Poole on 1 Kings 1:32-40: Solomon Anointed King!

[We could use your help: If you are being blessed by the translation work, please consider supporting the work and speeding it on its way.  Click here to watch a brief video on the project.]

Verse 32:[1]  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.

Verse 33:[2]  The king also said unto them, (2 Sam. 20:6) Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule (Heb. upon the mule which belongeth to me:[3]  see Esth. 6:8), and bring him down to (2 Chron. 32:30) Gihon…

[The servants of your Lord]  Hebrew:  of your Lords;[4] that is, both mine, and Solomon’s, who is now made Lord over you by me (Junius).  I would prefer, of your Lord:  thus אֲדֹנִים/Adonim[5] is used in Genesis 24:9;[6] 40:1;[7] 42:30[8] (Piscator).  David speaks of himself in the plural on account of dignity and authority (certain interpreters in Malvenda).  The servants, etc., that is, the Cherethites and the Pelethites,[9] to repel force, if Adonijah should perchance attempt to employ any (Menochius).

The servants of your Lord, that is, my public officers, and my guards.

[Put him upon my mule]  My very own mule.  It was an indication of royal honor (Menochius).  That this was the greatest of honors is evident from Esther 6 (Martyr, similarly Sanchez).  To make use of these things, which accompanied or adorned the royal person, was evidence of laying claim to the kingdom, or a prognostic of obtaining it.  See on 2 Samuel 16:15 (Sanchez).

To ride upon mine own mule; as a token that the royal dignity is transferred upon Solomon, and that by my consent.  Compare Genesis 41:43; Esther 6:8.

[Lead him to Gihon, ‎עֶל־גִּחֽוֹן׃]  [Thus the word is pointed in the Bible Polyglots; but in the Plantin[10] it is עַל/upon/over; and the Qere is ‎אֶל/to.]  They translate it, in or to (or upon [Montanus]) Gihon (Septuagint, Pagnine, etc.).  Concerning Gihon we have nothing certain; some maintain that it is a mountain, others a spring; some say that it is within the city, others without.  Yet a great many maintain that it is a spring, or stream; which even its name indicates, for Gihon is a river of Paradise, Genesis 2:13 (Sanchez).  It was a spring in the Western part of the city of David, so called from its extension/channeling,[11] because gardens were watered by it (Vatablus).  Gihon was a stream flowing past the city of David, and Jerusalem, 2 Chronicles 32:30; 33:14 (Junius, Piscator).  This spring, or stream, was opposite to the spring of Rogel, where Adonijah was being inaugurated (Menochius, Tirinus); so that nothing might disturb the, but rather the matter might be completed before they even noticed (Menochius); and lest the two armies, if they be brought into close proximity, should engage each other in battle, and stain the inauguration with the blood of civil strife (Tirinus out of Sanchez).  This Gihon is the same spring that is called Siloah[12] (Theodoret and Tostatus in Sanchez, Mariana, Martyr, Vatablus out of Jonathan).  The names Siloah[13] and Gihon signify the same thing (Vatablus).  David wanted him to be anointed in this place, either, 1.  because its water was continual, so that he might signify that his vow, that the Kingdom of Solomon would be perpetual (Vatablus, similarly Mariana); or, 2.  so that he might wash his body before the anointing (Mariana); or, 3.  since a great concourse of men appears always to have been there (Osiander, Martyr); or, 4.  because those waters were flowing gently; but the duty of the king is to act gently with his subjects (Martyr); or, 5.  so that he might indicate the transfer of the kingdom to Solomon with this prerogative, that it might be derived to his posterity; just as the waters of rivers suddenly gushes forth from springs (certain interpreters in Martyr).

To Gihon; a river near Jerusalem, on the west side, as may be gathered from 2 Chronicles 32:30, as En-rogel, where Adonijah was inaugurated, was on the east side.  This place David chose, either as remote from Adonijah and his company, that so the people might go thither, and be there without fear of tumults or bloodshed; or to show that Solomon was chosen king in opposition to Adonijah; or because this was a place of great resort, and fit to receive and display that numerous company which he knew would follow Solomon thither; or that he might from thence return and make the more magnificent entrance into the city.

