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1 KINGS 2

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

 NASB  NKJV  NRSV  TEV   NJB
(MT versing)
David's Charge to Solomon David's Instructions to Solomon The Death of David and the Elimination of Rivals to the Reign of Solomon David's Last Instructions to Solomon David's Testament
2:1-4 2:1-9 2:1-4 2:1-4 2:1-4
2:5-9 2:5-9 2:5-6 2:5-9
2:7
2:8-9
Death of David Death of David The Death of David Death of David
2:10-12 2:10-12 2:10-12 2:10-12 2:10-11
The Death of Adjonijah
Solomon Executes Adonijah The Death of Adjonijah 2:12
2:13-18 2:13-18 2:13-18 2:13-16 2:13-25
2:17
Adonijah Executed 2:18
2:19-25 2:19-25 2:19-25 2:19-20
2:21
2:22-24
2:25
Abiathar Exiled, Joab Executed Abiathar's Banishment and Joab's Death The Fate of Abiathar and Joab
2:26-27 2:26-27 2:26-27 2:26-27 2:26-27
Joab Executed
2:28-35 2:28-35 2:28-35 2:28-30 2:28-35
2:31-33
2:34-35
Shimei Executed Shimei Executed The Death of Shimei Disobedience and Death of Shimei
2:36-38 2:36-38 2:36-38 2:36-37 2:36-38
2:38
2:39-46 2:39-46 2:39-46a 2:39-45 2:39-41
2:42-46
2:46b 2:46

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

  1. First paragraph
  2. Second paragraph
  3. Etc.

CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS

  1. David admonishes his son, Solomon, to walk in the Mosaic covenant. If he does (notice the conditional element, v. 4), then the promise of 2 Samuel 7; 1 Chronicles 17 will come to pass.

  2. David asks Solomon to take care of some unfinished issues with people.
    1. Joab ‒ 1 Kgs. 2:5-6, 28-34
    2. Barzillai ‒ 1 Kgs. 2:7
    3. Shimei ‒ 1 Kgs. 2:8-9,36-46

  3. Solomon is forced to deal death to both Adonijah (vv. 19-25) and Shimei (vv. 36-46), as well as exile to Abiathar (vv. 26-27).

  4. In light of other ANE cultures, Solomon acted very compassionately toward his enemies.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 2:1-4
  1As David's time to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying, 2"I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man. 3Keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, according to what is written in the Law of Moses, that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn, 4so that the Lord may carry out His promise which He spoke concerning me, saying, 'If your sons are careful of their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.'

2:1 This verse implies both a divine plan and knowledge of the time of death for David. Death is in the hand of YHWH, not Satan. To those who know YHWH, death is a friend, not a foe (i.e., Ps. 116:15)!

2:2 "I am going the way of all the earth" This is an acknowledgment of the common experience of death for all fallen mankind (i.e., Josh. 23:14). Only two escaped it.

  1. Enoch (Gen. 5:21-24)
  2. Elijah (2 Kgs. 2:11-14)

There are three deaths mentioned in the Bible.

  1. spiritual death ‒ Gen. 2:17; 3; Isa. 59:2; Rom. 7:10-11; James 1:15
  2. physical death ‒ Gen. 2:16-17; 3:4-5; 5
  3. eternal death ‒ Rev. 2:11; 20:6,14; 21:8

▣ "Be strong" This VERB (BDB 304, KB 302, Qal PERFECT with waw) was used

  1. by Moses to Joshua ‒ Deut. 31:7,23
  2. by YHWH to Joshua ‒ Josh. 1:6,7,9,18
  3. by Joshua to Israel ‒ Josh. 10:25
  4. by YHWH to David ‒ 1 Chr. 22:13
  5. by David to Solomon ‒ here; 1 Chr. 28:20
  6. by Azariah to Asa ‒ 2 Chr. 15:7
  7. by Hezekiah to Judah ‒ 2 Chr. 32:7
  8. by Isaiah to the weak-faithed ‒ Isa. 35:4
  9. by an angel to Daniel ‒ Dan. 10:19
  10. by Haggai to Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the people ‒ Hag. 2:4
  11. by Zechariah to returning Judah ‒ Zech. 8:9,13

The people of faith's strength is in the promises and presence of their covenant God. It is a faith worldview!

2:3 The covenant has both promises (v. 4; 1 Kgs. 3:14; 1 Chr. 22:13) and requirements. It is conditional (notice the "if" of v. 4; also note the conditional implications of Deut. 4:40,44-45; 5:1,33; 11:1-17; 17:14-20). See SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT.

