1 Kings 1:7
in 1 Kings 1So 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.
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This verse in 1 Kings 1
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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
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,....
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
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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּהְי֣וּ | vaiyihyu | and they were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| דְבָרָ֔יו | devarav | words his | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| עִ֚ם | ʾim | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| יוֹאָ֣ב | yoav | Joab | H3097 → | 144 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| צְרוּיָ֔ה | tzeruyah | Zeruiah | H6870 → | 26 times |
| וְעִ֖ם | veim | and with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| אֶבְיָתָ֣ר | ʾevyatar | Abiathar | H54 → | 30 times |
| הַכֹּהֵ֑ן | hakohen | the priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| וַֽיַּעְזְר֔וּ | vaiya'zeru | and they helped | H5826 → | |
| אַחֲרֵ֖י | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| אֲדֹנִיָּֽה׃ | ʾadoniyah | Adonijah | H138 → | 26 times |
וַיִּהְי֣וּand they were
vaiyihyuH1961 →3559 times
דְבָרָ֔יוwords his
devaravH1697 →1440 times
עִ֚םwith
ʾimH5973 →1050 times
יוֹאָ֣בJoab
yoavH3097 →144 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
צְרוּיָ֔הZeruiah
tzeruyahH6870 →26 times
וְעִ֖םand with
veimH5973 →1050 times
אֶבְיָתָ֣רAbiathar
ʾevyatarH54 →30 times
הַכֹּהֵ֑ןthe priest
hakohenH3548 →750 times
וַֽיַּעְזְר֔וּand they helped
vaiya'zeruH5826 →
אַחֲרֵ֖יafter
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
אֲדֹנִיָּֽה׃Adonijah
ʾadoniyahH138 →26 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 Chronicles 11:6Now 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;
- 2 Samuel 8:16
Through
2 Samuel 15:35Will 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.
- 2 Samuel 17:15–16
Through
1 Kings 2:22King 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?”
- 1 Chronicles 3:2
Through
2 Samuel 20:25Sheva 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;
- 1 Kings 4:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
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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 (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