Verse 34:[14]  And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet (1 Sam. 10:1; 16:3, 12; 2 Sam. 2:4; 5:3; 1 Kings 19:16; 2 Kings 9:3; 11:12) anoint him there king over Israel:  and (2 Sam. 15:10; 2 Kings 9:13; 11:14) blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon.

[And let him anoint him]  Thus it is done, because it appears that the succession was cast into confusion; otherwise the son of the king was not anointed (Martyr out of the Hebrews).  Among the Hebrews, Kings, the uncontroverted heirs of the kingdom, were not wont to be anointed; but, with controversies having arisen, anointing was employed for greater caution.  Now, what David did here, Artaxerxes afterwards did the same; who, while yet living, and to cut off all occasion of contests among the brothers, made his son Darius King.  Other Persian Kings also did the same, and many of the Roman Emperors (Grotius).

[Zadok the priest]  Thus the High Priesthood is tacitly transferred to Zadok (Martyr).  The Vicar of the High Priest was discharging all his duties in his absence (Grotius).

Anoint him there king; as they used to do where there was any thing new, or doubtful, or extraordinary in the succession, as 1 Samuel 10:1; 16:12, 13; 1 Kings 19:15, 16; 2 Kings 9:3.  And this unction signified both the designation of the persons to the office, and the gifts and graces which were necessary for their office, and which they, seeking them sincerely from God, might expect to receive.

[And ye shall sound the trumpet]  This was pertaining to public proclamation (Martyr).

Blow ye with the trumpet; to make the action more solemn, and glorious, and public.

[And ye shall say, Let the King live[15]]  He willed to have expressed the vows and prayers of those assisting, and their approbation of the new king (Martyr).

Verse 35:[16]  Then ye shall come up after him, 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.

[And ye shall ascend after him]  That is, following him (Vatablus).

[He shall sit upon my throne]  A legitimate introduction to possession (Grotius).

[He shall reign in my stead]  He does not say, after me; because he was going to be king while David was yet living, with David willingly yielding the kingdom (Menochius).  That Solomon reigned with David, the following things urge:  1.  Josephus[17] affirms it in Antiquities 7:9, and Augustine in City of God 17:8; 2.  that he was placed upon the throne and reverenced (Sanchez on verse 50).

King in my stead; my deputy and vice-king whilst I live, and absolutely king when I die.  Or if David and Solomon were joint kings, it is no more than was afterwards frequent at Rome, where the father and son, or two other persons, were not seldom joint emperors.

[And him I will appoint]  That is, I will publicly entrust the guardianship and administration of the kingdom (Sanchez).  ‎וְאֹת֤וֹ צִוִּ֙יתִי֙, and (for [Pagnine]) him I have appointed (Vatablus), that is to say, he has not obtruded himself (Martyr).

I have appointed, and that by Divine direction.[18]

[Over Israel, and over Judah]  Question:  Since Judah is one of the tribes of Israel, why is he listed separately?  Response 1:  As the noblest tribe.  Thus what things are eminent in their class, even if they be comprehended under a common name, are nevertheless wont to be mentioned separately, as in 2 Samuel 22:1, out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul, where we adduced more examples.  Response 2:  Because the men of Judah are said to have been called by Adonijah, verse 9, and they hailed him as king; that is to say, Even those that chose Adonijah as King shall be subject to Solomon (Sanchez).

And over Judah:  this is added, partly as being the most eminent and royal tribe; it being frequent, together with the general distinction, to mention one of the most eminent particulars, as 1 Kings 11:1; Psalm 18:1; Mark 16:7; and partly lest the men of Judah, who were in a special manner invited by Adonijah, 1 Kings 1:9, might think themselves exempted from his jurisdiction.

Verse 36:[19]  And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen:  the LORD God of my lord the king say so too.

[And Benaiah answered]  For himself and for the rest, as it appears out of verse 47 (Junius, Piscator).

[Amen[20]]  That is, let it be so; let Him thus establish it as future (Vatablus, similarly Tirinus, Piscator).  It is a particle of confirmation and of wish (Martyr), in the place of הֵאָמֵן.  For it is a passive Imperative of the first conjugation, and is interpreted, Let it be true, or confirmed (Munster).

Amen; which was both an approbation of the king’s fact, and a profession of his allegiance to the new king, and a petition to God to ratify and confirm it.

[May the Lord say so]  That is, may He fulfill or confirm thy words (Lapide, Munster).  Otherwise, if this word depends upon men, all this pomp and ceremony will be for nothing (Martyr).

