1 Kings 2 commentary

David's charge to Solomon is, to keep the charge of the Lord. The authority of a dying father is much, but nothing to that of a living God. God promised David that the Messiah should come from his descendants, and that promise was absolute; but the promise, that there should not fail of them a man on the throne of Israel, was conditional; if he walks before God in sincerity, with zeal and resolution: in order hereunto, he must take heed to his way. (1Ki 2:5-11)

These dying counsels concerning Joab and Shimei, did not come from personal anger, but for the security of Solomon's throne, which was the murders he had committed, but would readily repeat them to carry any purpose; though long reprieved, he shall be reckoned with at last. Time does not wear out the guilt of any sin, particularly of murder. Concerning Shimei, Hold him not guiltless; do not think him any true friend to thee, or thy government, or fit to be trusted; he has no less malice now than he had then. David's dying sentiments are recorded, as delivered under the influence of the Holy Ghost, 2Sa 23:1–7. The Lord discovered to him the offices and the salvation of that glorious personage, the Messiah, whose coming he then foretold, and from whom he derived all his comforts and expectations. That passage gives a decided proof that David died under the influence of the Holy Ghost, in the exercise of faith and hope.

Solomon received Bathsheba with all the respect that was owing to a mother; but let none be asked for that which they ought not to grant. It ill becomes a good man to prefer a bad request, or to appear in a bad cause. According to eastern customs it was plain that Adonijah sought to be king, by his asking for Abishag as his wife, and Solomon could not be safe while he lived. Ambitious, turbulent spirits commonly prepare death for themselves. Many a head has been lost by catching at a crown.

Solomon's words to Abiathar, and his silence, imply that some recent conspiracies had been entered into. Those that show kindness to God's people shall have it remembered to their advantage. For this reason Solomon spares Abiathar's life, but dismisses him from his offices. In case of such sins as the blood of beasts would atone for, the altar was a refuge, but not in Joab's case. Solomon looks upward to God as the Author of peace, and forward to eternity as the perfection of it. The Lord of peace himself gives us that peace which is everlasting.

The old malignity remains in the unconverted heart, and a watchful eye should be kept on those who, like Shimei, have manifested their enmity, but have given no evidence of repentance. No engagements or dangers will restrain worldly men; they go on, though they forfeit their lives and souls. Let us remember, God will not accommodate his judgment to us. His eye is over us; and let us strive to walk as in his presence. Let our every act, word, and thought, be governed by this great truth, that the hour is quickly coming when the smallest circumstances of our lives shall be brought to light, and our eternal state be fixed by a righteous and unerring God. Thus Solomon's throne was established in peace, as the type of the Redeemer's kingdom of peace and righteousness. And it is a comfort, in reference to the enmity of the church's enemies, that, how much soever they rage, it is a vain thing they imagine. Christ's throne is established, and they cannot shake it.

CHAPTER 2

1Ki 2:1-11. David Dies.

1. David ... charged Solomon his son--The charge recorded here was given to Solomon just before his death and is different from the farewell address delivered in public some time before (1Ch 28:2-9). It is introduced with great solemnity.

2. I go the way of all the earth--a beautiful and impressive periphrasis for death.

be thou strong, ... show thyself a man--This counsel is similar to the apostolic direction (1Co 16:13) and refers to the fortitude or strength of mind that was required to discharge the onerous functions of king.

3. keep the charge of the Lord thy God--that is, the divine law in all its ceremonial as well as moral requirements. But particular reference was intended to its political institutions, as it was only by strictly maintaining the conduct that became the Hebrew monarch (De 17:10-20), that he would secure the blessing of peace and prosperity to his reign (see on De 4:5; De 29:10).

4. there shall not fail thee ... a man on the throne of Israel--a reference to the promise made to David of the sovereignty being vested perpetually in his lineage (2Sa 7:11-16), which was confirmed to Solomon afterwards (see 1Ki 9:5), and repeated with reference to its spiritual meaning long after (Jr 33:17).

5-6. thou knowest also what Joab ... did--The insolent and imperious conduct of that general had not only been deeply offensive to the feelings (2Sa 18:5-15; 19:5-7), but calculated to bring reproach on the character, to injure the prospects, and endanger the throne of David. Passing over the injuries committed directly against himself, David dwelt with strong feelings on the base assassination of Abner and Amasa.

shed the blood of war in peace, &c.--The obvious meaning is, that in peace he acted towards them as if they had been in a state of warfare; but perhaps these graphic expressions might be designed to impress Solomon's mind more strongly with a sense of the malice, treachery, and cruelty by which those murders were characterized.

8. thou hast with thee Shimei--Though David promised him a pardon, which being enforced by the presence of a thousand followers, could not have been well refused, he warned his son against Shimei as a turbulent and dangerous character. It must not be supposed that in these dying instructions David was evincing a fierce, vindictive spirit. He is rather to be considered as acting in the character of a king and magistrate, in noticing crimes which he had not been in a condition to punish, and pointing out persons of whom Solomon would be under a necessity to rid himself as dangerous to the state. The grateful mention of Barzillai's kindness [1Ki 2:7] was, however, a personal feeling that does honor to the warmth of his heart; and his silence as to Mephibosheth, the son of his beloved Jonathan, would imply the previous death of that prince.

9. for thou art a wise man--Solomon had given early indications of wisdom before his miraculous endowment with the heavenly gift (see 1Ki 3:11), and his own sagacity would dictate the course that should be followed in any new offense that Shimei might commit.

10. So David slept with his fathers--about six months after the coronation of Solomon (compare 2Sa 5:5 with 1Ch 29:27). The interval was spent in developing his ideas and plans for the future glory of the kingdom and providing for the permanent worship of God (see on 1Ch 22:1, and following).

was buried in the city of David--Sepulchres were not allowed within the precincts of cities. Jerusalem, however, formed an exception; and yet, even there, the privilege was reserved chiefly for the royal family (Ac 2:29). Tradition says that the bones of David repose on Mount Zion, and the minaret of a small mosque points out the spot which tradition has fixed. His was a noble, a wondrous, and a humbling history. He was a good man, yet his life was deformed by various crimes of a very gross character. But there were many bright and noble traits in his character; he was an earnest lover of the divine law; his reign was signalized by many important services that contributed to the glory of God and the exaltation of His kingdom; and his name, as the sweet Psalmist of Israel, will be held in honor to the latest age of the Church.

1Ki 2:12-24. Solomon Succeeds Him.

12. Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father--His ascension to the royal dignity was made under the happiest auspices. Having been born after his father became monarch of the whole kingdom, his claim, according to the notions of Oriental people, was preferable to that of all, even his elder brothers. The Hebrew kingdom enjoyed internal prosperity; it was respected and renowned abroad, and Solomon well knew how to improve these advantages.

13-18. Adonijah ... came to Bath-sheba--Her question to him betrays an apprehension which his recent conduct might well warrant; but his pious acknowledgment of the divine will seemed apparently to indicate so entire an acquiescence in the settlement of the succession [1Ki 2:15], that, in her womanly simplicity, she perceived not the deep cunning and evil design that was concealed under his request and readily undertook to promote his wishes.

19-20. Bath-sheba ... went unto King Solomon--The filial reverence and the particular act of respect, which Solomon rendered, were quite in accordance with the sentiments and customs of the East. The right hand is the place of honor; and as it expressly said to have been assigned to "the king's mother," it is necessary to remark that, when a husband dies, his widow acquires a higher dignity and power, as a mother over her son, than she ever possessed before. Besides, the dignity of "king's mother" is a state office, to which certain revenues are attached. The holder has a separate palace or court, as well as possesses great influence in public affairs; and as the dignity is held for life, it sometimes happens, in consequence of deaths, that the person enjoying it may not be related to the reigning sovereign by natural maternity. Bath-sheba had evidently been invested with this honorable office.

22. why dost thou ask Abishag ... ask for him the kingdom also--(See on 2Sa 16:5; also see on 2Sa 12:8). Solomon's indignation was roused; he in a moment penetrated the artful scheme, and from his associating the names of Abiathar and Joab, he seems to have suspected or known that those deep schemers had been the prompters of Adonijah.

23-25. God do so to me, and more also--the common form of introducing a solemn oath.

if Adonijah have not spoken this word against his own life--Whether there was a treasonable design to conceal under this request or not, the act, according to Eastern notions, was criminal, and of dangerous consequence to the state. There is no ground of censure upon Solomon for cruelty or precipitation in this instance. He had pardoned Adonijah's former conspiracy; but this new attempt was rebellion against the viceroy appointed by the divine King and called for condign punishment. The office of executioner was among the Hebrews, as in other ancient countries of the East, performed unceremoniously and privately--often without any previous warning--by the captain of the guard, or one of his officers (Mt 14:10).

26-27. unto Abiathar the priest said the king--This functionary, as the counsellor or accomplice of Adonijah, had deserved to share his fate. But partly from regard to his priestly dignity, and partly from his long associations with the late king, Solomon pronounced on him the mitigated sentence of banishment to his country estate at Anathoth, and thereby, as God's vicegerent, deprived him of his office and its emoluments. The sacred writer notices the remarkable fulfilment, Abiathar's degradation from the high priesthood (see on 1Ki 4:4), of the doom denounced against the house of Eli (1Sa 2:30).

1Ki 2:28-45. Joab Slain.

28. Then tidings came to Joab--The execution of these sentences respectively on Adonijah and Abiathar prepared Joab for his fate. Death, due to his great crimes (Nu 35:33), would long ago have been inflicted, had not his power and popularity with the army been too formidable for the old king. He now fled to the altar, which, though a recognized asylum, afforded no sanctuary to the rebel and murderer (Ex 21:14). And, as he refused to leave it, he seems to have cherished some faint hope that a religious scruple would have been felt at the thought of violating the sanctity of the place by bloodshed. Benaiah, not liking to assume any responsibility, referred the matter to Solomon, who determined that the law should take its course (De 19:13).

33. Their blood shall ... return upon the head of Joab, &c.--A reference is here made to the curse publicly and solemnly pronounced by King David (2Sa 3:28, 29).

1Ki 2:34-46. Shimei Put to Death.

34. Benaiah ... went up, and fell upon him--According to the terms of the statute (Ex 21:14), and the practice in similar cases (2Ki 11:15), the criminal was to be dragged from the altar and slain elsewhere. But the truth is, that the sanctity of the altar was violated as much by the violence used in forcing the criminal from the place as in shedding his blood there; the express command of God authorized the former and therefore by implication permitted the latter.

was buried in his own house--or family vault, at his property in the wilderness of Judah. His interment was included in the king's order, as enjoined in the divine law (De 21:23).