A good way to illustrate this is in 1 Sam. 2:30, where YHWH promises Eli that his house will serve Him "forever," but because of several things that happened with Eli's sons and descendants, that promise is abrogated in 1 Kgs. 2:26-27.

This is the same type of theological issues that occur when assurance texts are quoted without any reference to the obedience and perseverance texts. Biblical faith is both a promise from God and a lifestyle faith/faithfulness (i.e., James 2:14-26).

▣ "keep" See SPECIAL TOPIC: KEEP.

▣ "the Lord" See SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY, D.

▣ "to walk" This is a biblical idiom of faithful living out of one's covenant faith. YHWH's covenant requirements were like a well marked path. Stay on the path!

▣ "ways. . .statutes. . .commandments. . .ordinances. . .testimonies" These are all synonyms for YHWH's guidelines.

SPECIAL TOPIC: TERMS FOR GOD'S REVELATION

▣ "according to what is written in the Law of Moses" See SPECIAL TOPIC: MOSES' AUTHORSHIP OF THE PENTATEUCH

2:4 This warning reflects YHWH's words to David in 2 Samuel 7; 1 Chronicles 17.

Notice the conditions.

  1. careful to walk before YHWH in truth/ faithfulness
  2. with all their heart
  3. with all their soul/life

There are positive or negative consequences to lifestyle choices (cf. Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28; Psalm 1). This is called "the two ways" (cf. Deuteronomy 30).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 2:5-9
  5"Now you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed; he also shed the blood of war in peace. And he put the blood of war on his belt about his waist, and on his sandals on his feet. 6So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to Sheol in peace. 7But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table; for they assisted me when I fled from Absalom your brother. 8Behold, there is with you Shimei the son of Gera the Benjamite, of Bahurim; now it was he who cursed me with a violent curse on the day I went to Mahanaim. But when he came down to me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, saying, 'I will not put you to death with the sword.' 9Now therefore, do not let him go unpunished, for you are a wise man; and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you will bring his gray hair down to Sheol with blood."

2:5 The day of reckoning for Joab's past inappropriate murderous acts has come.

  1. Abner ‒ 2 Samuel 3; 1 Kgs. 2:32
  2. Amasa ‒ 2 Samuel 20; 1 Kgs. 2:32

The last phrase of this verse could mean

  1. Joab gloried in his actions
  2. Joab's actions brought guilt and accusations to David

It was one thing to kill in battle but quite another to plan premeditated murder.

SPECIAL TOPIC: MURDER

2:6 "Sheol" See SPECIAL TOPIC: SHEOL.

2:7 The kindness of Barzillai, the Gileadite, is recorded in 2 Sam. 17:27-29; 19:31-38.

For "kindness" (hesed, BDB 338) see SPECIAL TOPIC: LOVINGKINDNESS (hesed).

2:8-9 The account of Shimei's violent cursing is found in 2 Sam. 16:5-8. He tried to apologize in 2 Sam. 19:18-23. For the sake of unity among the tribes, David decided to accept it.

2:8
NASB  "violent curse"
NKJV  "malicious curse"
NRSV, NJB  "terrible curse"
TEV, REB  "cursed me bitterly"
JPSOA  "insulted me outrageously"
LXX  "painful curse"
Peshitta  "grievous curses"

The MT has a VERB (BDB 886, KB 1103, Piel PERFECT plus a Hiphil PARTICIPLE). It could refer to

  1. the accusation that David was behind the murder of Ishbosheth and possibly Abner
  2. David's family being cursed (i.e., his kingdom) with blood guiltiness

2:9 The king was YHWH's representative, and the ultimate judicial authority.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 2:10-12
  10Then David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David. 11The days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years he reigned in Hebron and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem. 12And Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.

2:10 "slept with his fathers" Sleep is a euphemism for death. It is not intended to be taken literally. Some have tried to assert that it refers to "soul sleep" between death and resurrection day. The Bible must be interpreted in light of its day and the original author's intent.

For one to "sleep with his fathers" usually denoted a person who died peacefully and was buried in his family tomb (David was the first in this location). Since the Israelites believed in a conscious afterlife, it denoted a fellowship. See Hard Sayings of the Bible, pp. 127-129.

