Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 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.
20. 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.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 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.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The eyes of all Israel are upon thee; the generality of the people are in suspense, whether Adonijahs practices be with thy consent or no, and wait for thy sentence, which they will readily embrace.
Who shall sit upon the throne of my lord the king; she speaks only in general, as owning my kings prerogative to give the crown to which of his sons he pleased, if he had not restrained himself by his oath to Solomon.
After him, i.e. after thy death; whereby she taxeth Adonijahs ambition, who usurped the crown whilst his father lived.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
20. the eyes of all Israel are uponthee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throneWhenthe kings died without declaring their will, then their oldest sonsucceeded. But frequently they designated long before their deathwhich of their sons should inherit the throne. The kings of Persia,as well as of other Eastern countries, have exercised the same rightin modern and even recent times.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
1Ki 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.
Ver. 20. That thou shouldest tell them, &c. ] This some princes love not to do, – Queen Elizabeth for instance. A false Jesuit wrote, that she wished she might after her death hang a while in the air, to see what scuffling there would be for her kingdom. Os durum! fowl mouth!
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
thou = thou therefore. Some codices, with three early printed editions, and Aramaean, read “And now”. See note on 1Ki 1:18.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the eyes: 2Ch 20:12, Psa 25:15, Psa 123:2, Zec 3:9
that thou: At this time the monarchy of Israel was unsettled; no man knew who was to succeed to the crown; and the minds of the people were as unsettled as the succession. It was neither hereditary nor elective: the king, as was anciently the case in most countries, named his successor; but in this instance, God had already assigned the throne to Solomon. 2Sa 23:2, 1Ch 22:8-10, 1Ch 28:5, 1Ch 28:6, 1Ch 28:10, 1Ch 29:1