which is in excess even of the longer reckoning. (8) In | Ant. ix. 14. 1, he gives the period from the disruption to the fall of Samaria as 240 years, 7 months, and 7 days," which agrees almost exactly with the 238 years of the shorter reckoning. Hence the effect of this comparison, assuming the [In respect both of the Introduction and the Notes on the First Book of Kings, the author has to express his obligation to the Commentaries of Keil and Thenius; to Ewald's History of Israel, and (in less degree) to Stanley's Lectures on the Jewish Church; to Canon Rawlinson's valuable Introduction and Notes in the Speaker's Commentary, and his Bampton Lectures; general correctness of the non-Scripturadition of the to many articles in Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, to bring out more clearly-what the condition of chronology itself would suggest-the existence of some confusions in detail, but an undoubted general correctness even in this, which is acknowledged to be the point of the greatest difficulty. The books thus stand out as true history in the highest sense of the word, uniting clear historical accuracy, even of detail, with vivid depiction of character, and high prophetic insight into the laws of the Providence of God. and Winer's Realwörterbuch, and to Prof. Robertson Smith's article ("KINGS") in the Encyclopædia Britannica. For the study of the text, the Variorum Bible of Messrs. Eyre and Spottiswoode is invaluable. The comparison of the text with the ancient versions, and the study of Josephus' history, which is, in the main, virtually a paraphrase, are matters of course.] General Summary of the Book.-The narrative of this book falls naturally into three sections: First, (a) in chaps. i.-xiv. we have a comparatively detailed record of the accession and reign of Solomon, and of the revolution which produced the disruption both of the kingdom and of the worship of Israel. This record itself varies greatly, both in style and in fulness. In some parts it is graphic and full of spiritual interest; in some it is clearly marked by official, and almost technical, detail; while in others it is brief and summary in style, more like a series of historical notes than a regular narrative. But although it covers only about forty years, it occupies more than half of the entire book. Secondly, (b) in chaps. xv. and xvi. we find only short annalistic accounts of the succession in the two kingdoms, and the chief events of each reign, from Jeroboam to Ahab, and from Rehoboam to Jehoshaphat. Thirdly, (c) in chaps. xvii.-xxii., with the appearance of Elijah the whole style of the narrative changes to increased fulness, great vividness of description, and expressive spiritual significance, and so continues to the end of the book, and through that portion of the second Book which contains the close of the history of Elijah and the history of Elisha. In this variety of character we see clear evidence of compilation from older sources-the annals of the kings, the official records of the Temple, and the biographies of the prophets. In it we find, moreover, distinct evidence of the historical accuracy of a record, which is full, where it can draw from detailed records, and contents itself with brief summary, where such materials are wanting. (On the chronology, see Introduction.) The opening narrative of the beginning of Solomon's reign, in chaps. i.-iii., and especially of the accession to the throne, in chap. i., is given with remarkable vividness and unusual fulness of detail. When we read in 2 Chron. ix. 29, that the acts of Solomon were written partly "in the book of Nathan the prophet," it is impossible not to conjecture that the record of these early days is drawn from this book of one who had been a prominent actor in the whole. (1) Now king David.-" Now" is the simple illative conjunction "and," found at the beginning of heat. (3) So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coast of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. (And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him but the king knew her not. : (5) Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: all the historical books (Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, &c.). It marks the general conception of the unity of the whole history, but implies nothing of special connection of time or authorship with the books of Samuel. In fact, although these books are in some sense the continuation of the former, yet the narrative is hardly continuous. The history passes at once to the closing scene of David's life, leaving a comparative blank in the period succeeding the restoration after the defeat of Absalom-a blank which is partly filled up in the later books (1 Chron. xxii.-xxix.). Stricken in years-about seventy years old. Since clothes mean "bed-clothes," the meaning is that the King was now too feeble to rise from his bed. His life began its responsibilities early; it had been hard and trying; and, as the history shows, not wholly free from self-indulgence. Hence, at no excessive age, its complete decrepitude. (3) A Shunammite.-Shunem is in the territory of Issachar (Josh. xix. 18), and in the plain of Jezreel (1 Sam. xxviii. 4), near Mount Gilboa. As Eusebius, describing its position carefully, calls it "Sulem," and as this variation of name is confirmed by its ready identification with the modern village of Solam, it has been conjectured (see Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, SHULAMITE), ingeniously and not improbably, that Abishag is the fair Shulamite" of the Song of Solomon (chap. vi. 13). The conjecture certainly throws some light on the occurrences of chap. ii. 13-25. Probably the whole notice of Abishag is only introduced on account of her subsequent connection with the fate of Adonijah. 