Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 1:35
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.
35. come up after him ] That is, as his supporters and body-guard, just as in 1Ki 1:7 above, the conspirators ‘helped after Adonijah.’ Cf. also below, 1Ki 1:40.
to be ruler over Israel ] A better rendering is ‘prince’. The title was that given by God specially to those who should lead His people. Thus Saul is first so called (1Sa 9:16. A.V. ‘captain’ as in 1Sa 10:1. In 2Ch 11:22 A.V. has ‘ruler,’ R.V. ‘prince’), then David (1Sa 25:30, A. V. ‘leader’). It is used also of Hezekiah (2Ki 20:5), and in Daniel (1Ki 9:25) of Him who was to be greater than all these, ‘Messiah the Prince.’
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Over Israel and over Judah – There is no anticipation here of the subsequent division of the kingdom; the antithesis between Judah and Israel already existed in the reign of David 2Sa 2:9; 2Sa 19:11.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
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.
I have appointed, and that by Divine direction.
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 1Ki 11:1; Psa 18:1; Mar 16:7; and partly lest the men of Judah, who were in a special manner invited by Adonijah, 1Ki 1:9, might think themselves exempted from his jurisdiction.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
35. Then ye shall come up after him,that he may come and sit upon my throneThe public recognitionof the successor to the throne, during the old king’s lifetime, isaccordant with the customs of the East.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then ye shall come up after him,…. When anointed, proclaimed, and cheered, then he was to mount the mule, and ride before them as their king, at the head of them; they following after, in token of their subjection to him:
that he may come and sit upon my throne; at Jerusalem, in the king’s palace, and there exercise his kingly power he would now be invested with:
for he shall be king in my stead; even during David’s life, as well as after his decease:
and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel, and over Judah; that is, over all the twelve tribes of Israel Judah may be particularly mentioned, though included in Israel, because Adonijah had invited the men of Judah to his feast and party, 1Ki 1:9; and therefore had they not been named, might think he had no power over them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
After the anointing they were to conduct Solomon up to Zion again; Solomon was then to ascend the throne, as David was about to appoint him prince over Israel and Judah in his own stead. Both the anointing and the appointment of Solomon as prince over the whole of the covenant nation were necessary, because the succession to the throne had been rendered doubtful through Adonijah’s attempt, and the aged king was still alive. In cases where there was no question, and the son followed the father after his death, the unanimous opinion of the Rabbins is, that there was no anointing at all. Israel and Judah are mentioned, because David had been the first to unite all the tribes under his sceptre, and after the death of Solomon Israel fell away from the house of David.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(35) Over Israel and over Judah.The phrase clearly refers to the distinction, already tending to become a division, between Israel and Judah in relation to the monarchy. In the case of David himself, it may be observed that the record of his accession to royalty over Israel contains the notice of a league made by him with the elders of Israel (2Sa. 5:3), to which there is nothing to correspond in the account of his becoming king over Judah (2Sa. 2:4). This perhaps indicates from the beginning a less absolute rule over the other tribes. Certainly the history of the rebellion of Absalom (2Sa. 15:10; 2Sa. 15:13; 2Sa. 18:6-7), the disputes about the restoration of David (2Sa. 19:41-43), and the attempt of Sheba to take advantage of them (2Sa. 20:1-2), show a looser allegiance of Israel than of Judah to the house of David.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
“ Then you shall come up after him, and he will come and sit on my throne, for he will be king in my place, and I have appointed him to be prince over Israel and over Judah.”
Once the anointing was completed they were to come up with Solomon to the throne room, and there Solomon was to sit on his throne, indicating that he was king in David’s place, i.e. acting initially as his co-regent. This would indicate to all that David had appointed him as Nagid (war-leader, prince) over Israel and Judah. Nagid was the term that had been applied to both Saul and David. It was a title that indicated that the true king (melek) was YHWH, and that they were His servants. Once this enthronement had taken place at the king’s command the matter would be settled. If Adonijah now continued with his attempt to gain the throne, what had initially been a bold but not illegal attempt to assert his position would become high treason.
