King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Since he is my older brother, you might as well request the kingdom for him and for Abiathar the priest and for Joab son of Zeruiah!”
Parallel translations
- WEB King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also; for he is my elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.”
- KJV And king Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is mine elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.
- NKJV And King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “Now why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also—for he is my older brother—for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.”
- NASB But King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “And why are you requesting Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Request for him the kingdom as well—since he is my older brother—for him, for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah!”
- NLT “How can you possibly ask me to give Abishag to Adonijah?” King Solomon demanded. “You might as well ask me to give him the kingdom! You know that he is my older brother, and that he has Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah on his side.”
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
Solomon immediately sees the request as a disguised claim to the throne, naming Adonijah's powerful allies. He discerns that asking for Abishag is tantamount to asking for the kingdom.
Overview
Solomon perceives the political treason behind the petition, linking Adonijah with Abiathar the priest and Joab the army commander, the very men who had backed his earlier coup. His sharp discernment foreshadows the God-given wisdom he will soon request and receive. The verse exposes that Adonijah had not truly submitted but was quietly maneuvering for power.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 1 Chr 3:2the third was Absalom the son of Maacah daughter of King Talmai of Geshur; the fourth was Adonijah the son of Haggith;
- Mark 10:38“You do not know what you are asking,” Jesus replied. “Can you drink the cup I will drink, or be baptized with the baptism I will undergo?”
- 1 Chr 3:5and these sons were born to him in Jerusalem: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon. These four were born to him by Bathsheba daughter of Ammiel.
- Jas 4:3And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.
- 1 Kgs 1:5–7At that time Adonijah, David’s son by Haggith, began to exalt himself, saying, “I will be king!” And he acquired chariots and horsemen and fifty men to run ahead of him.
- 1 Kgs 1:24–25“My lord the king,” said Nathan, “did you say, ‘Adonijah will reign after me, and he will sit on my throne’?
- Matt 20:22“You do not know what you are asking,” Jesus replied. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” the brothers answered.
- 1 Kgs 1:11Then Nathan said to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, “Have you not heard that Adonijah son of Haggith has become king, and our lord David does not know it?
- 2 Sam 12:8I gave your master’s house to you and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah, and if that was not enough, I would have given you even more.
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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 2:22 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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