How does Solomon become king while Adonias is already being acclaimed at his feast?

Atlas of Saints · Chapter summary

Nathan and Bethsabee bring the matter to David, who confirms his oath that Solomon will succeed him and orders Solomon to be anointed that day. When Adonias’s guests hear that Solomon has been anointed and is sitting on the throne, they leave in fear.

Chapter breakdown

King David is old and cannot get warm even when covered with clothes. His servants propose finding a young virgin to stand before him, cherish him, sleep in his bosom and warm him. They search all the coasts of Israel for a beautiful young woman and bring Abisag, a Sunamitess, to him. She is exceedingly beautiful, sleeps with him and serves him, but the king does not know her.

Adonias, the son of Haggith, raises himself up, saying he will be king. He provides chariots, horsemen and fifty men to run before him. His father has never rebuked him by asking why he has done this. Adonias is also very beautiful and is next in birth after Absalom. He confers with Joab, the son of Sarvia, and Abiathar the priest, who support his side. Sadoc the priest, Banaias the son of Joiada, Nathan the prophet, Semei, Rei and the strength of David’s army are not with him.

Adonias slays rams, calves and all fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth near the fountain Rogel. He invites his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the men of Juda who are the king’s servants. He does not invite Nathan the prophet, Banaias, the valiant men or his brother Solomon.

Nathan tells Bethsabee, Solomon’s mother, that Adonias, Haggith’s son, reigns without David knowing it. He offers counsel to save her life and Solomon’s. She is to go to David and ask whether he swore that her son Solomon would reign after him and sit on his throne, and why Adonias now reigns. Nathan will enter while she is still speaking and fill out her words.

Bethsabee enters the king’s chamber, where Abisag the Sunamitess serves the very old David. She bows and worships the king, who asks what she wants. She reminds him that he swore to her by the Lord his God that Solomon would reign after him and sit on his throne. She says Adonias now reigns without David’s knowledge: he has killed oxen, fat cattle and many rams, inviting the king’s sons, Abiathar the priest and Joab the army’s general, but not Solomon. She says all Israel looks to David to declare who will sit on his throne after him. Otherwise, after David sleeps with his fathers, she and Solomon will be counted as offenders.

Nathan arrives while Bethsabee is still speaking. His arrival is announced, and he bows to the ground before David. He asks whether David has said Adonias should reign after him and sit on his throne. Adonias has gone down that day, killed oxen, fatlings and many rams, and invited the king’s sons, army captains and Abiathar. They are eating and drinking before him and saying, God save king Adonias. Nathan says he himself, Sadoc the priest, Banaias the son of Joiada and Solomon were not invited. He asks whether this came from David and whether David has left his servant uninformed about who should succeed him.

David calls Bethsabee to stand before him. He swears by the living Lord, who has delivered his soul from all distress, that he will do that day what he swore to her by the Lord, the God of Israel: her son Solomon will reign after him and sit on his throne in his place. Bethsabee bows with her face to the earth, worships the king and asks that her lord David live forever.

David calls Sadoc the priest, Nathan the prophet and Banaias the son of Joiada. He tells them to take his servants, put his son Solomon on his own mule and bring him to Gihon. Sadoc and Nathan are to anoint him king over Israel there, sound the trumpet and say, God save king Solomon. They are to come up after him; Solomon will sit on David’s throne and reign in his place as ruler over Israel and Juda. Banaias answers Amen, asking the Lord, David’s God, to say so too. He asks that the Lord be with Solomon as he has been with David and make Solomon’s throne higher than David’s.

Sadoc, Nathan and Banaias go down with the Cerethi and Phelethi, put Solomon on David’s mule and bring him to Gihon. Sadoc takes a horn of oil from the tabernacle and anoints Solomon. They sound the trumpet, and all the people say, God save king Solomon. The whole multitude comes up after him, playing pipes and rejoicing greatly; the earth rings with their cry.

Adonias and his guests hear the sound as their feast ends. Hearing the trumpet, Joab asks why the city is in an uproar. While he speaks, Jonathan, Abiathar the priest’s son, arrives. Adonias welcomes him as a valiant man bringing good news. Jonathan answers that David has appointed Solomon king. He reports that David sent Sadoc, Nathan, Banaias, the Cerethi and Phelethi with him on the king’s mule, that Sadoc and Nathan anointed him at Gihon, and that their rejoicing is the noise they heard. Solomon is already sitting on the kingdom’s throne. The king’s servants have blessed David, asking God to make Solomon’s name and throne greater than his. David adored in his bed and blessed the Lord, the God of Israel, for giving him someone to sit on his throne that day while his own eyes could see it.