36. the king sent and called for Shimei--He was probably residing at Bahurim, his native place. But, as he was a suspicious character, Solomon condemned him henceforth to live in Jerusalem, on the penalty of death, for going without the gates. He submitted to this confinement for three years, when, violating his oath, he was arrested and put to death by Solomon for perjury, aggravated by his former crime of high treason against David [1Ki 2:42-44].

46. the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon--Now, by the death of Shimei, all the leaders of the rival factions had been cut off.

I go the way of all the earth - I am dying. All the inhabitants of the earth must come to the dust. In life, some follow one occupation, some another; but all must, sooner or later, come to the grave. Death is no respecter of persons; he visits the palace of the king as well as the cottage of the peasant.

Pallida mors aequo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas,

Regumque turres. -

Hor. Odar. lib. i., od. iv., ver. 13. "With equal pace, impartial fate

Knocks at the palace as the cottage gate."

Francis. - Sed omnes una manet nox,

Et calcanda semel via lethi. -

Ib. od. xxviii., ver. 15. "One dreary night for all mankind remains,

And once we all must tread the shadowy plains."

Ibid.

There is no respect to age or youth more than to station or external circumstance: -

Mixta senum ac juvenum densantur funera: nullum

Saeva caput Proserpina fugit.

Ib. od. xxviii., ver. 19.

Thus age and youth promiscuous crowd the tomb;

No mortal head can shun the impending doom."

Ibid.

And it is not merely man that is subjected to this necessity; all that have in them the breath of life must lose it; it is the way of all the earth, both of men and inferior animals. - Terrestria quando Mortales animas vivunt sortita, neque ulla est Aut parvo aut magno lethi fuga.

Vive memor quam sis aevi brevis.

Hor. Sat. l. ii., s. vi., ver. 93. "All that tread the earth are subject to mortality; neither great nor small can avoid death.

Live therefore conscious that your time is short."

It is painful to the pride of the great and mighty that, however decorated their tombs may be, they must undergo the same dissolution and corruption with the vulgar dead; for the grave is the house appointed for all living: man is born to die.

Omnium idem exitus est, sed et idem domicilium. "For all have the same end, and are huddled together in the same narrow house."

Here emperors, kings, statesmen, warriors, heroes, and butchers of all kinds, with peasants and beggars, meet; however various their routes, they terminate in the same point. This and all other kindred sentiments on the subject are well expressed in that excellent little poem of Mr. Blair, entitled "The Grave," which opens with the following lines: -

While some affect the sun, and some the shade; Some flee the city, some the hermitage; Their aims as various as the roads they take In journeying through life; the task be mine To paint the gloomy horrors of the tomb, The appointed place of rendezvous, where all These travelers meet.

Show thyself a man - Act like a rational being, and not like a brute; and remember, that he acts most like a man who is most devoted to his Good.

Keep the charge of the Lord - Keep what God has given thee to keep.

1. Walk in his ways. Not in thine own, nor in the ways of a wicked, perishing world.

2. Keep his statutes. Consider all his appointments to be holy, just, and good; receive them as such, and conscientiously observe them.

3. Keep his commandments. Whatever he has bidden thee to do, perform; what he has forbidden thee to do, omit.

4. Keep his judgments. What he has determined to be right, is essentially and inherently right; what he has determined to be wrong or evil, is inherently and essentially so. A thing is not good because God has commanded it; a thing is not evil because he has forbidden it. He has commanded the good, because it is in its own nature good and useful; he has forbidden the evil, because it is in its own nature bad and hurtful. Keep therefore his judgments.

5. Keep his testimonies. Bear witness to all to which he has borne witness. His testimonies are true; there is no deceit or falsity in them. His testimonies refer also to future good things and good times; they are the significators of coming blessedness: as such, respect them.

That thou mayest prosper - If thou hast God's approbation, thou wilt have God's blessing. If thy ways please him, he will not withhold from thee any manner of thing that is good.

That the Lord may continue his word - The prosperity which God has promised to grant to my family will depend on their faithfulness to the good they receive; if they live to God, they shall sit for ever on the throne of Israel. But alas! they did not; and God's justice cut off the entail made by his mercy.

Thou knowest - what Joab - did to me - He did every thing bad and dishonorable in itself, in the murder of Abner and Amasa, and indeed in the death of the profligate Absalom.

Shed the blood of war - upon his girdle - and in his shoes - He stabbed them while he pretended to embrace them, so that their blood gushed out on his girdle, and fell into his shoes! This was a most abominable aggravation of his crimes.

Let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace - It would have been an insult to justice not to have taken the life of Joab. David was culpable in delaying it so long; but probably the circumstances of his government would not admit of his doing it sooner. According to the law of God, Joab, having murdered Abner and Amasa, should die. And had not David commanded Solomon to perform this act of justice, he could not have died in the approbation of his Maker.

But show kindness unto the sons of Barzillai - See the notes on 2Sam 19:31 (note), etc.

Thou hast with thee Shimei - See on 2Sam 16:5 (note), etc., and the notes on 2Sam 19:18-23 (note).

Hold him not guiltless - Do not consider him as an innocent man, though I have sworn to him that I would not put him to death by the sword; yet as thou art a wise man, and knowest how to treat such persons, treat him as he deserves; only as I have sworn to him, and he is an aged man, let him not die a violent death; bring not down his hoary head to the grave with blood. So Solomon understood David, and so I think David should be understood; for the negative particle לא lo, in the former clause, hold him Not guiltless, should be repeated in this latter clause, though not expressed, his hoary head bring thou Not down; instances of which frequently occur in the Hebrew Bible. See Dr. Kennicott's note at the end of this chapter, 1Kgs 2:46 (note).

David slept with his fathers - His life was a life of remarkable providences, of much piety, and of great public usefulness. In general he lived well, and it is most evident that he died well; and as a king, a general, a poet, a father, and a friend, he has had few equals, and no superior, from his own time to the present day. But I shall reserve a more particular consideration of his character till I come to the book of Psalms, in which that character, with all its lights and shades, is exhibited by his own masterly hand. And it is from this composition alone that we can know David, and the maxims by which he was governed in public and private life.

Was buried in the city of David - And Solomon, says Josephus, deposited immense treasures with him, in the grave, where they continued unmolested for thirteen hundred years, till Hyrcanus, the high priest, being besieged by Antiochus, opened the sepulcher, and took thence three thousand talents, part of which he gave to Antiochus, to raise the siege. It is added that, many years afterwards, Herod the Great ransacked this tomb and got considerable riches. Little credit is due to this account, though we know that was customary in ancient times to deposit with the more illustrious dead, gold, silver, and precious stones. That the tomb of David existed in the days of the apostles, we learn from Act 2:29, where St. Peter, addressing the Jews, says, Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David; that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day. St. Jerome speaks of it as existing in his time, and modern travelers pretend that it is still in existence. But both monks and Mohammedans have long united to impose on Christian pilgrims; and there is scarcely any dependence to be placed on any of their relations; absurdity and self-contradiction are their principal characteristics.

Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine - It certainly was his by the right of primogeniture, and it was his by the voice of the people, and the consent of the high priest. But there was a right paramount to all these, the right of God; it was his kingdom; the kings were his lieutenants, and he had a right to give the crown to whomsoever he pleased, and he was pleased to give it to Solomon.

That he give me Abishag - to wife - He cheerfully gives up all right to the kingdom, and only desires to have this young woman, who, though she had been his father's wife or concubine, was still in a state of virginity. Some think that Joab and Abiathar had advised Adonijah to make this application, not doubting, if he got Abishag, that the popular tide would again turn in his favor, and that Solomon, whom they did not like, might soon be deposed; and that it was on this account that Solomon was so severe. But there is little evidence to support these conjectures. It does not appear that Adonijah by desiring to have Abishag had any thought of the kingdom, or of maintaining any right to it, though Solomon appears to have understood him in this sense. But without farther evidence, this was a flimsy pretext to imbrue his hands in a brother's blood. The fable of the wolf and lamb is here very applicable, and the old English proverb not less so: It is an easy thing to find a staff to beat a dog with. We readily find an excuse for whatever we are determined to do. He who attempts to varnish over this conduct of Solomon by either state necessity or a Divine command, is an enemy, in my mind, to the cause of God and truth. See on 1Kgs 2:25 (note).

Solomon sent - Benaiah - and he fell upon him that he died. - Benaiah seems to have been the public state executioner, and yet he was generalissimo of all the forces. See him employed in a similar work, 1Kgs 2:34 (note), 1Kgs 2:46 (note). I suppose him to have been such another general as Suwarrow, butcher-general of the Turks and Poles to the late Empress Catharine of Russia: like mistress, like man. But they have long since been called to an impartial tribunal.

That this was an act of cruelty towards Adonijah, needs no proof. He is suspected, condemned, and slain, without a hearing. Calmet vindicates all this by various assumptions, and lays down a doctrine that is calculated for the meridian of Fez or Morocco; hear him: Un prince, dans ses jugemens, ne peut pas toujours suivre les regles de la plus parfaite morale; la politique, et le bien de l'etat, obligent souvent a des choses opposees aux conseils de l'evangile; "A prince in his judgments cannot always follow the rules of the most perfect morality; policy and the good of the state often require things to be done which are contrary to the counsels of the Gospel." What a diabolic maxim is this! And is this indeed the way that French kings ruled and ministers decreed judgment? Then we need not wonder at a revolution in that state, nor of the scourge that desolated the land. O England! magnify God for your constitution, your constitutional king, and the laws according to which he reigns.

So Solomon thrust out Abiathar - This was for having taken part before with Adonijah, but by it a remarkable prophecy was fulfilled; see 1 Samuel 2:13-35 (note), and the notes there. God had told Eli that the priesthood should depart from his house; Abiathar was the last of the descendants of Ithamar, of which family was Eli the high priest. Zadok, who was made priest in the stead of Abiathar, was of the family of Eliezer; and by this change the priesthood reverted to its ancient channel. Abiathar deserved this degradation; he supported Adonijah in his unnatural assumption of the royal dignity, even during the life of his father. This was the head and front of his offending.