Josephus, Antiq. 7.15.3, gives a historical account about how Solomon buried David with great wealth but later in Israel's history (i.e., Maccabean period) the money was taken

  1. by Hyrcanus to buy off the seige of Jerusalem by Antiochus
  2. by Herod the great

SPECIAL TOPIC: WHERE ARE THE DEAD?

▣ "the city of David" Although Joshua conquered Jebus, the central citadel was not captured until David's reign. David moved the capital from Hebron in Judah to the border of Judah and Benjamin (i.e., more centrally located for all of the tribes).

2:11 This verse and 2 Sam. 2:4-5, give us David's age at this time as 70½ years.

David reigned 40 years, as did Solomon (cf. 1 Kgs. 11:42). Acts 13:21 says Saul reigned forty years. The number 40 is sometimes literal and sometimes symbolic.

SPECIAL TOPIC: SYMBOLIC NUMBERS IN SCRIPTURE, #7

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 2:13-18
  13Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, "Do you come peacefully?" And he said, "Peacefully." 14Then he said, "I have something to say to you." And she said, "Speak." 15So he said, "You know that the kingdom was mine and that all Israel expected me to be king; however, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother's, for it was his from the Lord. 16Now I am making one request of you; do not refuse me." And she said to him, "Speak." 17Then he said, "Please speak to Solomon the king, for he will not refuse you, that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife." 18Bathsheba said, "Very well; I will speak to the king for you."

2:13-25 These verses describe the attempt of Adonijah to claim the throne by asking for the young woman who kept David warm (1 Kgs. 1:1-4). She was not a wife (1 Kgs. 1:4) but was a part of David's harem. Solomon saw through the request immediately but his mother, Bathsheba, did not.

2:15 "for it was his from the Lord" This is either an attempt at subterfuge or Adonijah was not guilty of treason. He was simply acknowledging YHWH's choice of Solomon (cf. 1 Chr. 28:5).

Moderns cannot psychoanalyze the motives of biblical people. Only a clear text can do this. This is not one of them. However, Solomon thinks it is treason (vv. 22-24).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 2:19-25
  19So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king arose to meet her, bowed before her, and sat on his throne; then he had a throne set for the king's mother, and she sat on his right. 20Then she said, "I am making one small request of you; do not refuse me." And the king said to her, "Ask, my mother, for I will not refuse you." 21So she said, "Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as a wife." 22King Solomon answered and said to his mother, "And why are you asking Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him also the kingdom—for he is my older brother—even for him, for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah!" 23Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, "May God do so to me and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life. 24Now therefore, as the Lord lives, who has established me and set me on the throne of David my father and who has made me a house as He promised, surely Adonijah shall be put to death today." 25So King Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him so that he died.

2:23 This is a common oath in the historical books, cf. Ruth 1:17; 1 Sam. 3:9,35; 19:13; 1 Kgs. 2:23; 15:2; 20:10; 2 Kgs. 6:31. In a sense, it is a curse on oneself if that person does not do what he/she promised.

2:25 "he fell upon him" This VERB (BDB 803, KB 910) usually means "encounter," but it is used six times in this chapter to denote Benaiah, the new chief of the army, killing someone (i.e., vv. 25,29,31, 34,46) at Solomon's request or of Joab killing Abner and Amasa (v. 32).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 2:26-27
  26Then to Abiathar the priest the king said, "Go to Anathoth to your own field, for you deserve to die; but I will not put you to death at this time, because you carried the ark of the Lord God before my father David, and because you were afflicted in everything with which my father was afflicted." 27So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord, which He had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

2:26-27 Solomon removes Abiathar, one of David's High Priests, from office and exiles him to his hometown of Anathoth. As verse 27 notes, this fulfills the prophecy of 1 Sam. 2:27-36, about Eli and his family.

2:26 "you deserve to die" This idiom is literally "man of death" (cf. 2 Sam. 19:28). A similar form is "son of death" (cf. 1 Sam. 20:31; 26:16; 2 Sam. 12:5). Abiathar deserved death for his support of Adonijah, but Solomon spared his life, yet removed his priestly duties.

▣ "the ark of the Lord God" The covenant chest which represented YHWH's personal presence and covenant promises and requirements goes by several, but related, names.

