Poole on 1 Kings 1:22-31: Nathan's Address, and David's Resolution

Verse 22:[1]  And, lo, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in.

Nathan the prophet also came in:  To discourse with the king; which made it fit for her to withdraw, as she did, verse 28.

Verse 23:[2]  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.

[And they announced to the king, etc.]  The stewards, who kept the doors, and were admitting, or excluding, those coming to the King (Sanchez).  Nathan does not enter to the king without permission, while Bath-sheba freely approaches, as previously noted (Martyr on verse 15).

[And when he had entered]  With Bath-sheba at that time departing, as it appears out of verse 28 (Junius, Piscator, Malvenda); either for the sake of urbanity, or to better advance the cause of Solomon (Sanchez).

[And had bowed himself]  For he was not now coming as a Prophet, but as a friend of the King (Grotius).

Verse 24:[3]  And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne?

[Thou hast said,[4] etc. (thus Montanus)]  [All the rest translate it interrogatively, hast thou said?]  As if it were he were amazed that so great a matter had been accomplished without consulting him (Sanchez); or as if he wished to learn whether God had shown to David something different (than previously) (Martyr).

Hast thou said, etc.?:  Is this done by thy consent? without which it seems strange that he durst attempt it.

Verse 25:[5]  (1 Kings 1:19) 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 sons, and the captains of the host, and Abiathar the priest; and, behold, they eat and drink before him, and say, (1 Sam. 10:24) God save king Adonijah (Heb. Let king Adonijah live[6]).

[With them eating, etc.]  Hebrew:  they eat and drink before him[7] (Pagnine, Vatablus), that is, they recline before him, eating and drinking.  A Hebraism (Vatablus).

Verse 26:[8]  But me, even me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, hath he not called.

[Me thy servant,וְלִ֣י אֲנִֽי־עַ֠בְדֶּךָ ]  Verbatim:  And me, I am thy servant (Montanus).  But me (and myself [Septuagint], but me, me [Junius and Tremellius]) thy servant (Munster, Tigurinus).  But me, who am thy servant (Pagnine, Jonathan, Syriac, Arabic).

Even me thy servant, whom he knew to be acquainted with thy mind, and with the mind of God in this matter; and therefore his neglect of me herein gives me cause to suspect that this is done without thy privity; which now I come to know.

[Solomon thy servant]  That is to say, he is thy son by nature, but a servant by his desire to obey.  He is not an adversary to thee, as Adonijah is.  Thus he obtains favor for him in a remarkable manner (Martyr).

Verse 27:[9]  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?

[And to me thou hast not showed it?]  Who am thy privy counsellor, and revealed to thee the will of the Lord concerning the reign of Solomon after thee; and, therefore, if there was some reason for this change by another revelation made to thee, thou wast certainly obliged to tell me (Lyra).

[Thy servant]  Thus all translate ‎עַבְדְיךָ [10] [in which the י is superfluous,[11] according to the points of the Massoretes:[12]  But the Arabic translates it thy servants, as if it had read ‎עֲבָדֶיךָ.[13]]

Thou hast not showed it unto thy servant; who, having been an instrument in delivering God’s message to thee concerning thy successor, might reasonably expect that if the king had changed his mind, or God had since made some revelation contrary to the former, thou wouldst have acquainted me with it, as being both a prophet of the Lord, and one whom thou hast always found faithful to thee, and to whom thou hast used to communicate thy secret counsels.

Verse 28:[14]  Then king David answered and said, Call me Bath-sheba.  And she came into the king’s presence (Heb. before the king[15]), and stood before the king.

[And he answered]  It is to be understood absolutely, in the place of, he spoke out with an elevated voice, and that for addressing his ministers, not Nathan (to whom Junius and Tremellius incorrectly refer this):  for then the following he said should be referred to Nathan, which the syntax does not allow (Piscator).

[Call me Bath-sheba]  For, with the Prophet having entered, she had yielded the place, so that he might be able to speak with the King alone, and lest the King should notice that the matter was pre-arranged (Martyr).

Call me Bath-sheba; who, upon Nathan’s approach to the king, had modestly withdrawn herself, either in another room, or into another part of this room, more remote from the bed upon which David lay.

Verse 29:[16]  And the king sware, and said, (2 Sam. 4:9) As the LORD liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress…

[As the Lord lives, etc.]  The matter was of the weightiest kind, and so he swears again; both so that he might shatter the efforts of Adonijah, and so that he might comfort his wife, deeply disturbed by the unexpectedness of the matter (Martyr).

[Who delivered my soul, etc.]  It is not an unconnected reason; with the more blessings from God he is abounding, of so many more is he a debtor, and thus the faithfulness to promises ought to be all the more constant (Sanchez).

Verse 30:[17]  (1 Kings 1:17) 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.

[As I swore, etc.]  Hence it is evident that he previously swore, although thus far the history has not mentioned it (Martyr).  Hebrew:  that just as I swore, etc., that thus I am going to do.[18]  The sense:  As it is true that Jehovah lives, so it is true that I am going to do as I have sworn.  And there is an ellipsis, namely, in the words, as it is true that, so it is true, and a pleonasm in the repetition of that (Piscator).

Verse 31:[19]  Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, (Neh. 2:3; Dan. 2:4) Let my lord king David live for ever.

[Let David live forever]  That is, with eternal life.  Of course, she saw that he was not able to live long (Kimchi in Martyr, similarly Munster).  Or rather she was asking a longer life for him (Menochius, similarly Martyr); that is to say, it is enough for me that thine oath is confirmed; I am not asking that thou strip thyself of thy kingdom (Malvenda out of Junius):  although I appear with great solicitude to procure the kingdom for my son, I nevertheless desire thee to survive for a long time (Martyr); I desire Solomon to reign after a long period (Menochius).