Tidings came to Joab - He heard that Adonijah had been slain and Abiathar banished, and probably he had heard of David's dying charge to Solomon. Fearing therefore for his personal safety, he takes refuge at the tabernacle, as claiming Divine protection, and desiring to have his case decided by God alone; or perhaps a spark of remorse is now kindled; and, knowing that he must die, he wishes to die in the house of God, as it were under the shadow, that he might receive the mercy of the Almighty.

Nay; but I will die here - The altars were so sacred among all the people, that, in general, even the vilest wretch found safety, if he once reached the altar. This led to many abuses, and the perversion of public justice; and at last it became a maxim that the guilty should be punished, should they even have taken refuge at the altars. God decreed that the presumptuous murderer who had taken refuge at the altar should be dragged thence, and put to death; see Exo 21:14. The heathens had the same kind of ordinance; hence Euripides: - Εγω γαρ ὁστις μη δικαιος ων ανηρ Βωμον προσιζει, τον νομον χαιρειν εων, Προς την δικην αγοιμ' αν, αυ τρεσας θεους· Κακον γαρ ανδρα χρη κακως πασχειν αει.

Euripid. Frag. 42. Edit. Musg. "If an unrighteous man, availing himself of the law, should claim the protection of the altar, I would drag him to justice, nor fear the wrath of the gods; for it is necessary that every wicked man should suffer for his crimes."

So Benaiah - went up - and slew him - It appears he slew him at the very altar. Joab must have been both old and infirm at this time, and now he bleeds for Abner, he bleeds for Amasa, and he bleeds for Uriah. The two former he murdered; of the blood of the latter he was not innocent; yet he had done the state much service, and they knew it. But he was a murderer, and vengeance would not suffer such to live.

Build thee a house - Thus he gave him the whole city for a prison, and this certainly could have reduced him to no hardships.

Thy blood shall be upon thine own head - Thou knowest what to expect; if thou disobey my orders thou shalt certainly be slain, and then thou shalt be considered as a self-murderer; thou alone shalt be answerable for thy own death. Solomon knew that Shimei was a seditious man, and he chose to keep him under his own eye; for such a man at large, in favorable circumstances, might do much evil. His bitter revilings of David were a sufficient proof.

And Shimei - went to Gath - It is astonishing that with his eyes wide open he would thus run into the jaws of death.

King Solomon shall be blessed - He seems to think that, while such bad men remained unpunished, the nation could not prosper; that it was an act of justice which God required him to perform, in order to the establishment and perpetuity of his throne.

And the kingdom was established - He had neither foes within nor without. He was either dreaded or loved universally. His own subjects were affectionately bound to him, and the surrounding nations did not think proper to make him their enemy.

As there are serious doubts relative to the dying charge of David as it relates to Shimei, most believing that, in opposition to his own oath, David desired that Solomon should put him to death; I shall here insert Dr. Kennicott's criticism on this part of the text: - "David is here represented in our English version as finishing his life with giving a command to Solomon to kill Shimei, and to kill him on account of that very crime for which, as David here says, he had sworn to him by the Lord he would not put him to death. The behavior thus imputed to the king and prophet, and which would be justly censurable if true, should be examined very carefully as to the ground it stands upon; and when the passage is duly considered, I presume it will appear highly probable that an injury has been here done to this illustrious character. The point to which I now beg the reader's attention is this: That it is not uncommon in the Hebrew language to omit the negative in a second part of the sentence, and to consider it as repeated, when it has been once expressed, and is followed by the connecting particle. And thus on Isa 13:22 the late learned annotator says: 'The negative is repeated or referred to by the conjunction vau, as in many other places.' So also Isa 23:4. The necessity of so very considerable an alteration as inserting the particle Not, may be here confirmed by some other instances. Psa 1:5 : The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor (the Hebrew is And, signifying and not) sinners in the congregation of the righteous. Psa 9:18 : The needy shall not alway be forgotten, (and then the negative, understood as repeated by the conjunction, now dropped), the expectation of the poor shall (Not) perish for ever. Psa 38:1 : O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath; Neither (And, for and not) chasten me in thy hot displeasure. Psa 75:5 : Lift not up your horn on high, (and then the negative, understood as repeated by the conjunction, now dropped), speak (Not) with a stiff neck. Pro 24:12, (our version is this): Doth not he, that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth the soul, doth (Not) he know it? and shall (Not) he render to every man according to his works? And Pro 30:3 : I neither learned wisdom, Nor (And, for and not) have the knowledge of the holy. If then there are in fact many such instances, the question is, Whether the negative here, expressed in the former part of David's command, may not be understood as to be repeated in the latter part; and if this may be, a strong reason will be added why it should be, so interpreted. The passage will run thus: 'Behold, thou hast with thee Shimei, who cursed me - but I swore to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put thee to death by the sword. Now, therefore, hold him Not guiltless, (for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him), but bring Not down his hoar head to the grave with blood.' Now if the language itself will admit of this construction, the sense thus given to the sentence derives a very strong support from the context. For how did Solomon understand this charge? Did he kill Shimei in consequence of it? Certainly he did not; for after he had immediately commanded Joab to be slain, in obedience to his father, he sends for Shimei, and knowing that Shimei ought to be well watched, confines him to a particular spot in Jerusalem for the remainder of his life; 1Kgs 2:36-42. See also Job 23:17; Job 30:20; Job 31:20." This is the best mode of interpreting this text.

2 [illegible: 1+ letters] go the way of all the earth : be thou strong therefore, and shew thy self a man .

i. e. Of all men upon the Earth. Compare Ios. 23. 14. Heb. 9. 27.

For to govern his People according to the Law of God, as it here follows, requires great fortitude or strength of mind, to Arm himself against the subtil devices and evasions of some; against the flatteries and importunities of others; against terrors and dangers from revengeful men, and especially against himself and his own weakness, or partiality, through fear or favour; and against all those evil thoughts and passions to which the temptations of their great wealth, and glory, and uncontrollable power naturally expose them. See Prov. 16. 32.

In manly wisdom, and courage, and constancy, though thou art but young in years, 1 Chron. 22. 5.

3 And keep the charge of the LORD thy God , to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses , that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thy self:

i. e. What God hath charged or commanded thee to do; the act being put for the object, as is usual.

Which the Prince was enjoyned to transcribe and read, Deut. 17. 18. that he might govern his own and his peoples actions by it.

Or, behave thy self prudently: for the word signifies both. Hereby he intimates, That Religion is the truest Reason of State, and that all true Wisdom and good success depends upon Piety.

Marginal references: Deut. 29. 9. Josh. 1. 7.; Or, do wisely.

4 That the LORD may confirm his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their ways , to walk before me in truth , with all their heart, and with all their soul , there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel .

i. e. Fulfil his promise, the condition upon which it was suspended being performed.

i. e. Diligently observe all their actions, to order them according to Gods word.

To live as those that have God before their eyes, and indeavour to approve themselves to him.

Not onely in pretence and shew, but truly and sincerely.

i. e. Universally, freely, and [illegible: 1+ letters]ervently.

The Succession shall be continued in thy Line without any interruption.

Marginal references: Psal. 132. 12.; 2 Sam. 7. 12.; Heb. be cut off from thee from the throne.

5 Moreover, thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me , and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner, the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace , and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet .

i. e. Against me; Either, First, Directly and immediately; how insolently and imperiously he hath carried himself towards me from time to time, trampling upon my Authority and Commands when they thwarted his humor or interest, provoking my spirit by his words and actions. See 2 Sam. 3. 39. and 19. 7. Or, Secondly, Indirectly in what he did against Abner and Amasa: whose death was a great injury to David, as it was a breach of his Laws and Peace; a contempt of his Person and Government; a pernicious example to others of his Subjects upon the like occasions; a great scandal and dishonour to him, as if Ioab had been onely David's instrument, to effect what he secretly desired and designed; whereby the hearts of his People either were or might have been alienated from him, and inflamed against him, and the wounds which were well-nigh healed, might have been widened again, and made to bleed afresh.

Or, even; the following branches being added as an explication of the foregoing, to shew what and how he acted towards or against David. Or, and particularly; as his other miscarriages, so these especially.

He flew them as if they had been in the state and act of War, when there was not onely a Cessation of Arms, but also a treaty and agreement of Peace, of which also they were the great procurers and promoters.

This is added to note his impudence and impenitency, that although by his perfidions manner of killing them when he pretended to embrace them, he stained his own Garments with their Blood, yet he was not ashamed of it, but gloried in it, and Marched boldly along with the Army, with the same Girdle and Shoes which were sprinkled with their Blood. See 2 Sam. 20. 10.

Marginal references: 2 Sam. 3. 27.; 2 Sam. 20. 10.; Heb. put.

6 Do therefore according to thy wisdom , and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace .

i. e. What in Reason and Justice thou seest fit. For tho I was forced to forbear him when it was in a manner out of my power to punish him, yet I never forgave him; and therefore do thou wisely and severely examine all his actions, and particularly this last Rebellion, and punish him according to his demerits.

Though he be old, having been the General of the Army 40 Years, yet do not suffer him to die a Natural death, but cut him off by the Sword of Justice.

Marginal references: Heb. hell. So Gr.

7 But shew kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite , and let them be of those that eat at thy table: for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother.

Quest. Why doth he not require the like kindness to Mephibosheth the Son of his dear Ionathan? Ans. Either he and his were now extinct; or by their after miscarriages had forfeited his favour.

i. e. With such kindness either as I cannot express (as the Particle so is else where used) or as I command thee to shew to them.

i. e. Barzillai and his Sons: for though Barzillai onely be mentioned, 2 Sam. 17. 27. yet his Sons doubtless were instrumental in the business, especially Chimham, 2 Sam. 19. 37, 38.

Marginal references: 2 Sam. 19. 31.

8 And behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahnrim, which cursed me with a grievous curse , in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword .

i. e. In thy power, as that Phrase is o[illegible: 1+ letters]t used.

Or, reproached me with bitter reproaches, 2 Sam. 16. 7, 8. which David could not but deeply resent from him, though, as it was an affliction sent from God, he patiently submitted to it.