66 (5) Adonijah (my Lord is Jehovah), David's fourth son, born in Hebron (2 Sam. iii. 4), at least thirty-three years before. From the words of Solomon in chap. ii. 22, we may gather that he claimed the throne as being now the eldest son. Hence it is probable that Chileab (or Daniel, see 2 Sam. iii. 3; 1 Chron. iii. 1), the second son, was dead, as well as Amnon and Absalom. The similarity between Adonijah and Absalom, in respect of personal beauty, favour with a too-indulgent father, ambition and trust in popularity, is evidently suggested by the narrative, which places them in close connection, although born of different days. 2 Heb., his words 4 the Kingdom. and he prepared him chariots and horse- 1 Heb., from his Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men men, and fifty men to run before him. (6) And his father had not displeased him 1at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so ? and he also was a very goodly man; and his mother bare him after Absalom. (7) And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah helped him. (8) But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah. (9) And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of were with Joab. Zoheleth, which is by En-rogel, and called all his brethren the king's sons, and all the men of Judah the king's servants: (10) but Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he called not. 3 Heb., helped after 4 Or, the well mothers. The means, moreover, which Adonijah em- (7) Joab.-The books of Samuel have brought out clearly the career and character of Joab, as being (in some degree like Abner) a professed soldier, raised to a formidable and half-independent power by the incessant wars of Saul and David. He stands out in consistent portraiture throughout, as a bold, hard, and unscrupulous man; in his relations to the king often imperious and disobedient; but nevertheless an absolutely loyal servant, to whom, in great degree, the establishment of David's throne was due, and who, moreover (as is shown by his remonstrance against the numbering of the people, recorded in 2 Sam. xxiv. 3; 1 Chron. xxi. 3, 6), was not without some right instincts of policy and of duty to God. Abiathar the priest.-Of Abiathar we also know that he had been the companion of all David's adversity, and of his reign at Hebron (1 Sam. xxii. 20, xxiii. 6, 9, xxx. 7; 2 Sam. ii. 1-4); that he was ininstalled (with Zadok) as high priest at Jerusalem, and remained faithful to David in the rebellion of Absalom (2 Sam. viii. 17, xv. 24—29). The adhesion of these two faithful servants of David, as also of "the king's sons," and "the men of Judah, the king's servants," to the rash usurpation of Adonijah, seems strange at first sight. Probably Joab had never recovered his position in the king's favour since the death of Absalom; and it is possible that the evident growth of despotic power and state in David's latter years may have alienated from him the trusty friends of earlier and simpler days. But the true explanation would seem to be, that the attempt of Adonijah was not viewed as an actual rebellion. Solomon was young; David's designation of him for the succession might be represented as the favouritism of dotage; and the assumption of the crown by the eldest son, a man in the prime of life and of popular qualities, might seem not only justifiable, but even right and expedient. 66 (8) Zadok the priest (son of Ahitub) was the representative of the family of Eleazar, elder son of Aaron, as Abiathar of the family of Ithamar, the younger son (1 Chron. xxiv. 3). As a young man of valour," under "Jehoiada, leader of the Aaronites," he joined David at Hebron with 3,700 men (1 Chron. xii. 28), and had been left in charge of the Tabernacle at (11) Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon, say Gibeon (1 Chron. xvi. 39) after the removal of the Ark to Jerusalem. On his relation to Abiathar, see chap. ii. 35. Benaiah, the son of "Jehoiada, a chief priest." and therefore of Levitical origin. (See 2 Sam. viii. 18, xxiii. 20-23; 1 Chron. xxvii. 5, 6.) His rank is given in 2 Sam. xxiii. 23, as intermediate between three mighty men' and the thirty," and in 1 Chron. xxvii. 5, as "the third captain of the host for the third month"; but his command of the body. guard gave him special importance, second only to that of Joab (2 Sam. xx. 23), and perhaps of even greater importance for immediate action. (It is notable that there is no mention of Abishai, who is named as prior to Benaiah among “the mighty men" in 2 Sam. xxiii. 18-22. It may be inferred that he was dead; otherwise he could hardly have been omitted here.) Nathan the prophet.--See 2 Sam. vii. 2, xii. 1, 25. In the whole chapter he appears rather as a chief officer and counsellor of David, than in the loftier aspect of the prophetic character. He was also the royal chronicler of the reigns of David and Solomon (1 Chr. xxix. 29; 2 Chr. ix. 29). Shimei, and Rei.-Ewald conjectures that these were two brothers of David, called Shimma and Raddai in 1 Chron. ii. 13, 14. These, however, being older than David, would now be in extreme old age. Of Rei, we have no mention elsewhere; but there is a Shimei (in 1 Kings iv. 18), a high officer of Solomon; a "Shimea," brother of Solomon (in 1 Chron. iii. 5), and a “Shammah," one of the mighty men" (in 2 Sam. xxiii. 