The Lord God of my lord the king say so too; the Lord stablish Solomon’s throne in spite of Adonijah, and all his other enemies.

Verse 37:[21]  (Josh. 1:5, 17; 1 Sam. 20:13) As the LORD hath been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon, and (1 Kings 1:47) make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David.

[May He make his throne loftier]  He did not fear to offend David; for parents wish for this, that their own might excel them in felicity (Menochius).  The father abides in a certain way in his son; and so the good of the son is the good of the father (Lyra).  He knew the character of David, how envious it was not, how loving and indulgent to his children (Sanchez).  A father, when compared to his sons, thence begins to be happier, because he is surpassed, Sidonius’ Epistles[22] 7:9.  There are those in whom we are surpassed for our own good, Seneca’s[23] Concerning Benefits 3:36; Genesis 45:11.  Paternal piety accounts it a victory to be surpassed in honor by one’s sons, Savaron[24] on Sidonius (Gataker[25]).

And make his throne greater, etc.:  Which petition, albeit it might have offended an unworthy, vain-glorious, and envious father, he knew would be welcome to so pious and generous a man as David was, and to one so kind and indulgent to his children.

Verse 38:[26]  So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, (2 Sam. 8:18; 23:20-23) and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, went down, and caused Solomon to ride upon king David’s mule, and brought him to Gihon.

Verse 39:[27]  And Zadok the priest took an horn of (Ex. 30:25, 32; Ps. 89:20) oil out of the tabernacle, and (1 Chron. 29:22) anointed Solomon.  And they blew the trumpet; (1 Sam. 10:24) and all the people said, God save king Solomon.

[And Zadok the priest took, etc.]  Who was not yet the High Priest; it was not necessary for a King to be anointed by the High Priest; for David and Saul were anointed by Samuel;[28] but also the ministry of Nathan intervenes at this point, verse 34, let Zadok the priest anoint him, and Nathan the prophet (Menochius).

Zadok the priest; for though he was not the high priest, he might do this office, especially having the direction of the prophet Nathan, verse 34.

[A horn of oil]  That is, a vessel, as the Arabic has it; the genus in the place of the species.  Among the Greeks also κέρας/horn was used in drinking vessels, whence κεράσαι is to mix drink (Bochart’s A Sacred Catalogue of Animals 1:2:33:317).

[From the tabernacle]  Which David had pitched for the ark, 2 Samuel 6:17 (Junius, Piscator, Malvenda).  But the tabernacle was at that time in Gibeon, and thence he took the horn of oil (Martyr).  The anointing oil made in the time of Moses to anoint kings and high priests was reverently kept in the tabernacle (Lyra).

Out of the tabernacle; that which David had erected for the ark, 2 Samuel 6:17, in which oil was kept for divers sacred uses; for Moses’s tabernacle was at Gibeon, 1 Chronicles 16:39; 21:29, which was too remote for the present occasion, which required all possible expedition.

Verse 40:[29]  And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes (or, flutes[30]), and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them.

[And the people was of those playing upon flutes, ‎וְהָעָם֙ מְחַלְּלִ֣ים בַּחֲלִלִ֔ים]  And (or and it [Pagnine]) a people piping (or was piping [Piscator]) on pipes (Montanus, Munster).  For a חָלִיל is a musical instrument having many holes/apertures[31] (Munster).  They were shaking sistrums (Syriac); playing on squared tambourines (Arabic); they were playing (it was playing [Pagnine]) upon flutes (Munster, Junius and Tremellius, Tigurinus, etc.).  The plural participle agrees with the collective singular noun.  Thus in 2 Samuel 3:1[32] (Glassius’ “Grammar” 421).  They were leading the choruses in dances (Septuagint); it was celebrating in choruses (Jonathan).

All the people came up after him; which flocked thither in abundance; some out of curiosity to see so solemn an action; others to do their duty; and others in expectation of some advantage by their cheerful attendance upon the new king.  Rejoiced with great joy; partly because this would certainly prevent civil wars, under which they had lately and so sorely groaned, and which they had reason to fear from Adonijah’s pretence to the crown, and the assistance he might have from the great and famous lord-general Joab, and from Abiathar the high priest, and from others who were or might easily be engaged for him, if David had not ended the controversy in his lifetime; and partly because of the singular wisdom and virtue for which Solomon was even then famous.  See 1 Kings 2:6, 9.