Quest. How then could David Lawfully engage Solomon to punish him for it? And did David upon his deathbed bea[illegible: 1+ letters] malice against Shimei? Ans. First, David was not a private person, who might remit such offences without any inconvenience; but a publick Magistrate, who for the honour and maintenance of Goverment was obliged to punish such insolent and opprobrious Speeches, if the necessity of his Affairs had not then engaged him to pass it by. Otherwise it appears from divers passages of the Psalms, and of this History, how free David was from a rancorous and revengeful spirit even towards his Enemies. Secondly, The following advice is not contrary to David's Oath, both because that was onely personal, that David would not kill him either at that time, as Abishai desired him, or whilst he lived; and did not oblige his Successors; and especially, because it was not David's mind that Shimei should be put to death for that fault (as is evident, for then there was no need of Solomon's Wisdom to find out an occasion, but onely of his Justice to punish him for the old crime) but for some other competent crime, which Solomon's Wisdom narrowly prying into all his actions, would easily find out. And if the condition which Solomon imposed upon Shimei, v. 36, 37. seem hard, it must be remembred, that David onely Swore that he would Pardon him as to life, but not that he would exempt him from all punishment or consinement.

Marginal references: 2 Sam. 16. 5.; Heb. strong.; 2 Sam. 19. 23.

9 Now therefore hold him not guiltless : for thou art a wise man , and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him , but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood .

Though I have desired his life, do not treat him as an innocent Person, neither let him go wholly unpunished.

And therefore wiltst easily find out just occasions to chastise him, especially considering his perverse and wicked disposition.

How to punish him, not without just cause, and yet without any violation of my Oath, or reflection upon me, or upon Religion for my or thy sake.

i. e. With the effusion of his blood, with a bloody or violent death.

10 So David slept with his fathers , and was buried in the city of David .

See of this Phrase Deut. 31. 16. 1 King. 1. 21.

i. e. In that part of Ierusalem which was called by his name, because he took it from the Iebusites. See 2 Sam. 5. 7. 1 Chron. 11. 5. 2 Chron. 5. 2.

Marginal references: Act. 2. 2[illegible: 1+ letters] ▪ and 13. 36.

11 And the days that David reigned over Israel, were forty years: seven years , reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and threee years reigned he in Jerusalem.

More precisely, 7 Years and 6 Months, 2 Sam. 5. 5. but smaller sums are oft neglected in Scripture-computations.

Marginal references: 2 Sam. 5. 1 Chr. 25. 26, 27.

12 ¶ Then sate Solomon upon the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was established greatly .

Being settled upon him with universal consent and approbation, and with the hearty affections of his People, which all Wise men know to be a Prince's best and surest Establishment.

Marginal references: 1 Chron. 29. 23. 2 Chron. 1▪

13 ¶ And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, and she said, Comest thou peaceably ? and he said, Peaceably.

Or, with some Evil design upon me or my Son: which she might well surmise, knowing his ambition and envy at Solomon, and his hatred against her, as the chief occasion of his dejection.

15 And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine , and that▪ all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign : howbeit, the kingdom is turned about , and is become my brothers: for it was his from the LORD .

Both by Birthright, and by actual Inauguration. It seems he could not yet forget his pretence to the Crown, no[illegible: 1+ letters] his ambition for it, but continues his claim: Which, it seems, Solomon did apprehend and resent, though Bathsheba did not; the Wives and Concubines of the late King being reputed to appertain to the Successor. See 2 Sam. 12. 8.

They looked upon me as their King, and David's Successor, expecting that David should confirm my Election.

Translated from me to him by the vicissitude of human affairs, and the changeable humour of the people.

Either, First, By Gods Providence so disposing David's mind, and the Peoples hearts. Or rather, Secondly, By Gods appointment and particular designation, wherein he would seem to acquiesce. Which he mentions, not that he made any Conscience of it, or had any regard to it; but onely that by this pretence he might deceive both her and Solomon, as if he were far from any design of Usurping the Kingdom.

Marginal references: 1 [illegible: 1 word] and 2[illegible: 1+ letters]. 5.

16 And now I ask one petition of thee, deny me not . And she said unto him, Say on.

Heb. do not turn away my face, i. e. do not send me out of thy presence sad or ashamed. Compare 2 Chron. 6. 42. Psal. 132. 10.

Marginal references: Heb. [illegible: 1 word] not away my face.

17 And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king (for he will not say thee nay) that he give me Abishag the [illegible: 1 word] to wise .

Which though it was against a positive Law of God, Levit. 18. 7. yet either Adonisah might be ignorant of it, being a man more studied in the Affairs of the Court, than in the Book of God; or might think her not concerned in it, because David knew her not, Chap. 1. 4.

Marginal references: Heb. [illegible: 1 word] away my [illegible: 1 word].

19 ¶ Bath sheba therefore went unto king Solomon to speak unto him for Adonijah: and the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the kings mother, and she sat on his right hand .

The most honourable Place next to the King's; See [illegible: 1+ letters] Chron. 18. 18. Neh. 8. 4. Psal. 45. 9. Mat. 20. 21.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word].

20 Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee, I pray thee say me not nay: and the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother, for I will not say thee nay .

So she esteemed it, because she did not perceive his Design in it; and as for that Law, Levit. 18. 7. the might apprehend, that because David knew her not, it was onely a Contract for Marriage, and therefore no impediment of her Marriage to any other after his Death; which also is the Opinion of some of the late Learned Hebrew Doctors.

Supposing thy Request be but small, as thou sayst it is, and not unlawful, nor injurious to my self, or others.

21 And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother to wise.

By the Father's side, whom Brotherly Affection and Relation obligeth thee to gratifie; at least, in small things.

22 And king Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why doest 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 .

His Design is not upon Abishag, but upon the Kingdom; which by this means he thinks to recover; partly, because she was the last Kings Wife, or Concubine, which might strengthen his Pretence to the Crown; See 2 Sam. 3. 7. and 12. 8. and 16. 21. and partly, because by her eminent Beauty, and near Relation to David, she had a powerful Interest in the Court. Quest. Was not this too harsh a Censure, and the following Punishment of it too severe? Answ. 1. That Adonijah had such a Design, is very probable, both from his Temper, for he was an aspiring and Designing Man, and highly discontented with Solomon's Government, and desirous of a Change; and from the nature of the thing, because he would not have made so daring and presumpt[illegible: 1+ letters]ous a Request, if he had not some great Design in it. 2. It is very likely from the following words, though not expressed, that he, and Ioab, and Abiathar, were engaged in some Design against Solomon, and that Solomon had got Information of it; and therefore he did, and might reasonably take this for an Indication, and the first overt-act of his Treason. 3. Solomon did not Pardon Adonijah ▪s Treason simply, and absolutely, but upon condition that he carried himself worthily, Chap. 1. 52. and this being confessedly a bold and unworthy Action, and arguing more considence and presumption than became him; and carrying in it the appearance and intention of an Incestuous Marriage, he might justly revive his Guilt, and take this occasion to Execute the Sentence which he formerly deserved. If it be said, That it is very improbable that Adonijah should expect to get the Kingdom from Solomon, who was so firmly Established in it with universal Applause; it may be answered, That▪ Adonijah was not the onely man that hath fed himself with vain hopes, and engaged himself in high and Treasonable Designs, where to other wise Men there was but little likelihood of Success: and that he might now be onely laying the Foundation of what he further intended, when he saw a fit time, and getting a pretence for his future Attempts upon the Crown; either, when Solomon should lose the Peoples Affections, as David had done; or when Solomon should die, which also Adonijah might secretly procure and hasten; and he had onely Solomon's young and tender Son to contest with. All which, and many other things Solomon in his great Wisdom might easily discern; yea, or have some secret Intelligence of, though it be not Recorded.

He looks upon the Kingdom as his, by Nature and Birthright, and the Law of Nations; and therefore he may seek to recover his own, and to cast me ou[illegible: 1+ letters] as an Usarper.

Who have all an hand in the Plot, though he alone appear in it: which appears the more likely, because of Solomon's proceeding against them all at the same time; as appears in the following Verses.

23 Then king Solomon sware by the LORD , saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah have not spoken this word against his own life.

Once here and again, ver. 24. Which he did to oblige himself irrevocably to it, and to prevent all Intercessions for his Life, it being of so great importance to him.

Marginal references: Ruth 1. 17.

24 Now therefore, as the LORD liveth, which hath established me, and set me on the throne of David my father , and who hath made me an house as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day .

Though Adonijah be my elder Brother, yet I have an undoubted Right and Title to the Crown, and that from the promise and appointment of that God who disposeth of all Kingdoms, and especially this of Israel, to whom he plea[illegible: 1+ letters] eth; and therefore Adonijah in this, and his former Attempt, is guilty of Treason against me, and of Rebellion against God.

Either, 1. who hath given me Posterity, as that Phrase is used, Exod. 1. 21. and elsewhere: for Rehoboam most probably was born before this time; by comparing 1 King. 14. 21. Or rather, 2. who hath Established me in the House and Throne of David: which he thus expresseth, to signifie, that God had fulfilled in and to him that Promise which he made to David, in 2 Sam. 7. 11. where the same Phrase is used, and where it doth not so much signifie the giving of David Posterity, which he had sufficiently before that time; as the settlement of the Crown in him and his Seed.

For he knew delays were dangerous in matters of that Nature.

Marginal references: 2 Sam. 17. 12, 13.

25 And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah, the son of Jeho[illegible: 1+ letters]ada , and he gell upon him that he died.

For the Execution of Justice was not then [illegible: 1 word] to obscure persons, as now it is; but to persons of great Honour and Authority. See Iudg. 8. 21. 1 Sam. 22. 18. 2 Sam. 1. 15. and 4. 12.

With a Sword, or other Instrument of Death; as below, ver. 32, 34, 46.

26 ¶ And unto Abiathar the priest said the king, Get thee to Anathoth unto thine own fields , for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou barest the ark of the LORD God before David my father , and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted .

A City of the Priests, Iosh. 21. 18. to lead a private life there.

Either that part of the Suburbs which fell to his share: or, other Land which he had purchased there. See Ier. 32. 7.

He doth not fully Pardon him, but onely forbears him, and reserves to himself a liberty of Punishing him afterwards, if he saw occasion; which he doth to keep him in awe, that he might not dare to raise or foment Discontents or Tumults among the People, which otherwise he might be prone to do.

When he thought fit to carry it out with him; as 2 Sam. 15. 24, 29. 1 Chron. 15. 11, 12. when he as High-priest was to attend upon it. Thus Solomon sheweth his respect to his Sacred Function.

Here he mixeth Mercy with Justice, and requires Abiathar's former kindness to David; hereby reaching Princes, that they should not Write Injuries in Marble, and Benefits in Sand or Water, as they have been too oft observed to do.