11). The mighty men.-See 2 Sam. xxiii. 8-39. The name Gibborim is a technical name, and is thought to designate a picked body of troops, the standing nucleus of the armies of Israel. It is commonly inferred that they were the successors of the six hundred men of David's band during his life of wandering and exile, and that "the three" and "the thirty" (2 Sam. xxiii.) were their officers. They are mentioned as attached to the person of David in 2 Sam. x. 7; xvi. 6; xx. 7. (9) The stone of Zoheleth.-The meaning is uncertain. The derivation seems to be from a root, meaning to "crawl," or "steal on." Some interpreters render, the "stone of the serpents;" the Targums make it "the rolling stone;" other authorities "the stone of the conduit," which would suit well its position as here described. (See En-rogel." The spring of the fuller." Joshua xv. 7, xviii. 16; 2 Sam. xvii. 17.) Its proximity would be useful for the purposes of sacrifice; for it appears to be the only natural spring near Jerusalem, situated not far from Šiloam. (11) Wherefore Nathan.-The initiative taken by Nathan is especially natural, since he had been the ing, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah (15) And Bath-sheba went in unto the king into the chamber: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite ministered unto the king. (16) And Bath-sheba bowed, and did obeisance unto the king. And the king said, 2 What wouldest thou? (17) And she said unto him, My lord, thou swarest by the LORD thy God unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne. (18) And now, behold, 2 Heb., What to 3 Heb., sinners. medium both of the prophecy to David of the son who should build the Lord's house (2 Sam. vii. 12-15), and also of the blessing on Solomon, embodied in the name Jedidiah (" beloved of Jehovah," 2 Sam. xii. 25). Perhaps for this very reason the conspirators had altogether held aloof from him. ... (12) The life of Solomon.-The usurpation of Adonijah would, as a matter of course, be sealed by the blood of his rival Solomon. (Comp. 2 Chron. xxi. 4.) Bath-sheba herself need hardly have been sacrificed; but her position of favour with David would excite jealousy, and Solomon, being still young, might well be thought only an instrument in her hands. (13) Didst not thou swear. Of this oath we have no mention elsewhere. It may have belonged to the time of Solomon's birth (2 Sam. xii. 24, 25). In 1 Chron. xxii. 6—13, we find a designation of Solomon for succession, apparently earlier than this time-it being clearly understood (see verse 20), according to Oriental custom, that such designation, without strict regard to priority of birth, lay in the prerogative of the reigning king. (14) While thou yet talkest.-The whole history seems to indicate a growth of royal state and Oriental reverence for the king's person since the defeat of Absalom, contrasted with the comparative simplicity of intercourse with him in earlier days, and preparatory to the still greater development of majesty and despotism under Solomon. Bath-sheba's entrance into the bedchamber seems to be looked upon as an intrusion, to be ventured upon only in the humble attitude of a suppliant. Nathan does not presume to approach the king with remonstrance, till the maternal anxiety of Bath-sheba has paved the way. (Comp. in Esther iv. Petition the King. Adonijah reigneth; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest it not: (19) and he hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the host: but Solomon thy servant hath he not called. (20) And thou, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. (21) Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders. 3 (22) And, lo, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in. (23) And they told the king, saying, Behold Nathan the prophet. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground. (24) And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? (25) For he is gone down this day, and hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the king's 10-16, the picture of the still more unapproachable royalty of Persia.) (21) Shall sleep with his fathers.-Here this phrase, so constantly used in the record of the death of the kings, occurs in these books for the first time. (It is also found in the message of promise by Nathan, 2 Sam. vii. 12, relating to the succession of the son who should build the Temple.) We find corresponding expressions in Gen. xv. 15; Deut. xxxi. 16. Without connecting with the use of this phrase anything like the fulness of meaning which in the New Testament attaches to "the sleep" of the departed servants of God (as known to be a "sleep in Jesus"), it seems not unreasonable to recognise in it, at least, a rudimentary belief in death as rest and not extinction. The addition, "with his fathers," has probably a reference to" the tombs of the kings;" especially as we find that it is not adopted in the cases of Jehoram (2 Chron. xxi. 20) and Joash (2 Chron. xxiv. 25), who were not buried therein. (24) Hast thou said.-The question here and in verse 27 is, of course, merely intended to draw out denial; but it is singularly true to nature that it does so by the assumption (natural in court language) that nothing of such a kind could be even conceived as done without the king's will. There is something striking in the contrast of the deference of Nathan as a counsellor on state business with the bold superiority of his tone in the discharge of his true prophetic office (as in 2 Sam. vii. 2-17, xii. 1-14). (25) God save king Adonijah.