1 Kings 2:13

2:12-25 Solomon received Bathsheba with all the respect that was owing to a mother; but let none be asked for that which they ought not to grant. It ill becomes a good man to prefer a bad request, or to appear in a bad cause. According to eastern customs it was plain that Adonijah sought to be king, by his asking for Abishag as his wife, and Solomon could not be safe while he lived. Ambitious, turbulent spirits commonly prepare death for themselves. Many a head has been lost by catching at a crown.

And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon,.... Into her apartment; Abarbinel thinks it was a few days after the death of David: and she said, comest thou peaceably? in a friendly manner, with no ill design, only to pay a friendly visit; for she might fear he came to avenge himself on her, and destroy her, because she had been the instrument of disappointing him of the kingdom, and of getting her son Solomon set upon the throne, and established in it; and therefore could not tell what envy, rage, and disappointment, might prompt him to: and he said, peaceably; he meant no harm unto her.

1 Kings 2:13-15 . She said, Comest thou peaceably? — Or with some evil design against me or my son? which she might well suspect, knowing his ambition and envy at Solomon, and his hatred against her, as the chief cause of his being cast down from his aspiring views and high hopes. He said, Thou knowest that the kingdom is mine — Both by right of primogeniture and actual inauguration. And all Israel set their faces on me — They looked on me as their king and my father’s successor, and expected that he would confirm my election. He pretends that the generality of the people favoured his views, and wished him to be king. Howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother’s — Is translated from me to him by the vicissitude of human affairs, and the changeable humour of the people. For it was his from the Lord — Either, 1st, By God’s providence so disposing David’s mind, and the people’s hearts: or rather, 2d, By God’s appointment, and particular designation: wherein he seems to acquiesce, affectionately terming Solomon his brother, that he might deceive both her and him into a belief that he was far from any design of usurping the government.

(13) And Adonijah . . . came. —The application of Adonijah to Bath-sheba, and the signs of honour paid to her by the king—of which there is no trace in her approach to the presence of David ( 1Kings 1:15-16 ; 1Kings 1:28 ; 1Kings 1:31 )—illustrate the universal custom of Eastern monarchies; by which, while the wives of the king, being many, are seldom held to be of any great political account, the mother of the reigning king is a person of great dignity and influence. We may notice how constantly the name of each king’s mother is recorded in the history.

13–25 . Adonijah asks for Abishag to wife and is put to death by Solomon (Not in Chronicles) 13 . Comest thou peaceably ] There was the same sort of alarm in Bath-sheba’s mind as was in those of the people of Bethlehem when Samuel came to visit Jesse before David was anointed ( 1 Samuel 16:4 ), when the elders of the town trembled. She expected no good from any scheme of Adonijah’s, and her question refers more to the national welfare than to her personal concerns.

13-18. Adonijah … came to Bath-sheba—Her question to him betrays an apprehension which his recent conduct might well warrant; but his pious acknowledgment of the divine will seemed apparently to indicate so entire an acquiescence in the settlement of the succession [1Ki 2:15], that, in her womanly simplicity, she perceived not the deep cunning and evil design that was concealed under his request and readily undertook to promote his wishes.

Verse 13. - And Adonijah, the son of Haggith, came to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon. [The LXX. adds καὶ προσεκύνησεν αὐτη , but the words are probably inserted from ver. 19. The historian now relates the plot of Adonijah and its defeat. Foiled in his purpose to mount the throne by direct means, Adonijah and his advisers have recourse to intrigue and subtlety. By the aid of Abishag, he hopes to accomplish what his chariots and horsemen ( 1 Kings 1:5 ) had failed to effect. And he first addresses himself to the queen mother ( "Aggreditur mulierem, ut regnandi ignaram ira amoribus facilem." Grotius). The position of the queen dowager m the Hebrew kingdom was an influential one; not unlike that of the Valide sultana amongst the Ottomans. Hence the constant mention of each king's mother ( 1 Kings 14:31 ; 1 Kings 15:10 , where notice ver. 13; 2 Kings 11:1 ; 2 Kings 12:1 ; 2 Kings 14:2 ; 2 Kings 15:2 , etc.; hence, too, the part which such a queen mother as Athaliah found it possible to take. This pre-eminence was a natural result of the polygamy of Eastern sovereigns (and the consequent intrigues of the harem), coupled with the high estimation in which the mother was held in the East.] And she said, Comest thou peaceably. [Heb. Is it peace thy coming! Bathsheba was evidently surprised by his visit. Owing to the part he had taken against her son, there would naturally have been but few dealings, if not positive alienation, between them.

Her first thought, consequently, is, "What can this coming mean?" The prominence of the idea of peace in all Eastern salutations has often been noticed. Cf. 1 Samuel 16:4 ; 2 Kings 9:22 ; 2 Kings 4:26 ; 2 Kings 5:21 ; Luke 10:5 ; John 20:19-21 , etc.] And he said, Peaceably [Heb. peace. ] 1 Kings 2:13

Adonijah forfeits his life. - 1 Kings 2:13-18 . Adonijah came to Bathsheba with the request that she would apply to king Solomon to give him Abishag of Shunem as his wife. Bathsheba asked him, "Is peace thy coming?" i.e., comest thou with a peaceable intention? (as in 1 Samuel 16:4 ), because after what had occurred ( 1 Kings 1:5 .) she suspected an evil intention. He introduced his petition with these words: "Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had set its face upon me that I should be king, then the kingdom turned about and became my brother's; for it became his from the Lord." The throne was his, not because he had usurped it, but because it belonged to him as the eldest son at that time, according to the right of primogeniture. Moreover it might have been the case that many of the people wished him to be king, and the fact that he had found adherents in Joab, Abiathar, and others, confirms this; but his assertion, that all Israel had set its eyes upon him as the future king, went beyond the bounds of truth.