Marginal references: Heb. a man of death.; 1 Sam. 22. 20.

27 So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD ; that he might fulfil the word of the LORD , which he spake concerning the house of Eli ▪ in Shiloh.

Either from his Office; or, at least, from the Execution of his Office. For some think, that he was thrust from his Office before David's Death, when Zadok was formerly made Priest; i. e. High-priest, in his stead, 1 Chron. 29. 22. But that seems to be a mistake: for although that passage immediately follows the History of what was done in the time of David's Life and Health, when he was in a capacity of going into the Publick Congregation: yet it manifestly belongs to another time, and was done after it: for he there speaks of Solomon's being made King the second time, and he was made King but twice; once undoubtedly before this, 1 Chron. 23. 1. and again, 1 King. 1. 39. When David was Bedrid, and Adonijah's Usurpation made a second Unction necessary. And therefore what is said, 1 Chron. 29. 22. of Zadok's being made Priest, was done after Abiathar's Deposition, and upon that occasion.

For what hinders but Solemon might intend this not onely as a Punishment for his Treason, but also as a means to accomplish God's Word?

i. e. Concerning the Translation of the Priesthood from the House of Eli, and of Ithamar, unto that of Eleazar: which being threatned 80 years ago, is now Executed. So Divine Vengeance, though sometimes it be slow, is always sure.

Marginal references: 1 Sam. 2. 31. 35.

28 ¶ Then tidings came to Joab, (for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom) and Joab sled unto the Taberna cle of the LORD, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.

Concerning Adonijah's Death, and Abiathar's Deposition.

Which then was at Gibeon, 1 King. 3. 4. compared with 2 Chron. 1. 3, 5.

Of which see before, Chap. [illegible: 1+ letters]. 50.

29 And it was told king Solomon that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD, and behold, he is by the altar: then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him .

To wit, if he will not come thence, as I foresee he will not.

30 And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth . And he said, Nay, but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.

That the King gave him this Command, though it be not mentioned before, is evident, both from the nature of the thing; for Solomon would not pollute the Altar without necessity; and from Benaiah's Affirmation of it; for why should he tell a lye without a cause? and from his return to the King for new [illegible: 1 word] upon Ioab's Resolution not to come thence.

For [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word], either that Solomon would not defile that [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] Blood: or, that he [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] to it, as he had done Adonijah: or, he had a superstitious conceit, that his dying there might give his guilty and miserable Soul some advantage.

31 And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said , and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayst take away the innocent blood which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father.

Either 1. Kill him in that place: and for so doing, Solomon might seem to have Warrant from God, Exod. 21. 14. and might further design by this just severity, to deter future Offenders, by shewing, that no place nor person should protect them from the stroak of Justice. Or rather, 2. let him Die as he is resolved; kill him, though he be there; take him by violence from that place, and then kill him: for Exod. 21. 14. doth not command the Ruler to kill the Murderer there, but to remove him thence, to take him from the Altar, that he may die. And seeng this might be done, why should Solomon unnecessarily stain the Altar with his Blood?

i. e. Both the Guilt of it, which would rest upon my Fathers and my Family, if it went unpunished; and the scandal and reproach of it, that neither this, nor following Ages may imagine that it was done by David's secret instigation, or with his consent.

32 And the LORD shall return his blood upon his own head, who sell upon two men more righteous and better than he , and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing thereof, to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and * Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah.

i. e. The guilt of the Blood which he shed.

Of more ingenuous and generous Tempers, abhorring from all such Treacherous Practises; and both of them then devoted to, and employed in my Service.

Marginal references: 2 Sam. 3. 27.; 2 Sam. 20. 10.

33 Their blood therefore shall return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever : but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the LORD .

Either as long as he shall have a Posterity: or, for a long time▪ as that Phrase is commonly used.

In, and by this Execution of Justice upon him, and such [illegible: 1 word], my Throne shall be Established, and God will bless me▪ and m[illegible: 1+ letters]ne, with Peace and Prosperity.

Marginal references: 2 Sam. 3. 2[illegible: 1+ letters].

34 So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and tell upon him, and slew him, and he was [illegible: 1+ letters]uried in his own house in the wilderness .

Places which have but few Houses and Inhabitants, a[illegible: 1+ letters]e oft so called in Scripture; as, Isa. 42. 11. Ier. 25. [illegible: 1+ letters]4. Ezek 34. 25.

35 ¶ And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host, and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar .

He now put him in the execution of that Office, to which he may seem to have been Anointed before, 1 [illegible: 1 word]. 29. 22. But of that, see my notes here on ver. 27.

36 ¶ And the king sent, and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not sorth thence any whither .

This Solomon ordered, partly for his own security; that being removed from that place where his Kindred, and Estate, and Interest lay, to a place where he was but a stranger, and sufficiently odious for his former, and never-to-be forgotten Insolency towards his Lord and King, he might be uncapable of raising any Tumults, and Seditions; partly, as a penalty for his former Wickedness, wherein yet there was more Mercy than Justice, and from which David had not promised him any security, but onely given him his Life; and partly, That being in this Publick Theatre, all his Words, and Actions might be narrowly observed; which, considering his busie, and covetous, and wicked Temper, was likely to give Solomon the advantage which he sought for; and this very Prohibition would probably inflame his desire of Transgressing it, as the manner of men is.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word]

37 For it shall be, that on the day thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron ▪ thou shalt know for certain, that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head.

A Brook nigh unto Ierusalem, of which see 2 Sam. 15. 23. 2 King. 23. 4. Which he particularly names, because that was the way to Bahurim, his former and settled Habitation: but this is not to be understood exclusively to other ways and places; for the restraint was general, that he should not go forth thence any whither, ver. 36. to wit, as far any other way as Cedron was; which also appears from the following History; for when he went to Gath, he went not over Cedron, (which lay Eastward from the City) but Westward, as Gath lay.

The blame and guilt of thy Blood shall lie upon thy self onely.

Marginal references: 2 [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1+ letters] 23.

38 And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good ▪ as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do . And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.

Thy Sentence is much more merciful than I expected, or deserved.

And Shimei did not onely promise it, but also swore to it; being required by Solomon to do so, as is manifest from ver. 42, 43.

39 And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish son of Maachah king of Gath, and they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants be in Gath.

A King, but subject and Tributary, first to David, and then to Solomon. This might be, either that Achish who shewed so much kindness to David, 1 Sam. 27. and 28. or his Son; who in requital of this kindness was still permitted to enjoy the Title and Honour of a King, but not the full Power; whence it was, that Achish could not, or durst not keep these Servants, though they had fled to him for Protection; but suffered Shimei to take them away from his Royal City.

40 And Shimei arose, and sadled his ass, and went to Gath , to Achish, to seek his servants: and Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath.

Which, though highly dangerous, he attempted, partly because he was bimded with Covetousness and Rage against his Servants, which two Lusts have done, and daily do ingage men to such Courses and Actions as are no less dangerous to their lives than this is; partly, because he thought length of time had worn this out of Solomon's mind, and other mens thoughts: and that this being done secretly and sp[illegible: 1+ letters]eddy, would never have come to Solomon's ears; or that Solomon would not be severe in this Case, where it was not wantonness nor contempt of his Authority, but the necessity of his Houshold-concerns, which put him upon it: and partly, because God withdrew from him the light of common Prudence, and wholly left him to his own Mistakes, and Folly, and Lusts; and withal, to the Instigation of the Devil, whose Cunning, and powerful Artifices, and In[illegible: 1+ letters]ations, he could not resist without Divine help.

41 And it was told Solomon , that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come back again.

Who doubtless had his Spies appointed, to observe him in all his Motions.

43 Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the LORD, and the commandment that I have charged thee with ?

He was Guilty both of Rebellion against the express, and just, and (as himself called it) good Command of the King, and of Perjury against God; which were two high and hainous Crimes. His Oath, he calls the oath of the Lord, because it was taken in God's Presence, and he was called upon as witness of it, and as the Avenger of all Violations of it, and because the Law of God obliged him to the performance of it.

44 The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to , that thou didst to David my father: therefore the Lord shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head.

For which thy own Conscience accuseth thee, and there is no need of other Witnesses.

Heb. hath returned, which seems most proper. God hath Punished thee for thy former Wickedness, by suffering thee to fall into further Crimes, and expose thy self to thy deserved Death.

45 And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever.

That Royal Power and Dignity conferred upon David to him and his Heirs for ever.

By the Execution of such Righteous Judgments as this is.

In the Presence of that God, who is both an Observer and Rewarder of all such Righteous Actions: or, under Gods inspection, and by his Blessing.

46 So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiadah, which went out, and sell upon him that he died: and the * kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon .

Carrying Shimei along with him to the place of Execution, which was not fit to be in the King's Presence.

His secret and worst Enemies being taken out of the way.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word]. 1. 1.

David’s Last Instructions and Death. Solomon ascends the throne and fortifies his government

The anointing of Solomon as king, which was effected by David’s command (1 Kings 1), is only briefly mentioned in 1Ch 23:1 in the words, “When David was old and full of days, he made his son Solomon king over Israel;” which serve as an introduction to the account of the arrangements made by David during the closing days of his life. After these arrangements have been described, there follow in 1 Chron 28 and 29 his last instructions and his death. The aged king gathered together the tribe-princes and the rest of the dignitaries and superior officers to a diet at Jerusalem, and having introduced Solomon to them as the successor chosen by God, exhorted them to keep the commandments of God, and urged upon Solomon and the whole assembly the building of the temple, gave his son the model of the temple and all the materials which he had collected towards its erection, called upon the great men of the kingdom to contribute to this work, which they willingly agreed to, and closed this last act of his reign with praise and thanksgiving to God and a great sacrificial festival, at which the assembled states of the realm made Solomon king a second time, and anointed him prince in the presence of Jehovah (1Ch 29:22). - A repetition of the anointing of the new king at the instigation of the states of the realm, accompanied by their solemn homage, had also taken place in the case of both Saul (2 Sam 11) and David (2Sa 2:4 and 2Sa 5:3), and appears to have been an essential requirement to secure the general recognition of the king on the part of the nation, at any rate in those cases in which the succession to the throne was not undisputed. In order, therefore, to preclude any rebellion after his death, David summoned this national assembly again after Solomon’s first anointing and ascent of the throne, that the representatives of the whole nation might pay the requisite homage to king Solomon, who had been installed as his successor according to the will of God. - To this national assembly, which is only reported in the Chronicles, there are appended the last instructions which David gave, according to 1Ch 29:1-9 of our chapter, to his successor Solomon immediately before his death. Just as in the Chronicles, according to the peculiar plan of that work, there is no detailed description of the installation of David on the throne; so here the author of our books has omitted the account of this national diet, and the homage paid by the estates of the realm to the new king, as not being required by the purpose of his work, and has communicated the last personal admonitions and instructions of the dying king David instead.To refute the assertion of De Wette, Gramberg, and Thenius, that this account of the Chronicles arises from a free mode of dealing with the history, and an intention to suppress everything that did not contribute to the honour of David and his house, - an assertion which can only be attributed to their completely overlooking, not to say studiously ignoring, the different plans of the two works (the books of Kings on the one hand, and those of Chronicles on the other), - it will be sufficient to quote the unprejudiced and thoughtful decision of Bertheau, who says, in his Comm. on 1Ch 23:1 : “These few words (1Ch 23:1) give in a condensed form the substance of the account in 1 Kings 1, which is intimately bound up with the account of the family affairs of David in the books of Samuel and Kings, and therefore, according to the whole plan of our historical work, would have been out of place in the Chronicles.”

