So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
Parallel translations
- WEB So they sought for a beautiful young lady throughout all the borders of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
- BSB Then they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful girl, and they found Abishag the Shunammite and brought her to the king.
- NKJV So they sought for a lovely young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
- NASB So they searched for a beautiful girl throughout the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
- NLT So they searched throughout the land of Israel for a beautiful girl, and they found Abishag from Shunem and brought her to the king.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The servants search Israel and find Abishag, a beautiful young woman from Shunem, to care for David. She is brought to serve the failing king.
Overview
A nationwide search produces Abishag the Shunammite, chosen for her beauty to attend David. Her introduction here matters later, when Adonijah's request for her becomes a claim on the throne (1 Kings 2:13-25). The detail quietly advances the narrative's central concern with royal succession.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Josh 19:18And their border was toward Jezreel, and Chesulloth, and Shunem,
- Esth 2:4And let the maiden which pleaseth the king be queen instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased the king; and he did so.
- Esth 2:2Then said the king’s servants that ministered unto him, Let there be fair young virgins sought for the king:
- 2 Kgs 4:8And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.
- 1 Sam 28:4And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and pitched in Shunem: and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa.
- 1 Kgs 2:17–25And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king, (for he will not say thee nay,) that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife.
- 2 Kgs 4:25So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite:
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Christ at the center
Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 1:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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