    ʾimH59731050 times

  • יוֹאָ֣בJoab

    yoavH3097144 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H11214930 times

  • צְרוּיָ֔הZeruiah

    tzeruyahH687026 times

  • וְעִ֖םand with

    veimH59731050 times

  • אֶבְיָתָ֣רAbiathar

    ʾevyatarH5430 times

  • הַכֹּהֵ֑ןthe priest

    hakohenH3548750 times

  • וַֽיַּעְזְר֔וּand they helped

    vaiya'zeruH5826

  • אַחֲרֵ֖יafter

    ʾachareiH310715 times

  • אֲדֹנִיָּֽה׃Adonijah

    ʾadoniyahH13826 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 Chronicles 11:6

    Now David had said, “Whoever is the first to strike down a Jebusite will become chief commander.” And Joab son of Zeruiah went up first, and he became the chief.

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 8:16

      Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder;

    • 2 Samuel 20:23

      Now Joab was over the whole army of Israel; Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites;

  • Through

    2 Samuel 15:35

    Will not Zadok and Abiathar the priests be there with you? Report to them everything you hear from the king’s palace.

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 17:15–16

      So Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, “This is what Ahithophel has advised Absalom and the elders of Israel, and this is what I have advised.

  • Through

    1 Kings 2:22

    King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Since he is my older brother, you might as well request the kingdom for him and for Abiathar the priest…

    it leads to

    • 1 Chronicles 3:2

      the third was Absalom the son of Maacah daughter of King Talmai of Geshur; the fourth was Adonijah the son of Haggith;

    • 2 Samuel 12:8

      I gave your master’s house to you and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah, and if that was not enough, I would have given you…

    • Mark 10:38

      “You do not know what you are asking,” Jesus replied. “Can you drink the cup I will drink, or be baptized with the baptism I will undergo?”

  • Through

    2 Samuel 20:25

    Sheva was the scribe; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 4:4

      Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in charge of the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;

    • 2 Samuel 8:17

      Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was the scribe;

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies2

On this chapter

About 1 Kings

The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. 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); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.