David’s Last Instructions and Death. - 1Ki 2:1-4. When David saw that his life was drawing to a close, he first of all admonished his son Solomon to be valiant in the observance of the commandments of God. “I go the way of all the world” (as in Jos 23:14), i.e., the way of death; “be strong and be a man,” - not “bear my departure bravely,” as Thenius supposes, but prove thyself brave (cf. 1Sa 4:9) to keep the commandments of the Lord. Just as in 1Sa 4:9 the object in which the bravery is to show itself is appended simply by the copula Vâv; so is it here also with וגו ושׁמרתּ. The phrase יי את־משׁמרת שׁמר, to keep the keeping of Jehovah, which so frequently occurs in the Thorah, i.e., to observe or obey whatever is to be observed in relation to Jehovah (cf. Gen 26:5; Lev 8:35; Lev 18:30, etc.), always receives its more precise definition from the context, and is used here, as in Gen 26:5, to denote obedience to the law of God in all its extent, or, according to the first definition, to walk in the ways of Jehovah. This is afterwards more fully expanded in the expression וגו חקּתין לשׁמר, to keep the ordinances, commandments, rights, and testimonies of Jehovah. These four words were applied to the different precepts of the law, the first three of which are connected together in Gen 26:5; Deu 5:28; Deu 8:11, and served to individualize the rich and manifold substance of the demands of the Lord to His people as laid down in the Thorah. תּשׂכּיל למען, that thou mayest act wisely and execute well, as in Deu 29:8; Jos 1:7.

1Ki 2:4-5

Solomon would then experience still further this blessing of walking in the ways of the Lord, since the Lord would fulfil to him His promise of the everlasting possession of the throne. וגו יקים למען is grammatically subordinate to תּשׂכּיל למען in 1Ki 2:3. The word which Jehovah has spoken concerning David (עלי דּבּר) is the promise in 2Sa 7:12., the substance of which is quoted here by David with a negative turn, וגו יכּרת לא, and with express allusion to the condition on which God would assuredly fulfil His promise, viz., if the descendants of David preserve their ways, to walk before the Lord in truth. בּאמת is more precisely defined by נפשׁם...בּכל. For the fact itself see Deu 5:5; Deu 11:13, Deu 11:18. The formula וגו יכּרת לא is formed after 1Sa 2:33 (compare also 2Sa 3:29 and Jos 9:23). “There shall not be cut off to thee a man from upon the throne of Israel,” i.e., there shall never be wanting to thee a descendant to take the throne; in other words, the sovereignty shall always remain in thy family. This promise, which reads thus in 2Sa 7:16, “Thy house and thy kingdom shall be continual for ever before thee, and thy throne stand fast for ever,” and which was confirmed to Solomon by the Lord Himself after his prayer at the consecration of the temple (1Ki 8:25; 1Ki 9:5), is not to be understood as implying that no king of the Davidic house would be thrust away from the throne, but simply affirms that the posterity of David was not to be cut off, so as to leave no offshoot which could take possession of the throne. Its ultimate fulfilment it received in Christ (see at 2Sa 7:12.). The second לאמר in 2Sa 7:4 is not to be erased as suspicious, as being merely a repetition of the first in consequence of the long conditional clause, even though it is wanting in the Vulgate, the Arabic, and a Hebrew codex.

After a general admonition David communicated to his successor a few more special instructions; viz., first of all (2Sa 7:5, 2Sa 7:6), to punish Joab for his wickedness. “What Joab did to me:” - of this David mentions only the two principal crimes of Joab, by which he had already twice deserved death, namely, his killing the two generals. Abner (2Sa 3:27) and Amasa the son of Jether (2Sa 20:10). The name יתר is written יתרא in 2Sa 17:25. Joab had murdered both of them out of jealousy in a treacherous and malicious manner; and thereby he had not only grievously displeased David and bidden defiance to his royal authority, but by the murder of Abner had exposed the king to the suspicion in the eyes of the people of having instigated the crime (see at 2Sa 3:28, 2Sa 3:37). דּמי מ ויּשׂם “and he made war-blood in peace,” i.e., he shed in the time of peace blood that ought only to flow in war (שׂים in the sense of making, as in Deu 14:1; Exo 10:2, etc.), “and brought war-blood upon his girdle which was about his loins, and upon his shoes under his feet,” sc. in the time of peace. This was the crime therefore: that Joab had murdered the two generals in a time of peace, as one ought only to slay his opponent in time of war. Girdle and shoes, the principal features in oriental attire when a man is preparing himself for any business, were covered with blood, since Joab, while saluting them, had treacherously stabbed both of them with the sword. David ought to have punished these two crimes; but when Abner was murdered, he felt himself too weak to visit a man like Joab with the punishment he deserved, as he had only just been anointed king, and consequently he did nothing more than invoke divine retribution upon his head (2Sa 3:29). And when Amasa was slain, the rebellions of Absalom and Sheba had crippled the power of David too much, for him to visit the deed with the punishment that was due. But as king of the nation of God, it was not right for him to allow such crimes to pass unpunished: he therefore transferred the punishment, for which he had wanted the requisite power, to his son and successor.

1Ki 2:6 “Do according to thy wisdom (“mark the proper opportunity of punishing him” - Seb. Schmidt), and let not his grey hair go down into hell (the region of the dead) in peace (i.e., punished).” The punishment of so powerful a man as Joab the commander-in-chief was, required great wisdom, to avoid occasioning a rebellion in the army, which was devoted to him.

1Ki 2:7

If the demands of justice required that Joab should be punished, the duty of gratitude was no less holy to the dying king. And Solomon was to show this to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and make them companions of his table; because Barzillai had supplied David with provisions on his flight from Absalom (2Sa 17:27., 2Sa 19:32.). שׁלחנך בּאכלי והיוּ, “let them be among those eating of thy table;” i.e., not, “let them draw their food from the royal table,” - for there was no particular distinction in this, as all the royal attendants at the court received their food from the royal kitchen, as an equivalent for the pay that was owing - but, “let them join in the meals at the royal table.” The fact that in 2Sa 9:10-11, 2Sa 9:13, we have על־שׁלחן אכל to express this, makes no material difference. According to 2Sa 19:38, Barzillai had, it is true, allowed only one son to follow the king to his court. “For so they drew near to me,” i.e., they showed the kindness to me of supplying me with food; compare 2Sa 17:27, where Barzillai alone is named, though, as he was a man of eighty years old, he was certainly supported by his sons.

1Ki 2:8-9

On the other hand, Shimei the Benjamite had shown great hostility to David (cf. 2Sa 16:5-8). He had cursed him with a vehement curse as he fled from Absalom (נמרצת, vehement, violent, not ill, heillos, from the primary meaning to be sick or ill, as Thenius supposes, since it cannot be shown that מרץ has any such meaning); and when David returned to Jerusalem and Shimei fell at his feet, he had promised to spare his life, because he did not want to mar the joy at his reinstatement in his kingdom by an act of punishment (2Sa 19:19-24), and therefore had personally forgiven him. But the insult which Shimei had offered in his person to the anointed of the Lord, as king and representative of the rights of God, he could not forgive. The instruction given to his successor (אל־תּנקּהוּ, let him not be guiltless) did not spring from personal revenge, but was the duty of the king as judge and administrator of the divine right.“Shimei is and remains rather a proof of David’s magnanimity than of vengeance. It was not a little thing to tolerate the miscreant in his immediate neighbourhood for his whole life long (not even banishment being thought of). And if under the following reign also he had been allowed to end his days in peace (which had never been promised him), this would have been a kindness which would have furnished an example of unpunished crimes that might easily have been abused.” This is the verdict of J. J. Hess in his Geschichte Davids, ii. p. 221.

It follows from the expression עמּך, with thee, i.e., in thy neighbourhood, that Shimei was living at that time in Jerusalem (cf. 1Ki 2:36).

1Ki 2:10-11

After these instructions David died, and was buried in the city of David, i.e., upon Mount Zion, where the sepulchre of David still existed in the time of Christ (Act 2:29).The situation of the tombs of the kings of Judah upon Zion, Thenius has attempted to trace minutely in a separate article in Illgen’s Zeitschrift für die histor. Theol. 1844, i. p. 1ff., and more especially to show that the entrance to these tombs must have been on the eastern slope of Mount Zion, which falls into the valley of Tyropoeon, and obliquely opposite to the spring of Siloah. This is in harmony with the statement of Theodoret (quaest. 6 in iii. Reg.), to the effect that Josephus says, τὸ δὲ μνῆμα (τῆς ταφῆς) παρὰ τὴν Σιλοὰμ εἶναι ἀντροειδὲς ἔχον τὸ σχῆμα, καὶ τῆν βασιλικὴν δηλοῦν πολυτέλειαν; although this statement does not occur in any passage of his works as they have come down to us.

On the length of his reign see 2Sa 5:5.

1Ki 2:12

Accession of Solomon and Establishment of his Government. - 1Ki 2:12 is a heading embracing the substance of what follows, and is more fully expanded in 1Ch 29:23-25. Solomon established his monarchy first of all by punishing the rebels, Adonijah (1Ch 29:13-25) and his adherents (1Ch 29:26 -35), and by carrying out the final instructions of his father (vv. 36-46).

