Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 1:3

So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.

3. a fair damsel ] Such as might be fitted to be one of the royal wives. A similar direction is given when Vashti has been deposed, and a new queen is to be sought for Ahasuerus (Est 2:2).

all the coasts ] In the English of the Bible this word has no necessary reference to sea-board land, as it has in our modern use, but often signifies, as here, borders, territories.

Abishag a Shunammite ] The Hebrew has ‘ the Shunammite’, as though she either was already, or from subsequent events became, well known. She was a native of Shunem, a city belonging to the tribe of Issachar and lying north of Jezreel and south of Mt Gilboa (see Jos 19:18; 1Sa 28:4). The Syriac and Arabic read Sulamite (cf. Son 6:13).

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

A fair damsel; whose beauty might engage his affections, and refresh his spirits, and invite him to those embraces which might communicate some of her natural heat to him, as was designed.

A Shunammite, of the city of Shunem in Issachar, Jos 19:18. See 2Ki 4:8.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

3. a ShunammiteShunem, in thetribe of Issachar (Jos 19:18),lay on an eminence in the plain of Esdraelon, five miles south ofTabor. It is now called Sulam.

1Ki1:5-31. ADONIJAHUSURPS THE KINGDOM.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel,…. Not only a damsel, but a beautiful one, that she might be the more acceptable to the king; who otherwise, if deformed and ugly, would not have endured her in his sight, or received at her hands, and much less suffered her to lie in his bosom:

and found Abishag a Shunammite; a native of the city Shunem, a city in the tribe of Issachar, Jos 19:18;

and brought her to the king; for his approbation of her, and to make her his concubine wife, as he did.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

They then looked about for a beautiful girl for this purpose, and found Abishag of Shunem, the present Sulem or Solam, at the south-eastern foot of the Duhy of Little Hermon (see at Jos 19:18), who became the king’s nurse and waited upon him. The further remark, “and the king knew her not,” is not introduced either to indicate the impotence of David or to show that she did not become David’s concubine, but simply to explain how it was that it could possibly occur to Adonijah (1Ki 2:17) to ask for her as his wife. Moreover, the whole affair is to be judged according to the circumstances of the times, when there was nothing offensive in polygamy.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

(3) A Shunammite.Shunem is in the territory of Issachar (Jos. 19:18), and in the plain of Jezreel (1Sa. 28:4), 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 Smiths Dictionary of the Bible, SHULAMITE), ingeniously and not improbably, that Abishag is the fair Shulamite of the Song of Solomon (1Ki. 6:13). The conjecture certainly throws some light on the occurrences of 1Ki. 2:13-25. Probably the whole notice of Abishag is only introduced on account of her subsequent connection with the fate of Adonijah.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

3. Abishag a Shunammite So called from her native city Shunem, in the tribe of Issachar, the modern Solam, at the base of the Little Hermon. See on Jos 19:18. A needless controversy has been raised as to whether Abishag really became the acknowledged wife or concubine of David. In what respects she served the king is here precisely told, and all beyond this is fruitless speculation. The fact, however, that she slept in the king’s bosom placed her virtually in the position of a concubine, so that Adonijah’s subsequent effort to obtain her as his wife was construed by Solomon into an attempt to invade the royal harem, and thus establish a claim to the throne.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

1Ki 1:3 So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.

Ver. 3. So they sought for a fair damsel. ] The natural cause why they went this way to work rather than by wines, furs, &c., was quia ille calor humanus in substantia erat simillimus calori hominis naturali, eiusque gradum non superabat, saith Valesius: a because her heat would be likest to his in substance and degree. Virgins also have more natural heat than women who have had children.

a Sac. Theol, cap. 29. Gal., lib. 7. Method.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)