Adonias’s guests are afraid; they all rise and each goes his own way. Fearing Solomon, Adonias goes and takes hold of the horn of the altar. Solomon is told that Adonias is asking him to swear that day not to kill his servant with the sword. Solomon says that if Adonias is a good man, not one hair of his head will fall to the ground; if evil is found in him, he will die. Solomon sends to bring him out from the altar. Adonias comes in and worships Solomon, who tells him to go to his house.

The story inside

Two reports of kingship meet in this chapter. Adonias says he will be king and gathers supporters at a feast, where they acclaim him. Nathan tells Bethsabee that David does not know, and they bring the claim and David’s earlier oath before him. David answers with a promise to act that day and specific orders for Solomon’s anointing and seat on the throne. The public rejoicing then reaches Adonias’s feast. Jonathan explains its cause, adding that Solomon is already enthroned and David has thanked God for seeing his successor. The guests disperse, and Adonias seeks a promise about his life. Solomon sends him home with a condition about good conduct and evil. This sequence keeps David’s order, its execution and the report of its outcome distinct.

Lessons worth keeping

1
Bethsabee and Nathan give David concrete information: who is at the feast, who is absent and what people are saying. They also ask about his earlier oath and his choice of successor. David’s response follows those reports rather than an invented account of what he privately knew or intended.
2
The details of Solomon’s appointment connect David’s command with what happens. His own mule, Gihon, Sadoc and Nathan, the trumpet and the throne all appear first in the orders and then in the action or Jonathan’s report. They explain the news that makes Adonias’s guests afraid.
3
Solomon’s answer about Adonias’s life has two parts. A good man will lose no hair; if evil is found in him, he will die. Sending him home does not erase this condition or establish a general rule that taking hold of an altar always protects someone.

Test your recall

How do Nathan and Bethsabee’s reports lead to David’s orders, and how does news that those orders were carried out change Adonias’s situation?

Source edition and notes

Douay–Rheims, revised by Richard Challoner (1749–1752). Project Gutenberg no. 1581. Locators refer to lines in the admitted pg1581.txt edition. Source notes may include Challoner commentary.