-Literally (as in 1 Sam. x. 24; 2 Sam. xvi. 16, &c.), "May the king live; " like the "Let the king live for ever" of verse 31, and of Neh. ii. 3; Dan. ii. 4, iii. 9, &c. David renews his I. KINGS, I. sons, and the captains of the host, and Abiathar the priest; and, behold, they eat and drink before him, and say, 'God save king Adonijah. (26) But me, even me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Oath to Bath-sheba. (32) And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king. (33) The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause thy servant Solomon, hath he not called. Heb et king Solomon my son to ride upon mine (27) Is this thing done by my lord the king, and thou hast not shewed it unto thy servant, who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him? (28) Then king David answered and said, Call me Bath-sheba. And she came into the king's presence, and stood before the king. (29) And the king sware, and said, As the LORD liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress, (30) even as I sware unto thee by the LORD God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day. (31) Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever. Adonijah live. king. own mule, and bring him down to Gihon: (34) and let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon. (35) Then ye shall come up after him, Heb., before the that he may come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah. (36) And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: the LORD God of my lord the king say so too. (37) As the LORD hath been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David. 3 Heb., which be- (29) As the Lord liveth, that hath redeemed my soul.-A characteristic adjuration of David, found also in 2 Sam. iv. 9; but now peculiarly appropriate in the old man, who was so near the haven of rest, after all the storms of life. "O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer," is the climax of his address to God, as the Creator of all things and the ruler of all men, in Ps. xix. 14. (32) Call me Zadok.-This sudden flash of the old energy in David, and the clear, terse directions which he gives for carrying out all the necessary parts of the inauguration of Solomon's royalty, striking enough in themselves, are still more striking in contrast with the timidity and despondency with which, when far younger, he had received the news of Absalom's rebellion. For then he felt the coming of God's threatened chastisement; now he knows that this is passed, and that God is on his side. (33) Gihon ("breaking forth") is clearly a place in the valley, under the walls of Jerusalem, mentioned as having a watercourse, or torrent, diverted by Hezekiah in his preparation of the city for siege (2 Chron. xxxii. 30), and as forming one end of a new wall "up to the fish gate," built by Manasseh; but whether it is on the west of the city, near the present Jaffa gate, or (as seems more probable) on the south, at the end of the valley called the Tyropeon, running through the city, has been doubted. The Targums here read Siloam; and this agrees with the latter supposition, which is also supported by the proximity to Adonijah's feast at En-rogel, implied in the narrative. (34) Anoint him... king.-It is notable that of this solemn inauguration of royalty, marked emphatically as a religious consecration by the common phrase "the Lord's anointed "-then especially in use (1 Sam. xvi. 6, xxiv. 6, xxvi. 9; 2 Sam. i. 14, xix. 21), though (38) So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of found also occasionally in the later books (Lam. iv. 20) -there is no mention of the tumultuous usurpation of Adonijah. Probably, as in the appointment of Saul and David himself, the right to anoint was recognised as belonging to the prophetic order (see chap. xix. 16), inasmuch as it signified the outpouring of the Holy Spirit of the Lord. (Comp. Acts x. 38.) Hence, in the absence of Nathan, it could not be attempted. In the case of David, such anointing had marked (1 Sam. xvi. 13) his first private designation for the kingdom by Samuel, and his public accession to royalty, first over Judah (2 Sam. ii. 4), then over all Israel (2 Sam. v. 3). The completeness of the old King's provision is especially to be noticed. The "riding on the King's mule," attended by the body-guard, marked the royal sanction; the anointing, the sanction of priest and prophet; and the acclamation the adhesion of the people. Then are to follow the enthronement and homage. (35) Over Israel and over Judah.-The phrase clearly refers to the distinction, already tending to become a division, between Israel and Judah in relation to the monarchy. In the case of David himself, it may be observed that the record of his accession to royalty over Israel contains the notice of " a league" made by him with the elders of Israel (2 Sam. v. 3), to which there is nothing to correspond in the account of his becoming king over Judah (2 Sam. ii. 4). This perhaps indicates from the beginning a less absolute rule over the other tribes. Certainly the history of the rebellion of Absalom (2 Sam. xv. 10, 13, xviii. 6, 7), the disputes about the restoration of David (2 Sam. xix. 41-43), and the attempt of Sheba to take advantage of them (2 Sam. xx. 1, 2), show a looser allegiance of Israel than of Judah to the house of David. (38) The Cherethites, and the Pelethites.-See2 Sam. viii. 18, xv. 28, xx. 7, 23. The body-guard-per |