[And the earth resounded, ‎וַתִּבָּקַע [33]]  And it was rent (Montanus); in such a way that it was cleft (Syriac, Junius and Tremellius, Piscator); it was bursting, that is, it appeared to have burst (Vatablus out of Pagnine).  Hyperbole taken from the similitude of noise (Malvenda out of Junius); for the greatest and most solid things are split apart by mighty noises (Malvenda).  So that it trembled (Jonathan, thus the Arabic, Munster), or so that the earth was moved (Munster).

The earth rent; an hyperbolical expression; yet even solid bodies have been oft broken and rent by great sounds.

[1] Hebrew:  ‎וַיֹּ֣אמֶר׀ הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ דָּוִ֗ד קִרְאוּ־לִ֞י לְצָד֤וֹק הַכֹּהֵן֙ וּלְנָתָ֣ן הַנָּבִ֔יא וְלִבְנָיָ֖הוּ בֶּן־יְהוֹיָדָ֑ע וַיָּבֹ֖אוּ לִפְנֵ֥י הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃

[2] Hebrew: ‎וַיֹּ֙אמֶר הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ לָהֶ֗ם קְח֤וּ עִמָּכֶם֙ אֶת־עַבְדֵ֣י אֲדֹנֵיכֶ֔ם וְהִרְכַּבְתֶּם֙ אֶת־שְׁלֹמֹ֣ה בְנִ֔י עַל־הַפִּרְדָּ֖ה אֲשֶׁר־לִ֑י וְהוֹרַדְתֶּ֥ם אֹת֖וֹ אֶל־גִּחֽוֹן׃

[3] Hebrew:  ‎עַל־הַפִּרְדָּ֖ה אֲשֶׁר־לִ֑י.

[4] Hebrew:  ‎אֲדֹנֵיכֶם.

[5] Thus formally plural.

[6] Genesis 24:9:  “And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master (‎אֲדֹנָיו), and sware to him concerning that matter.”

[7] Genesis 40:1:  “And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt (‎לַאֲדֹנֵיהֶ֖ם לְמֶ֥לֶךְ מִצְרָֽיִם׃).”

[8] Genesis 42:30:  “The man, who is the lord of the land (‎הָאִ֙ישׁ אֲדֹנֵ֥י הָאָ֛רֶץ), spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.”

[9] 2 Samuel 8:18; 20:23; 1 Kings 1:38, 44.

[10] The Plantin (or Antwerp) Polyglot, as known as the Biblia Regia, was printed by Christopher Plantin in Antwerp in eight volumes, 1568-1573.  The first four volumes cover the Old Testament in Hebrew, Greek, and Chaldean, each with a Latin translation.  Volume 5 contains the New Testament in Greek and Syriac, both with a Latin translation, and the Syriac with a Hebrew translation.  A complete Bible in the original languages, and an interlinear Bible, are found in volume 6.  Volumes 7 and 8 provide lexical and grammatical aids.

[11] גִּיחַ signifies to burst forth, or to draw out.

[12] See Nehemiah 3:15; Isaiah 8:6; John 9:7, 11.

[13] שָׁלַח/shalach signifies to send.

[14] Hebrew: ‎וּמָשַׁ֣ח אֹת֣וֹ שָׁ֠ם צָד֙וֹק הַכֹּהֵ֜ן וְנָתָ֧ן הַנָּבִ֛יא לְמֶ֖לֶךְ עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וּתְקַעְתֶּם֙ בַּשּׁוֹפָ֔ר וַאֲמַרְתֶּ֕ם יְחִ֖י הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹֽה׃

[15] Hebrew:  ‎יְחִ֖י הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ.

[16] Hebrew:  ‎וַעֲלִיתֶ֣ם אַחֲרָ֗יו וּבָא֙ וְיָשַׁ֣ב עַל־כִּסְאִ֔י וְה֥וּא יִמְלֹ֖ךְ תַּחְתָּ֑י וְאֹת֤וֹ צִוִּ֙יתִי֙ לִֽהְי֣וֹת נָגִ֔יד עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל וְעַל־יְהוּדָֽה׃

[17] Flavius Josephus (37-93) was a priest in the Temple of Jerusalem, a Jewish general, and an eyewitness to the final siege of Jerusalem.  Josephus’ works are invaluable to the student of Jewish antiquities and of the history of the fall of Jerusalem.