Lines 34564–34582
3 Kings Chapter 1 King David growing old, Abisag a Sunamitess is brought to him. Adonias pretending to reign, Nathan and Bethsabee obtain that Solomon should be declared and anointed king. 1:1. Now king David was old, and advanced in years: and when he was covered with clothes he was not warm. 1:2. His servants therefore, said to him: Let us seek for our lord the king, a young virgin, and let her stand before the king, and cherish him, and sleep in his bosom and warm our lord the king. 1:3. So they sought a beautiful young woman, in all the coasts of Israel and they found Abisag, a Sunamitess, and brought her to the king. 1:4. And the damsel was exceedingly beautiful, and she slept with the king, and served him, but the king did not know her.
Lines 34584–34597
1:5. And Adonias, the son of Haggith, exalted himself, saying: I will be king. And he made himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. 1:6. Neither did his father rebuke him at any time, saying: Why hast thou done this? And he also was very beautiful, the next in birth after Absalom. 1:7. And he conferred with Joab, the son of Sarvia, and with Abiathar, the priest, who furthered Adonias’s side. 1:8. But Sadoc, the priest, and Banaias, the son of Joiada, and Nathan, the prophet, and Semei, and Rei, and the strength of David’s army, was not with Adonias.
Lines 34599–34605
1:9. And Adonias having slain rams and calves, and all fat cattle, by the stone of Zoheleth, which was near the fountain Rogel, invited all his brethren, the king’s sons, and all the men of Juda, the king’s servants: 1:10. But Nathan, the prophet, and Banaias, and all the valiant men, and Solomon, his brother, he invited not.
Lines 34607–34620
1:11. And Nathan said to Bethsabee, the mother of Solomon: Hast thou not heard that Adonias, the son of Haggith, reigneth, and our lord David knoweth it not? 1:12. Now then, come, take my counsel, and save thy life, and the life of thy son Solomon. 1:13. Go, and get thee in to king David, and say to him: Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear to me, thy handmaid, saying: Solomon, thy son, shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne? why then doth Adonias reign? 1:14. And while thou art yet speaking there with the king, I will come in after thee, and will fill up thy words.
Lines 34622–34645
1:15. So Bethsabee went in to the king into the chamber. Now the king was very old, and Abisag, the Sunamitess, ministered to him. 1:16. Bethsabee bowed herself, and worshipped the king. And the king said to her: What is thy will? 1:17. She answered, and said: My lord, thou didst swear to thy handmaid, by the Lord thy God, saying: Solomon, thy son, shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne. 1:18. And behold, now Adonias reigneth, and thou, my lord the king, knowest nothing of it. 1:19. He hath killed oxen, and all fat cattle, and many rams, and invited all the king’s sons, and Abiathar, the priest, and Joab, the general of the army: but Solomon, thy servant, he invited not. 1:20. And now, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldst tell them, who shall sit on thy throne, my lord the king, after thee. 1:21. Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king sleepeth with his fathers, that I, and my son, Solomon, shall be accounted offenders.
Lines 34647–34666
1:22. As she was yet speaking with the king, Nathan, the prophet, came. 1:23. And they told the king, saying: Nathan, the prophet, is here. And when he was come in before the king, and had worshipped, bowing down to the ground, 1:24. Nathan said: My lord, O king, hast thou said: Let Adonias reign after me, and let him sit upon my throne? 1:25. Because he is gone down to day, and hath killed oxen, and fatlings, and many rams, and invited all the king’s sons, and the captains of the army, and Abiathar the priest: and they are eating and drinking before him, and saying: God save king Adonias: 1:26. But me, thy servant, and Sadoc, the priest, and Banaias, the son of Joiada, and Solomon, thy servant, he hath not invited. 1:27. Is this word come out from my lord the king, and hast thou not told me, thy servant, who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?
Lines 34668–34679
1:28. And king David answered, and said: Call to me Bethsabee. And when she was come in to the king, and stood before him, 1:29. The king swore, and said: As the Lord liveth, who hath delivered my soul out of all distress, 1:30. Even as I swore to thee, by the Lord, the God of Israel, saying: Solomon thy son, shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead, so will I do this day. 1:31. And Bethsabee, bowing with her face to the earth, worshipped the king, saying: May my lord David live for ever.
Lines 34681–34701
1:32. King David also said: Call me Sadoc, the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, and Banaias, the son of Joiada. And when they were come in before the king, 1:33. He said to them: Take with you the servants of your lord, and set my son Solomon upon my mule: and bring him to Gihon: 1:34. And let Sadoc, the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, anoint him there king over Israel: and you shall sound the trumpet, and shall say: God save king Solomon. 1:35. And you shall come up after him, and he shall come, and shall sit upon my throne, and he shall reign in my stead: and I will appoint him to be ruler over Israel, and over Juda. 1:36. And Banaias, the son of Joiada, answered the king, saying: Amen: so say the Lord, the God of my lord the king. 1:37. As the Lord hath been with my lord the king, so be he with Solomon, and make his throne higher than the throne of my lord king David.
Lines 34703–34713
1:38. So Sadoc, the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, went down, and Banaias, the son of Joiada, and the Cerethi, and Phelethi: and they set Solomon upon the mule of king David, and brought him to Gihon. 1:39. And Sadoc, the priest, took a horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon: and they sounded the trumpet, and all the people said: God save king Solomon. 1:40. And all the multitude went up after him, and the people played with pipes, and rejoiced with a great joy, and the earth rang with the noise of their cry.
Lines 34715–34742
1:41. And Adonias, and all that were invited by him, heard it, and now the feast was at an end. Joab also, hearing the sound of the trumpet, said: What meaneth this noise of the city in an uproar? 1:42. While he yet spoke, Jonathan, the son of Abiathar, the priest, came: and Adonias said to him: Come in, because thou art a valiant man, and bringest good news. 1:43. And Jonathan answered Adonias: Not so: for our lord, king David, hath appointed Solomon king; 1:44. And hath sent with him Sadoc, the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, and Banaias, the son of Joiada, and the Cerethi, and the Phelethi, and they have set him upon the king’s mule: 1:45. And Sadoc, the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, have anointed him king, in Gihon: and they are gone up from thence rejoicing, so that the city rang again: this is the noise that you have heard. 1:46. Moreover, Solomon sitteth upon the throne of the kingdom. 1:47. And the king’s servants going in, have blessed our lord king David, saying: May God make the name of Solomon greater than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne. And the king adored in his bed: 1:48. And he said: Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who hath given this day one to sit on my throne, my eyes seeing it.
Lines 34744–34761
1:49. Then all the guests of Adonias were afraid, and they all arose, and every man went his way. 1:50. And Adonias fearing Solomon, arose and went, and took hold of the horn of the altar. 1:51. And they told Solomon, saying: Behold Adonias fearing king Solomon, hath taken hold of the horn of the altar, saying: Let king Solomon swear to me this day, that he will not kill his servant with the sword. 1:52. And Solomon said: If he be a good man, there shall not so much as one hair of his head fall to the ground: but if evil be found in him, he shall die. 1:53. Then king Solomon sent, and brought him out from the altar: and going in, he worshipped king Solomon: and Solomon said to him: Go to thy house.