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1 Kings 2:19

in 1 Kings 2

So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. The king stood up to greet her, bowed to her, and sat down on his throne. Then the king had a throne brought for his mother, who sat down at his right hand.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Bath-sheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a throne to be set for the king’s mother; and she sat on his right hand.

KJV

Bath–sheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king’s mother; and she sat on his right hand.

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This verse in 1 Kings 2

Commentary

4 notes on this verse
A seat - Or, “a throne.” We have here a proof of the high dignity of the Queen-mother. Compare also 1Ki 15:13; 2Ki 11:1-3. In the Persian court the Queen-mother had often the chief power.

This site's exposition

who sat down at his right hand

on 1 Kings 2:19-21

Solomon rises to meet his mother and seats her at his right hand, the one place in Scripture where a queen mother receives that honor. Solomon bows to Bathsheba before he refuses her request. The refusal is weighed on its own merits rather than on whose mouth carried it.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Solomon received her with all the respect that was due to a mother, though he himself was a king: He rose up to meet her, bowed himself to her, and caused her to sit on his right hand, according to the law of the fifth commandment.
Bathsheba therefore went unto King Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah,....

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

To speak to him. To speak on his behalf, on behalf of Adoniyahu. 11 Alternatively, on behalf of Shlomo, because she felt that Shlomo’s kingdom would be strengthened by granting Adoniyahu’s request.—Malbim.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on I Kings 2:19:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

24 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.

  • וַתָּבֹ֤אand she went

    vatavo'H935 →2568 times

  • בַת־Bath-

    vat-H1339 →20 times

  • שֶׁ֙בַע֙-sheba

    sheva'H1339 →20 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • הַמֶּ֣לֶךְthe king

    hamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • שְׁלֹמֹ֔הSolomon

    shelomohH8010 →291 times

  • לְדַבֶּר־to speak

    ledaber-H1696 →1141 times

  • ל֖וֹto him

    lo

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • אֲדֹנִיָּ֑הוּAdonijah

    ʾadoniyahuH138 →26 times

  • וַיָּקָם֩and he rose

    vaiyakamH6965 →628 times

  • הַמֶּ֨לֶךְthe king

    hamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • לִקְרָאתָ֜הּto meet her

    likratahH7122 →139 times

  • וַיִּשְׁתַּ֣חוּand he bowed down

    vaiyishtachuH7812 →172 times

  • לָ֗הּto her

    lah

  • וַיֵּ֙שֶׁב֙and he sat

    vaiyeshevH3427 →1079 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • כִּסְא֔וֹthrone his

    kisoH3678 →135 times

  • וַיָּ֤שֶׂםand he placed

    vaiyasemH7760 →584 times

  • כִּסֵּא֙a throne

    kise'H3678 →135 times

  • לְאֵ֣םfor [the] mother of

    leemH517 →220 times

  • הַמֶּ֔לֶךְthe king

    hamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • וַתֵּ֖שֶׁבand she sat

    vateshevH3427 →1079 times

  • לִֽימִינֽוֹ׃to right [hand] his

    liminoH3225 →140 times

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

Related verses

12 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.

Psalms 45:9The daughters of kings are among your honored women; the queen stands at your right hand, adorned with the gold of Ophir.8 worksExodus 20:12Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.8 worksProverbs 31:28Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband praises her as well:7 worksLeviticus 19:32You are to rise in the presence of the elderly, honor the aged, and fear your God. I am the LORD.3 worksGenesis 31:35Rachel said to her father, “Sir, do not be angry that I cannot stand up before you; for I am having my period.” So Laban searched, but could not find the household idols.3 worksExodus 18:7So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and went into the tent.3 works
The other 6 cross-references, with their words ▾
1 Kings 15:13He also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley.2 worksLeviticus 19:3Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must keep My Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.2 worksPsalms 110:1The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”2 worksMatthew 20:21“What do you want?” He inquired. She answered, “Declare that in Your kingdom one of these two sons of mine may sit at Your right hand, and the other at Your left.”2 worksGenesis 48:12Then Joseph removed his sons from his father’s knees and bowed facedown.2 worksMatthew 25:33He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.1 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

    Exodus 20:12

    Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

    it leads to

    • Ephesians 6:1–3

      Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Colossians 3:20

      Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord.

    • Deuteronomy 5:16

      Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the…

    • Mark 7:10

      For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’

    • Proverbs 23:22–25

      Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.

  • Through

    Leviticus 19:3

    Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must keep My Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.

    it leads to

    • Exodus 20:12

      Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

    • Exodus 20:8

      Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

  • Through

    Leviticus 19:32

    You are to rise in the presence of the elderly, honor the aged, and fear your God. I am the LORD.

    it leads to

    • 1 Timothy 5:1

      Do not rebuke an older man, but appeal to him as to a father. Treat younger men as brothers,

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies1

About 1 Kings

The visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon, Sir Edward John Poynter, 1890. Public domain.
The visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon, Sir Edward John Poynter, 1890. Public domain.
1 Kings: the study guide →Read 1 Kings 2 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Alfred Edersheim, Bible History: Old Testament; 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 →