1Ki 2:13-18 Adonijah forfeits his life. - 1Ki 2:13-18. Adonijah came to Bathsheba with the request that she would apply to king Solomon to give him Abishag of Shunem as his wife. Bathsheba asked him, “Is peace thy coming?” i.e., comest thou with a peaceable intention? (as in 1Sa 16:4), because after what had occurred (1Ki 1:5.) she suspected an evil intention. He introduced his petition with these words: “Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had set its face upon me that I should be king, then the kingdom turned about and became my brother’s; for it became his from the Lord.” The throne was his, not because he had usurped it, but because it belonged to him as the eldest son at that time, according to the right of primogeniture. Moreover it might have been the case that many of the people wished him to be king, and the fact that he had found adherents in Joab, Abiathar, and others, confirms this; but his assertion, that all Israel had set its eyes upon him as the future king, went beyond the bounds of truth. At the same time, he knew how to cover over the dangerous sentiment implied in his words in a very skilful manner by adding the further remark, that the transfer of the kingdom to his brother had come from Jehovah; so that Bathsheba did not detect the artifice, and promised to fulfil his request (1Ki 2:16.) to intercede with king Solomon for Abishag to be given him to wife. את־פּני אל־תּשׁבי, “do not turn back my face,” i.e., do not refuse my request.

1Ki 2:19

When Bathsheba came to Solomon, he received her with the reverence due to the queen-mother: “he rose up to meet her” (a pregnant expression for “he rose up and went to meet her”), made a low bow, then sat upon his throne again, and bade her sit upon a throne at his right hand. The seat at the right hand of the king was the place of honour among the Israelites (cf. Psa 110:1), also with the ancient Arabian kings (cf. Eichhorn, Monumenta Antiq. Hist. Arab. p. 220), as well as among the Greeks and Romans.

1Ki 2:20-22

To her request, “Let Abishag of Shunem be given to Adonijah thy brother for a wife” (את יתּן, cf. Ges. §§143, 1, a.), which she regarded in her womanly simplicity as a very small one (קטנּה), he replied with indignation, detecting at once the intrigues of Adonijah: “And why dost thou ask Abishag of Shunem for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom, for he is my elder brother; and indeed for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.” The repetition of לו in ולו (1Ki 2:22), for the purpose of linking on another clause, answers entirely to the emotional character of the words. “For him, and for Abiathar and Joab:” Solomon said this, because these two men of high rank had supported Adonijah’s rebellion and wished to rule under his name. There is no ground for any such alterations of the text as Thenius proposes. - Although Abishag had been only David’s nurse, in the eyes of the people she passed as his concubine; and among the Israelites, just as with the ancient Persians (Herod. iii. 68), taking possession of the harem of a deceased king was equivalent to an establishment of the claim to the throne (see at 2Sa 12:8 and 2Sa 3:7-8). According to 2Sa 16:21, this cannot have been unknown even to Bathsheba; but as Adonijah’s wily words had disarmed all suspicion, she may not have thought of this, or may perhaps have thought that Abishag was not to be reckoned as one of David’s concubines, because David had not known her (1Ki 1:4).

1Ki 2:23-24

Solomon thereupon solemnly swore (the formula of an oath, and the כּי introducing the oath, as in 1Sa 14:44, etc.), “Adonijah has spoken this word against his own life.” בּנפשׁו, at the cost of his life, as in 2Sa 23:17, i.e., at the hazard of his life, or to his destruction. 2Sa 23:24. “And now, as truly as Jehovah liveth, who hath established me and set me on the throne of my father David, and hath made me a house, as He said (verbatim, 2Sa 7:11): yea, to-day shall Adonijah be put to death.” Jehovah established Solomon, or founded him firmly, by raising him to the throne in spite of Adonijah’s usurpation. In ויושׁיביני the central י has got into the text through a copyist’s error. בּית לי עשׂה, i.e., He has bestowed upon me a family or posterity. Solomon had already one son, viz., Rehoboam, about a year old (compare 1Ki 11:42 with 1Ki 14:21 and 2Ch 12:13).When Thenius denies this, and maintains that Rehoboam cannot have been 41 years old when he began to reign, referring to his discussion at 1Ki 14:21, he answers himself, inasmuch as at 1Ki 14:21 he demonstrates the fallacy of the objections which Cappellus has raised against the correctness of the reading “41 years.”

1Ki 2:25

Solomon had this sentence immediately executed upon Adonijah by Benaiah, the chief of the body-guard, according to the oriental custom of both ancient and modern times. The king was perfectly just in doing this. For since Adonijah, even after his first attempt to seize upon the throne had been forgiven by Solomon, endeavoured to secure his end by fresh machinations, duty to God, who had exalted Solomon to the throne, demanded that the rebel should be punished with all the severity of the law, without regard to blood-relationship.

1Ki 2:26-27 Deposition of Abiathar. - The conduct of Solomon towards the high priest Abiathar is a proof how free his actions were from personal revenge or too great severity. Abiathar had also forfeited his life through the part he took in Adonijah’s conspiracy; but Solomon simply sent him to Anathoth (i.e., Anata; see at Jos 18:24), to his own fields, i.e., to his property there, telling him, “Thou art indeed a man of death,” i.e., thou hast deserved to die, “but I will not put thee to death to-day, because thou hast borne the ark of Jehovah,” namely, both on the occasion of its solemn conveyance to Jerusalem (1Ch 15:11.) and also on David’s flight from Absalom (2Sa 15:24, 2Sa 15:29), that is to say, because of his high-priestly dignity, and because thou didst endure all that my father endured, i.e., thou didst share all his afflictions and sufferings, both in the period of Saul’s persecution (1Sa 22:20., 1Sa 23:8.), and during the rebellion of Absalom (2Sa 15:24.). ההוּא בּיּום (to-day) puts a limit upon the pardon, because Solomon could not foresee whether Abiathar would always keep quiet, and not forfeit his life again by fresh crimes.There is no meaning in the objection of Thenius, that Abiathar did not carry the ark himself, since this was not the duty of the high priest. For, in the first place, it is questionable whether Abiathar did not lend a helping hand at the removal of the ark during Absalom’s conspiracy. And, secondly, the duty binding upon the high priest, to superintend and conduct the removal of the ark, might very well be called carrying the ark. The conjecture, that for ארון we should read אפוד, founders on the preterite נשׂאת; for Abiathar had not only worn the ephod once before, but he wore it till the very hour in which Solomon deposed him from his office.

1Ki 2:28-33 Execution of Joab. - When the report (of the execution of Adonijah and the deposition of Abiathar) came to Joab, he fled to the tent of Jehovah (not to the tabernacle, but to the holy tent upon Zion) to seek protection at the altar (see at 1Ki 1:50). The words נטה לא...יואב כּי are introduced as a parenthesis to explain Joab’s flight: “for Joab had leaned after Adonijah,” i.e., taken his side (אהרי נטה, as in Exo 23:2; Jdg 9:3), “but not after Absalom.”Instead of אבשׁלום the lxx (Cod. Vat.), Vulgate, Syr., and Arab. have adopted the reading שּׁלמה, and both Thenius and Ewald propose to alter the text accordingly. But whatever plausibility this reading may have, especially if we alter the preterite נטה into the participle נטה after the ἦν κεκλικώς of the lxx, as Thenius does, it has no other foundation than an arbitrary rendering of the lxx, who thought, but quite erroneously, that the allusion to Absalom was inapplicable here. For אחר נטה, to take a person’s side, would suit very well in the case of Adonijah and Absalom, but not in that of Solomon, whose claim to the throne was not a party affair, but had been previously determined by God.

There is no foundation in the biblical text for the conjecture, that Joab had given Adonijah the advice to ask for Abishag as his wife, just as Ahithophel had given similar advice to Absalom (2Sa 16:21). For not only is there no intimation of anything of the kind, but Solomon punished Joab solely because of his crimes in the case of Abner and Amasa. Moreover, Abiathar was also deposed, without having any fresh machinations in favour of Adonijah laid to his charge. The punishment of Adonijah and Abiathar was quite sufficient to warn Joab of his approaching fate, and lead him to seek to save his life by fleeing to the altar. It is true that, according to Exo 21:13-14, the altar could afford no protection to a man who had committed two murders. But he probably thought no more of these crimes, which had been committed a long time before, but simply of his participation in Adonijah’s usurpation; and he might very well hope that religious awe would keep Solomon from putting him to death in a holy place for such a crime as that. And it is very evident that this hope was not altogether a visionary one, from the fact that, according to Exo 21:30, when Joab refused to leave the altar at the summons addressed to him in the name of the king, Benaiah did not give him the death-blow at once, but informed Solomon of the fact and received his further commands. Solomon, however, did not arrest the course of justice, but ordered him to be put to death there and afterwards buried. The burial of the persons executed was a matter of course, as, according to Deu 21:23, even a person who had been hanged was to be buried before sunset. When, therefore, Solomon gives special orders for the burial of Joab, the meaning is that Benaiah is to provide for the burial with distinct reference to the services which Joab had rendered to his father. “And take away the blood, which Joab shed without cause, from me and my father’s house.” So long as Joab remained unpunished for the double murder, the blood-guiltiness rested upon the king and his house, on whom the duty of punishment devolved (cf. Num 35:30-31; Deu 19:13). חנּם דּמי, blood without cause, i.e., blood shed in innocence. On the connection of the adverb with the substantive, at which Thenius takes offence, comp. Ges. §151, 1, and Ewald, §287, d. - For V. 32, compare Deu 21:5. The words of Solomon in v. 33a point back to the curse which David uttered upon Joab and his descendants after the murder of Abner (2Sa 3:28-29). “But to David, and his seed, and his house, and his throne, let there be salvation for ever from Jehovah.” This wish sprang from a conviction, based upon 2Sa 7:14, that the Lord would not fulfil His promise to David unless his successors upon the throne exercised right and justice according to the command of the Lord.

1Ki 2:34

Benaiah went up (ויּעל), inasmuch as the altar by the ark of the covenant stood higher up Mount Zion than Solomon’s house. Joab was buried “in his house” (i.e., in the tomb prepared in his house, either in the court or in the garden: cf. 1Sa 25:1), “in the desert,” probably the wilderness of Judah, as Joab’s mother was a step-sister of David, and therefore probably dwelt in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem.

1Ki 2:35

Solomon appointed Benaiah commander-in-chief in the place of Joab, and put Zadok in Abiathar’s place (cf. 1Ki 1:8-9).