  1. the ark of the testimony ‒ in Exodus and Numbers
  2. the ark of the covenant ‒ mostly Deuteronomy, Joshua, and Judges (only three times in 1 Samuel 4)
  3. the ark of the Lord ‒ Joshua and 1 Samuel
  4. the ark of God ‒ 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE ARK OF THE COVENANT

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 2:28-35
  28Now the news came to Joab, for Joab had followed Adonijah, although he had not followed Absalom. And Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and took hold of the horns of the altar. 29It was told King Solomon that Joab had fled to the tent of the Lord, and behold, he is beside the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, "Go, fall upon him." 30So Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord and said to him, "Thus the king has said, 'Come out.'" But he said, "No, for I will die here." And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, "Thus spoke Joab, and thus he answered me." 31The king said to him, "Do as he has spoken and fall upon him and bury him, that you may remove from me and from my father's house the blood which Joab shed without cause. 32The Lord will return his blood on his own head, because he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he and killed them with the sword, while my father David did not know it: Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. 33So shall their blood return on the head of Joab and on the head of his descendants forever; but to David and his descendants and his house and his throne, may there be peace from the Lord forever." 34Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and fell upon him and put him to death, and he was buried at his own house in the wilderness. 35The king appointed Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in his place, and the king appointed Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar.

2:28 "took hold of the horns of the altar" This is exactly what Adonijah did (cf. 1 Kgs. 1:50). It was a place of refuge and safety.

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE ALTAR OF SACRIFICE

2:29 "the tent of the Lord" This refers to the tent that David erected in Jerusalem to house the ark of the covenant (cf. 2 Sam. 6:17; 1 Chr. 15:1; 2 Chr. 1:4).

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE ARK OF THE COVENANT

▣ "beside the altar" See SPECIAL TOPIC: THE ALTAR OF SACRIFICE.

2:33 (twice) "forever" See SPECIAL TOPIC: FOREVER ('olam).

▣ "peace" See SPECIAL TOPIC: PEACE (OT).

2:34 Joab was given a proper burial in his family tomb near Bethlehem (cf. 2 Sam. 2:32, where Asahel was buried).

2:35 "Zadok" See Roland deVaux, Ancient Israel, pp. 372-376; AB, pp. 1034-1036; NIDOTTE, vol. 4, pp. 1300-1302.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 2:36-38
  36Now the king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, "Build for yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, and do not go out from there to any place. 37For on the day you go out and cross over the brook Kidron, you will know for certain that you shall surely die; your blood shall be on your own head." 38Shimei then said to the king, "The word is good. As my lord the king has said, so your servant will do." So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.

2:37,42 "you will know for certain that you shall surely die" This is a double emphatic grammatical construction of an INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE and an IMPERFECT VERB of the same root ("know," BDB 393, KB 390, and BDB 559, KB 562). This same form is repeated in v. 42.

2:37 "your blood shall be on your own head" Blood guiltiness was an important theological issue (cf. vv. 31-33,37; Gen. 4:10).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 2:39-46
  39But it came about at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, "Behold, your servants are in Gath." 40Then Shimei arose and saddled his donkey, and went to Gath to Achish to look for his servants. And Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath. 41It was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had returned. 42So the king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, "Did I not make you swear by the Lord and solemnly warn you, saying, 'You will know for certain that on the day you depart and go anywhere, you shall surely die'? And you said to me, 'The word which I have heard is good.' 43Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord, and the command which I have laid on you?" 44The king also said to Shimei, "You know all the evil which you acknowledge in your heart, which you did to my father David; therefore the Lord shall return your evil on your own head. 45But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever." 46So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and fell upon him so that he died.

2:45 This reflects YHWH's conditional promise of 2 Samuel 7; 1 Chronicles 17.

It is difficult to assert that the Davidic covenant is conditional because it is related to the promise of Messiah. Yet remember, the Babylonian exile removed the seed of David from the Judean throne! YHWH has a plan for mankind's redemption. It cannot be effected by human actions and choices, but whether a particular individual is a part of this redemptive plan is based (to some degree) on his/her choices and actions!

SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH'S ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN

SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT

SPECIAL TOPIC: ELECTION/PREDESTINATION AND THE NEED FOR A THEOLOGICAL BALANCE

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

  1. Is death in the hands of YHWH or Satan?
  2. Why must all men die?
  3. Explain the theological implications to the "if" in 1 Kgs. 2:4.
  4. After reading this chapter how do you explain 1 Kgs. 3:11?
  5. What does "to sleep with your fathers" mean? (v. 10)
  6. Why was Adonijah's request to marry Abishag seen by Solomon as rebellion?
  7. Why was Abiathar's removal viewed as fulfilled prophecy (v. 27)?
  8. Explain the implications of having "blood-guiltiness."

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