1 Kings 2:25
in 1 Kings 2So King Solomon sent the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who struck down Adonijah, and he died.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And king Solomon sent by Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him, so that he died.
KJV
And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him that he died.
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This verse in 1 Kings 2
Commentary
7 notes on this verseSome people blame Solomon because he killed his brother. Now the ways of life of people are different. Some of them certainly practice the highest form of philosophy; others pursue that virtue which is called political or civil; others manage the kingdom or hold power …
This site's exposition
ask for him the kingdom also
on 1 Kings 2:22-25
Solomon reads Abishag's request the way 2 Samuel 16:20-22 read Absalom's, a claim on the throne dressed as a family favor, and in the same breath names Abiathar and Joab as the men who had already backed Adonijah's first attempt at 1 Kings 1:7. God do so to me, and more also is Solomon's own oath of self-cursing, and it was his from the Lord in Adonijah's mouth at verse 15 is answered by who hath made me an house, as he promised in Solomon's mouth here. Benaiah carries out the sentence the same day, with no gap between the word and the deed anywhere in this chapter.
This site's exposition
who struck down Adonijah
Adam Clarke called the killing of Adonijah an act of cruelty. Theodoret of Cyrus answered those who blamed Solomon by noting that a king's way of life differs from a philosopher's. John Gill notes that great men such as Gideon and Doeg carried out executions in person, as Benaiah does here.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And King Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada,.... Orders to execute him, and proper persons to do it; perhaps some of the Cherethites and Pelethites under him, to assist at least in it: and he fell upon him, that he died; Benaiah rushed in upon him with his men, and thrust his sword into him, and killed him; executions used to be done in those times and countries by great personages, as the instances of Gideon, Doeg, and others, show, and not by common executioners.
28 Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the L ORD , and caught hold on the horns of the altar. 29 And it was told king Solomon that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the L ORD ; and, behold, he is by the altar.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:93%@v28-29
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Solomon sent - Benaiah - and he fell upon him that he died. - Benaiah seems to have been the public state executioner, and yet he was generalissimo of all the forces. See him employed in a similar work, 1Ki 2:34 (note), 1Ki 2:46 (note). I suppose him to have been such another general as Suwarrow, butcher-general of the Turks and Poles to the late Empress Catharine of Russia: like mistress, like man. But they have long since been called to an impartial tribunal. That this was an act of cruelty towards Adonijah, needs no proof.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
God do so to me, and more also--the common form of introducing a solemn oath. if Adonijah have not spoken this word against his own life--Whether there was a treasonable design to conceal under this request or not, the act, according to Eastern notions, was criminal, and of dangerous consequence to the state.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁלַח֙ | vaiyishlach | and he sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹ֔ה | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| בְּיַ֖ד | beyad | by [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| בְּנָיָ֣הוּ | benayahu | Benaiah | H1141 → | 42 times |
| בֶן־ | ven- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יְהוֹיָדָ֑ע | yehoyada' | Jehoiada | H3077 → | 51 times |
| וַיִּפְגַּע־ | vaiyifga'- | and he fell | H6293 → | 46 times |
| בּ֖וֹ | bo | on him | ||
| וַיָּמֹֽת׃ ס | vaiyamot | and he died | H4191 → | 839 times |
וַיִּשְׁלַח֙and he sent
vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times
הַמֶּ֣לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
שְׁלֹמֹ֔הSolomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
בְּיַ֖דby [the] hand of
beyadH3027 →1618 times
בְּנָיָ֣הוּBenaiah
benayahuH1141 →42 times
בֶן־[the] son of
ven-H1121 →4930 times
יְהוֹיָדָ֑עJehoiada
yehoyada'H3077 →51 times
וַיִּפְגַּע־and he fell
vaiyifga'-H6293 →46 times
בּ֖וֹon him
bo
וַיָּמֹֽת׃ סand he died
vaiyamotH4191 →839 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 Samuel 15:33But Samuel declared: “As your sword has made women childless, so your mother will be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the LORD at Gilgal.
it leads to
- Matthew 7:2
For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Judges 1:7
Then Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have gathered the scraps under my table. As I have done to them, so God has repaid me.” And they brought…
- Genesis 9:6
Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.
- Matthew 7:2
Through
1 Kings 2:31And the king replied, “Do just as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so remove from me and from the house of my father the innocent blood that Joab shed.
it leads to
- Numbers 35:33
Do not pollute the land where you live, for bloodshed pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land on which the blood is shed, except by the blood of the…
- Deuteronomy 21:8–9
Accept this atonement, O LORD, for Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, and do not hold the shedding of innocent blood against them.” And the bloodshed will be atoned for.
- Numbers 35:33
Through
2 Samuel 8:18Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were priestly leaders.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 30:14
We raided the Negev of the Cherethites, the territory of Judah, and the Negev of Caleb, and we burned down Ziklag.”
- 1 Samuel 30:14
Through
1 Kings 2:46Then the king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down, and he died. Thus the kingdom was firmly established in the hand of Solomon.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 2:12
So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was firmly established.
- 2 Chronicles 1:1
Now Solomon son of David established himself securely over his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him and highly exalted him.
- 1 Kings 2:12
About 1 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodoret of Cyrus, QUESTIONS 7, ON 1 KINGS.