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King Solomon answered his mother, Why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is my elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.
Verse Takeaways
1
A Hidden Claim to the Throne
Commentators unanimously explain that Adonijah's request for Abishag was not about marriage but about power. In ancient Eastern cultures, possessing a deceased king's concubine was a powerful symbol and a direct claim to the throne. Solomon immediately recognized this request as a veiled attempt by his older brother to usurp the kingdom.
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1 Kings
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4
18th Century
Presbyterian
Ask for him the kingdom also - Bathsheba had not seen anything dangerous or suspicious in Adonijah’s request. Solomon, on the contrary, take…
19th Century
Anglican
And why do you ask?— In Solomon’s answer there is a certain bitterness, venting itself in irony, which seems to suggest the mingli…
17th Century
Reformed Baptist
And King Solomon answered and said to his mother With as much gentleness and mildness as he could, but inwardly fire…
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Solomon received Bathsheba with all the respect that was owing to a mother; but let no one be asked for what they ought not to grant. It ill become…