[18] See 1 Chronicles 17:14; 28:5; 29:1.

[19] Hebrew:  ‎וַיַּ֙עַן בְּנָיָ֧הוּ בֶן־יְהֽוֹיָדָ֛ע אֶת־הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר׀ אָמֵ֑ן כֵּ֚ן יֹאמַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה אֱלֹהֵ֖י אֲדֹנִ֥י הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃

[20] Hebrew:  ‎אָמֵן/verily/truly (adverb).

[21] Hebrew:  ‎כַּאֲשֶׁ֙ר הָיָ֤ה יְהוָה֙ עִם־אֲדֹנִ֣י הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ כֵּ֖ן יְֽהִ֣י עִם־שְׁלֹמֹ֑ה וִֽיגַדֵּל֙ אֶת־כִּסְא֔וֹ מִ֙כִּסֵּ֔א אֲדֹנִ֖י הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ דָּוִֽד׃

[22] Sidonius Apollinaris (c. 430-c. 490) was a Gallo-Roman aristocrat, son-in-law to the Emperor Avitus.  He was appointed as Bishop of Clermont, and led the defense of the city against the Visigothic invasion.  His poetry and letters survive in abundance, providing important insight into fifth century Gaul.

[23] Lucius Annæus Seneca, or Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BC-65 AD), was a Roman Stoic philosopher and dramatist.

[24] Jean Savaron (1566-1622) was a French jurist, magistrate, humanist, and historian, composing a history of Clermont (Les Origines de Clairmont).  He produced an annotated edition of Sidonius.

[25] Thomas Gataker (1574-1654) was an English churchman, theologian, and critic, of great reputation in his own day.  On account of his great learning, he was invited to sit as a member of the Assembly of Divines at Westminster.  His abilities as a critic are on display in his commentaries on Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Lamentation, found in the English Annotations.

[26] Hebrew: ‎וַיֵּ֣רֶד צָד֣וֹק הַ֠כֹּהֵן וְנָתָ֙ן הַנָּבִ֜יא וּבְנָיָ֣הוּ בֶן־יְהוֹיָדָ֗ע וְהַכְּרֵתִי֙ וְהַפְּלֵתִ֔י וַיַּרְכִּ֙בוּ֙ אֶת־שְׁלֹמֹ֔ה עַל־פִּרְדַּ֖ת הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ דָּוִ֑ד וַיֹּלִ֥כוּ אֹת֖וֹ עַל־גִּחֽוֹן׃

[27] Hebrew: ‎וַיִּקַּח֩ צָד֙וֹק הַכֹּהֵ֜ן אֶת־קֶ֤רֶן הַשֶּׁ֙מֶן֙ מִן־הָאֹ֔הֶל וַיִּמְשַׁ֖ח אֶת־שְׁלֹמֹ֑ה וַֽיִּתְקְעוּ֙ בַּשּׁוֹפָ֔ר וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ כָּל־הָעָ֔ם יְחִ֖י הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹֽה׃

[28] See 1 Samuel 10:1; 16:13.

[29] Hebrew:  ‎וַיַּעֲל֤וּ כָל־הָעָם֙ אַֽחֲרָ֔יו וְהָעָם֙ מְחַלְּלִ֣ים בַּחֲלִלִ֔ים וּשְׂמֵחִ֖ים שִׂמְחָ֣ה גְדוֹלָ֑ה וַתִּבָּקַ֥ע הָאָ֖רֶץ בְּקוֹלָֽם׃

[30] Hebrew:  ‎בַּחֲלִלִים.

[31] חָלַל signifies to bore or pierce.

[32] 2 Samuel 3:1:  “Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David:  but David waxed stronger and stronger (‎וְדָוִד֙ הֹלֵ֣ךְ וְחָזֵ֔ק, a singular noun with a singular participle and adjective), and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker (‎וּבֵ֥ית שָׁא֖וּל הֹלְכִ֥ים וְדַלִּֽים׃, a singular noun with a plural participle and adjective).”

[33] בָּקַע, in the Niphal conjugation, signifies to be cleft.