1 Kings 1:20

_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._ And thou my lord O king х_ Wª'ATAAH_ (H859) and thou; evidently a corruption for wa`aataah and now] AND THOU MY LORD, O KING, х_ Wª'ATAAH_ (H859), and thou; evidently a corruption for wa`aataah, and now], THE EYES OF ALL ISRAEL ARE UPON THEE, THAT THOU SHOULDEST TELL THEM WHO SHALL SIT ON THE THRONE. When the kings died without declaring their will, then their oldest son succeeded. But frequently they designated long before their death which of their sons should inherit the throne. The kings of Persia, as well as of other Eastern countries, have exercised the same right in modern and even recent times....

11-31 Observe Nathan's address to Bathsheba. Let me give thee counsel how to save thy own life, and the life of thy son. Such as this is the counsel Christ's ministers give us in his name, to give all diligence, not only that no man take our crown, Revelation 3:11, but that we save our lives, even the lives of our souls. David made a solemn declaration of his firm cleaving to his former resolution, that Solomon should be his successor. Even the recollection of the distresses from which the Lord redeemed him, increased his comfort, inspired his hopes, and animated him to his duty, under the decays of nature and the approach of death....

Verse 1 Kings 1:20. _THAT THOU SHOULDEST TELL - WHO SHALL SIT ON THE THRONE_] This was a monarchy neither _hereditary_ nor _elective_; the king simply _named his successor_. This obtained less or more, anciently, in most countries....

TELL THEM WHO SHALL SIT ON THE THRONE - Side by side with what may be called the natural right of hereditary succession, there existed in the old world, and especially in the East, a right, if not of absolutely designating a successor, yet at any rate of choosing one among several sons. Thus, Cyrus designated Cambyses; and Darius designated Xerxes; and a still more absolute right of nomination was exercised by some of the Roman emperors....

EXPOSITION THE REVOLT OF ADONIJAH AND THE ACCESSION OF SOLOMON.—The first chapter of this book is occupied with the accession of Solomon and with the circumstances which preceded, marked, and followed that event. The author, or compiler, evidently considered that his work properly began with the reign of Israel's third king, and David's illness and death are only introduced into the narrative because they necessitated a hasty and premature coronation of Solomon, and exercised an important influence on the beginning of his reign (1 Kings 2:1). In the natural order of events, Solomon would not have succeeded until his father's death, but Adonijah's attempt to possess himself of the kingdom required the immediate elevation of Sol

AND THOU, MY LORD, O KING,.... As for thee, or what concerns thee, or is incumbent on thee, will appear from the expectations of the people: 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; this she said, to dissipate any fears that might possess his mind on hearing what Adonijah had done, that the people in general had assented to it, and encouraged him to it; whereas the body of the people were waiting to hear what was the will and determination of David: for they not only considered him as having a power to name a successor, as was afterwards done by Rehoboam, but as one that had the mind of God revealed to him who should be his successor, to which they should pay a regard....

ANALYSIS AND ANNOTATIONS I. DAVID'S LAST DAYS AND THE CROWNING OF SOLOMON 1. Adonijah's Exaltation to be King CHAPTER 1:1-27 _ 1. David's decrepitude (1 Kings 1:1)_ 2. Adonijah's self-exaltation (1 Kings 1:5) 3. The plot of Nathan and Bath-sheba (1 Kings 1:10) 4. Bath-sheba and Nathan before the king (1 Kings 1:15) David was about 70 years old and extremely feeble. The strenuous life he had led, the exposures and hardships of his youth, the cares and anxieties of his reign, and the chastenings through which he passed on account of his great sin, and much else were responsible for thi

LAST DAYS OF DAVID AND ACCESSION OF SOLOMON. This chapter with the following has many analogies with the court history of David (2 Samuel 11-20). The narrative bears every sign of an authentic account of actual events, told with complete impartiality, and without any attempt to comment favourably or otherwise on the events related. David is represented as a very aged man nursed by his youngest wife, Abishag the Shunammite (1 Kings 1:3). Her beauty is especially noticed as it may have caused the death of David's son, Adonijah. Shunem, her native place, was a slope overlooking the plain of Esdraelon near Jezreel, and she is the Shulammite in the Song of Songs (Ca. 1 Kings 6:13). The pivot around which all revolves is the succession. The chief claimant was Adonijah the son of Haggith ...

THOU. thou therefore. Some codices, with three early printed editions, and Aramaean, read "And now". See note on 1 Kings 1:18....

_And thou, my lord_, &c. Here the variation is the other way, and _now_is read for _thou_. Both these changes seem to render the sentences more emphatic, especially as in this verse the queen is coming to the close of her argument and wishes to move David to take action in the matter at once....