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1 Kings 2:17

in 1 Kings 2

Adonijah replied, “Please speak to King Solomon, since he will not turn you down. Let him give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king (for he will not say thee nay), that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife.

KJV

And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king, (for he will not say thee nay,) that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife.

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This verse in 1 Kings 2

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

That he give me Abishag - to wife - He cheerfully gives up all right to the kingdom, and only desires to have this young woman, who, though she had been his father’s wife or concubine, was still in a state of virginity. Some think that Joab and Abiathar had advised Adonijah to make this application, not doubting, if he got Abishag, that the popular tide would again turn in his favor, and that Solomon, whom they did not like, might soon be deposed; and that it was on this account that Solomon was so severe.

This site's exposition

one petition of thee

on 1 Kings 2:16-18

Adonijah asks for Abishag the Shunammite, the young woman brought to warm David in his old age at 1 Kings 1:1-4 but never known by him, and the request carries royal weight in the ancient world, where a former king's concubine passing to his successor could stand as a claim on the throne, the reading Absalom acted on publicly at 2 Samuel 16:20-22. Bathsheba agrees to carry the petition without raising that danger, whether she misses it or simply leaves Solomon to judge it himself.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And he said, speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

The right hand is the place of honor; and as it expressly said to have been assigned to "the king's mother," it is necessary to remark that, when a husband dies, his widow acquires a higher dignity and power, as a mother over her son, than she ever possessed before. Besides, the dignity of "king's mother" is a state office, to which certain revenues are attached.

The words behind it

16 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.

  • וַיֹּ֗אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • אִמְרִי־speak

    ʾimri-H559 →5305 times

  • נָא֙please

    na'H4994 →404 times

  • לִשְׁלֹמֹ֣הto Solomon

    lishlomohH8010 →291 times

  • הַמֶּ֔לֶךְthe king

    hamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • כִּ֥יfor

    kiH3588 →4482 times

  • לֹֽא־not

    lo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • יָשִׁ֖יבhe will turn away

    yashivH7725 →1056 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • פָּנָ֑יִךְface your

    panayikhH6440 →2123 times

  • וְיִתֶּן־so he may give

    veyiten-H5414 →2011 times

  • לִ֛יto me

    li

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • אֲבִישַׁ֥גAbishag

    ʾavishagH49 →5 times

  • הַשּׁוּנַמִּ֖יתthe Shunammite

    hashunamitH7767 →8 times

  • לְאִשָּֽׁה׃to a wife

    leishahH802 →781 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

6 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

1 Kings 1:2–4So his servants said to him, “Let us search for a young virgin for our lord the king, to attend to him and care for him and lie by his side to keep him warm.”2 works2 Samuel 12:8I 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 even more.2 works2 Samuel 3:7Meanwhile, Saul had a concubine named Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. So Ish-bosheth questioned Abner, “Why did you sleep with my father’s concubine?”2 works2 Samuel 16:21Ahithophel replied, “Sleep with your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the palace. When all Israel hears that you have become a stench to your father, then the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.”2 worksGenesis 23:8“If you are willing for me to bury my dead,” he said to them, “listen to me, and approach Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf2 worksJoshua 19:18Their territory included Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem,2 works

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

    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…

    it leads to

    • Psalms 84:11

      For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.

    • Romans 8:32

      He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?

    • 2 Samuel 9:7

      “Do not be afraid,” said David, “for surely I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you…

    • 2 Samuel 5:5

      In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.

    • 2 Samuel 7:19

      And as if this was a small thing in Your eyes, O Lord GOD, You have also spoken about the future of the house of Your servant. Is this Your custom with man, O…

  • Through

    2 Samuel 3:7

    Meanwhile, Saul had a concubine named Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. So Ish-bosheth questioned Abner, “Why did you sleep with my father’s concubine?”

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 21:8–11

      But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons whom Rizpah daughter of Aiah had borne to Saul, as well as the five sons whom Merab daughter of Saul had borne to Adriel…

    • 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…

    • 2 Samuel 16:21–22

      Ahithophel replied, “Sleep with your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the palace. When all Israel hears that you have become a stench to your father, then the hands of all who…

About 1 Kings

The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
1 Kings: the study guide →Read 1 Kings 2 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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.

Read on in 1 Kings 2 →