For ever:  that is, For a long time, as that word is oft used, as 1 Kings 2:33; Daniel 2:4.  Though I desire thy oath may be kept, and the right of succession confirmed to my son; yet I am far from thirsting after thy death for his advancement, and should rather rejoice, if it were possible for thee to live and enjoy thy crown for ever.

[1] Hebrew:  ‎וְהִנֵּ֛ה עוֹדֶ֥נָּה מְדַבֶּ֖רֶת עִם־הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ וְנָתָ֥ן הַנָּבִ֖יא בָּֽא׃

[2] Hebrew:  ‎וַיַּגִּ֤ידוּ לַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר הִנֵּ֖ה נָתָ֣ן הַנָּבִ֑יא וַיָּבֹא֙ לִפְנֵ֣י הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ וַיִּשְׁתַּ֧חוּ לַמֶּ֛לֶךְ עַל־אַפָּ֖יו אָֽרְצָה׃

[3] Hebrew:  ‎וַיֹּאמֶר֘ נָתָן֒ אֲדֹנִ֣י הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ אַתָּ֣ה אָמַ֔רְתָּ אֲדֹנִיָּ֖הוּ יִמְלֹ֣ךְ אַחֲרָ֑י וְה֖וּא יֵשֵׁ֥ב עַל־כִּסְאִֽי׃

[4] Hebrew:  ‎אַתָּ֣ה אָמַ֔רְתָּ.

[5] Hebrew: ‎כִּ֣י׀ יָרַ֣ד הַיּ֗וֹם וַ֠יִּזְבַּח שׁ֥וֹר וּֽמְרִיא־וְצֹאן֘ לָרֹב֒ וַיִּקְרָא֩ לְכָל־בְּנֵ֙י הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ וּלְשָׂרֵ֤י הַצָּבָא֙ וּלְאֶבְיָתָ֣ר הַכֹּהֵ֔ן וְהִנָּ֛ם אֹכְלִ֥ים וְשֹׁתִ֖ים לְפָנָ֑יו וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ יְחִ֖י הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ אֲדֹנִיָּֽהוּ׃

[6] Hebrew:  ‎יְחִ֖י הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ אֲדֹנִיָּֽהוּ׃.

[7] Hebrew:  ‎אֹכְלִ֥ים וְשֹׁתִ֖ים לְפָנָ֑יו.

[8] Hebrew:  ‎וְלִ֣י אֲנִֽי־עַ֠בְדֶּךָ וּלְצָדֹ֙ק הַכֹּהֵ֜ן וְלִבְנָיָ֧הוּ בֶן־יְהוֹיָדָ֛ע וְלִשְׁלֹמֹ֥ה עַבְדְּךָ֖ לֹ֥א קָרָֽא׃

[9] Hebrew: ‎אִ֗ם מֵאֵת֙ אֲדֹנִ֣י הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ נִהְיָ֖ה הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֑ה וְלֹ֤א הוֹדַ֙עְתָּ֙ אֶֽת־עֲבָדֶיךָ֔ מִ֗י יֵשֵׁ֛ב עַל־כִּסֵּ֥א אֲדֹנִֽי־הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ אַחֲרָֽיו׃ ס

[10] Thus the Qere.

[11] Thus the form would be singular.

[12] The Massoretes were mediæval Jewish scribes, responsible for the preservation and propagation of the traditional text of the Hebrew Scriptures.

[13] In the plural.  Thus the Kethib.

[14] Hebrew:  ‎וַיַּ֙עַן הַמֶּ֤לֶךְ דָּוִד֙ וַיֹּ֔אמֶר קִרְאוּ־לִ֖י לְבַת־שָׁ֑בַע וַתָּבֹא֙ לִפְנֵ֣י הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ וַֽתַּעֲמֹ֖ד לִפְנֵ֥י הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃

[15] Hebrew:  ‎לִפְנֵ֣י הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ.

[16] Hebrew:  ‎וַיִּשָּׁבַ֥ע הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ וַיֹּאמַ֑ר חַי־יְהוָ֕ה אֲשֶׁר־פָּדָ֥ה אֶת־נַפְשִׁ֖י מִכָּל־צָרָֽה׃

[17] Hebrew:  ‎כִּ֡י כַּאֲשֶׁר֩ נִשְׁבַּ֙עְתִּי לָ֜ךְ בַּיהוָ֙ה אֱלֹהֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר כִּֽי־שְׁלֹמֹ֤ה בְנֵךְ֙ יִמְלֹ֣ךְ אַחֲרַ֔י וְה֛וּא יֵשֵׁ֥ב עַל־כִּסְאִ֖י תַּחְתָּ֑י כִּ֛י כֵּ֥ן אֶעֱשֶׂ֖ה הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃

[18] Hebrew:  ‎כֵּ֥ן אֶעֱשֶׂ֖ה—‎כִּ֡י כַּאֲשֶׁר֩ נִשְׁבַּ֙עְתִּי.

[19] Hebrew:  ‎וַתִּקֹּ֙ד בַּת־שֶׁ֤בַע אַפַּ֙יִם֙ אֶ֔רֶץ וַתִּשְׁתַּ֖חוּ לַמֶּ֑לֶךְ וַתֹּ֕אמֶר יְחִ֗י אֲדֹנִ֛י הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ דָּוִ֖ד לְעֹלָֽם׃ פ