1Ki 1:36-37
‘ And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, “Amen, YHWH, the God of my lord the king, say so too. As YHWH has been with my lord the king, even so may he be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David.”
Benaiah then made clear his agreement with the king, and expressed his desire that YHWH would see things in the same way as David did, and conjoin His voice with David’s, adding to it his desire that YHWH would be with Solomon as He had been with David, and would make him even greater than his father had been.
“Amen.” Compare Deu 27:15 ff. This was expressing an oath of loyalty on behalf of his men. A similar word was used by Hittite soldiers when they swore their oath of loyalty.
1Ki 1:38-39
‘ So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, went down, and caused Solomon to ride on king David’s mule, and brought him to Gihon. And Zadok the priest took the horn of oil out of the Tent, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the ram’s horn, and all the people said, “Let king Solomon live.” ’
David’s commands were carried out exactly as David had demanded. The writer repeats the details in order to indicate that this was so. The continual repetitions that will have been noted in this chapter are, however, typical of ancient literature, much of which was designed to be read out in public.
Zadok, the High Priest in Jerusalem, Nathan, the Prophet, and Benaiah and the king’s bodyguard made a powerful combination and they did precisely what David asked. They caused Solomon to ride on the king’s own mule, brought him to Gihon, arranged for Zadok as YHWH’s High Priest to anoint him with a horn of oil taken from the sacred Tent in Jerusalem, (a horn which would be reserved for anointings), and blew the ram’s horn, the indication that an important official event was taking place. Solomon’s coronation was now official and public. And at the sounding of the ram’s horn all the people cried out, “Let king Solomon live.” The indication from all this was that YHWH’s will was being done.
The ‘Cherethi and Pelethi’ may simply indicate ‘David’s men’ who had been with him in Gath, (as supplemented by their successors who may well have been their sons), and who had lived for some time in ‘the Negev of the Cherethi’ (compare 1Sa 30:14), thus being seen as Cherethites. Some see the terms as indicating Philistine mercenaries, but if that is so what happened to David’s own faithful men, his ‘six hundred’? Some consider that the term Cherethi may indicate those who had come from Crete (although not necessarily native Cretans) but if so the term had clearly become connected with the land of Canaan as the above indicates. The derivation of the term Pelethites is uncertain. Some have argued that the philisti were made into the pelethi in order to rhyme with cherethi, but this does not sound very convincing. However, cherethi and pelethi may in fact simply indicate the ‘executioners and runners (i.e. messengers)’ (of the king), thus emphasising two of the main functions of his bodyguard. This is the last mention of them in Kings. Under this description they appear to have had a personal loyalty to David.
“All the people.” Word would soon pass around about what was happening and the result was that the local people quickly gathered, leaving their work in order to join in with such important celebrations.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
1Ki 1:35 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.
Ver. 35. For he shall be king in my stead. ] The son of our King Henry II was crowned king by his father, who at his coronation renounced the name of a king for that day, and as sewer served at that table. But this young king was so puffed up with his new dignity, that he soon bore arms against his father; and dying of discontent before his father, got not so much by his coronation as to have a name in the catalogue of the kings of England. But Solomon had learned better things both of his father Pro 4:4 and mother, Pro 31:10-31 and tutor Nathan.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
sit, &c. As associate king, Solomon being nineteen years of age.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
sit: 1Ki 1:13, 1Ki 1:17, 1Ki 2:12
I have: 1Ki 2:15, 1Ch 23:1, 1Ch 28:4, 1Ch 28:5, Psa 2:6, Psa 72:1, *title Psa 72:1, Psa 72:2
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Ki 1:35-36. Then ye shall come up after him, that he may sit on my throne Ye shall attend upon him to Jerusalem, and give him actual possession of the throne. For he shall be king in my stead My deputy and vice-king while I live, and absolutely king when I die. Over Israel and over Judah The latter clause is added, lest the men of Judah, who were in a special manner invited by Adonijah, (1Ki 1:9,) should think themselves exempted from his jurisdiction. And Benaiah said, Amen They all said the same, (1Ki 1:47,) not doubting but God would establish his authority.