1Ki 2:36-37 Punishment of Shimei. - Solomon thereupon ordered Shimei to come, probably from Bahurim, where his home was (2Sa 16:5), and commanded him to build himself a house in Jerusalem to dwell in, and not to leave the city “any whither” (ואנה אנה), threatening him with death if ever he should cross the brook Kidron. The valley of Kidron is mentioned as the eastern boundary of the city with an allusion to the fact, that Bahurim was to the east of Jerusalem towards the desert.

1Ki 2:38

Shimei vowed obedience, and that on oath, as is supplementarily observed in 1Ki 2:42, though it has been arbitrarily interpolated by the lxx here; and he kept his word a considerable time.

1Ki 2:39-40

But after the lapse of three years, when two slaves fled to Gath to king Achish, with whom David had also sought and found refuge (1Sa 27:2, compare 1Ki 21:11.), he started for Gath as soon as he knew this, and fetched them back.

1Ki 2:41-43

When this was reported to Solomon, he sent for Shimei and charged him with the breach of his command: “Did I not swear to thee by Jehovah, and testify to thee, etc.? Why hast thou not kept the oath of Jehovah (the oath sworn by Jehovah)...?”

1Ki 2:44

He then reminded him of the evil which he had done to his father: “Thou knowest all the evil, which thy heart knoweth (i.e., which thy conscience must tell thee); and now Jehovah returns the evil upon thy head,” namely, by decreeing the punishment of death, which he deserved for blaspheming the anointed of the Lord (2Sa 16:9).

1Ki 2:45 “And king Solomon will be blessed, and the throne of David be established before Jehovah for ever,” namely, because the king does justice (compare the remark on 1Ki 2:33).

1Ki 2:46

Solomon then ordered him to be executed by Benaiah. This punishment was also just. As Solomon had put Shimei’s life in his own hand by imposing upon him confinement in Jerusalem, and Shimei had promised on oath to obey the king’s command, the breach of his oath was a crime for which he had no excuse. There is no force at all in the excuses which some commentators adduce in his favour, founded upon the money which his salves had cost him, and the wish to recover possession of them, which was a right one in itself. If Shimei had wished to remain faithful to his oath, he might have informed the king of the flight of his slaves, have entreated the king that they might be brought back, and have awaited the king’s decision; but he had no right thus lightly to break the promise given on oath. By the breach of his oath he had forfeited his life. And this is the first thing with which Solomon charges him, without his being able to offer any excuse; and it is not till afterwards that he adduces as a second fact in confirmation of the justice of his procedure, the wickedness that he practised towards his father. - The last clause, “and the kingdom was established by (בּיד) Solomon,” is attached to the following chapter in the Cod. Al. of the lxx (in the Cod. Vat. it is wanting, or rather its place is supplied by a long interpolation), in the Vulgate, and in the Syriac; and indeed rightly so, as Thenius has shown, not merely because of the רק in 1Ki 3:2, but also because of its form as a circumstantial clause, to which the following account (1Ki 3:1.) is appended.

David's Dying Charge; David's Death and Burial. (b. c. 1015.)

1 Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, 2 I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man; 3 And keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: 4 That the Lord may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel. 5 Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet. 6 Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace. 7 But show kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table: for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother. 8 And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the Lord , saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword. 9 Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood. 10 So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. 11 And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.

David, that great and good man, is here a dying man (v. 1), and a dead man, v. 10. It is well there is another life after this, for death stains all the glory of this, and lays it in the dust. We have here,

I. The charge and instructions which David, when he was dying, gave to Solomon, his son and declared successor. He feels himself declining, and is not backward to own it, nor afraid to hear or speak of dying: I go the way of all the earth, v. 2. Heb. I am walking in it. Note, Death is a way; not only a period of this life, but a passage to a better. It is the way of all the earth, of all mankind who dwell on earth, and are themselves earth, and therefore must return to their earth. Even the sons and heirs of heaven must go the way of all the earth, they must needs die; but they walk with pleasure in this way, through the valley of the shadow of death, Ps. xxiii. 4. Prophets, and even kings, must go this way to brighter light and honour than prophecy or sovereignty. David is going this way, and therefore gives Solomon directions what to do.

1. He charges him, in general, to keep God's commandments and to make conscience of his duty, v. 2-4. He prescribes to him, (1.) A good rule to act by—the divine will: "Govern thyself by that." David's charge to him is to keep the charge of the Lord his God. The authority of a dying father is much, but nothing to that of a living God. There are great trusts which we are charged with by the Lord our God—let us keep them carefully, as those that must give account; and excellent statutes, which we must be ruled by—let us also keep them. The written word is our rule. Solomon must himself do as was written in the law of Moses. (2.) A good spirit to act with: Be strong and show thyself a man, though in years but a child. Those that would keep the charge of the Lord their God must put on resolution. (3.) Good reasons for all this. This would effectually conduce, [1.] To the prosperity of his kingdom. It is the way to prosper in all thou doest, and to succeed with honour and satisfaction in every undertaking. [2.] To the perpetuity of it: That the Lord may continue and so confirm his word which he spoke concerning me. Those that rightly value the treasure of the promise, that sacred depositum, cannot but be solicitous to preserve the entail of it, and very desirous that those who come after them may do nothing to cut it off. Let each, in his own age, successively, keep God's charge, and then God will be sure to continue his word. We never let fall the promise till we let fall the precept. God had promised David that the Messiah should come from his loins, and that promise was absolute: but the promise that there should not fail him a man on the throne of Israel was conditional—if his seed behave themselves as they should. If Solomon, in his day, fulfil the condition, he does his part towards the perpetuating of the promise. The condition is that he walk before God in all his institutions, in sincerity, with zeal and resolution; and, in order hereunto, that he take heed to his way. In order to our constancy in religion, nothing is more necessary than caution and circumspection.

2. He gives him directions concerning some particular persons, what to do with them, that he might make up his deficiencies in justice to some and kindness to others. (1.) Concerning Joab, v. 5. David was now conscious to himself that he had not done well to spare him, when he had made himself once again obnoxious to the law, but the murder of Abner first and afterwards of Amasa, both of them great men, captains of the hosts of Israel. He slew them treacherously (shed the blood of war in peace), and injuriously to David: Thou knowest what he did to me therein. The murder of a subject is a wrong to the prince, it is a loss to him, and is against the peace of our sovereign lord the king. These murders were particularly against David, reflecting upon his reputation, he being, at that time, in treaty with the victims, and hazarded his interest, which they were very capable of serving. Magistrates are the avengers of the blood of those they have the charge of. It aggravated Joab's crime that he was neither ashamed of the sin nor afraid of the punishment, but daringly wore the girdle and shoes that were stained with innocent blood, in defiance of the justice both of God and the king. David refers him to Solomon's wisdom (v. 6), with an intimation that he left him to his justice. Say not, "He has a hoary head; it is a pity it should be cut off, for it will shortly fall of itself." No, let it not go down to the grave in peace. Though he has been long reprieved, he shall be reckoned with at last; time does not wear out the guilt of any sin, particularly that of murder. (2.) Concerning Barzillai's family, to whom he orders him to be kind for Barzillai's sake, who, we may suppose, by this time, was dead, v. 7. When David, upon his death-bed, was remembering the injuries that had been done, he could not forget the kindnesses that had been shown, but leaves it as a charge upon his son to return them. Note, the kindnesses we have received from our friends must not be buried either in their graves or ours, but our children must return them to theirs. Hence, perhaps, Solomon fetched that rule (Prov. xxvii. 10), Thy own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not. Paul prays for the house of Onesiphorus, who had often refreshed him. (3.) Concerning Shimei, v. 8, 9. [1.] His crime is remembered: He cursed me with a grievous curse; the more grievous because he insulted him when he was in misery and poured vinegar into his wounds. The Jews say that one thing which made this a grievous curse was that, besides all that is mentioned (2 Sam. xvi.), Shimei upbraided him with his descent from Ruth the Moabitess. [2.] His pardon is not forgotten. David owned he had sworn to him that he would not himself put him to death, because he seasonably submitted, and cried Peccavi—I have sinned, and he was not willing, especially at that juncture, to use the sword of public justice for the avenging of wrongs done to himself. But, [3.] His case, as it now stands, is left with Solomon, as one that knew what was fit to be done and would do as he found occasion. David intimates to him that his pardon was not designed to be perpetual, but only a reprieve for David's life: "Hold him not guiltless; do not think him any true friend to thee or thy government, nor fit to be trusted. He has no less malice than he had then, though he has more sense to conceal it. He is still a debtor to the public justice for what he did then; and, though I promised him that I would not put him to death, I never promised that my successor should not. His turbulent spirit will soon give thee an occasion, which thou shouldst not fail to take, for the bringing of his hoary head to the grave with blood." This proceeded not from personal revenge, but a prudent zeal for the honour of the government and the covenant God had made with his family, the contempt of which ought not to go unpunished. Even a hoary head, if a guilty and forfeited head, ought not to be any man's protection from justice. The sinner, being a hundred years old, shall be accursed, Isa. lxv. 20.

II. David's death and burial (v. 10): He was buried in the city of David, not in the burying place of his father, as Saul was, but in his own city, which he was the founder of. There were set the thrones, and there the tombs, of the house of David. Now David, after he had served his own generation, by the will of God, fell asleep, and was laid to his fathers, and saw corruption, Acts xiii. 36, and see Acts ii. 29. His epitaph may be taken from 2 Sam. xxiii. 1. Here lies David the son of Jesse, the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, adding his own words (Ps. xvi. 9), My flesh also shall rest in hope. Josephus says that, besides the usual magnificence with which his son Solomon buried him, he put into his sepulchre a vast deal of money; and that 1300 years after (so he reckons) it was opened by Hircanus the high priest, in the time of Antiochus, and 3000 talents were taken out for the public service. The years of his reign are here computed (v. 11) to be forty years; the odd six months which he reigned above seven years in Hebron are not reckoned, but the even sum only.

Adonijah's Impudent Request; Adonijah Put to Death. (b. c. 1015.)

12 Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly. 13 And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably. 14 He said moreover, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And she said, Say on. 15 And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother's: for it was his from the Lord . 16 And now I ask one petition of thee, deny me not. And she said unto him, Say on. 17 And 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. 18 And Bathsheba said, Well; I will speak for thee unto the king. 19 Bathsheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king's mother; and she sat on his right hand. 20 Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; I pray thee, say me not nay. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother: for I will not say thee nay. 21 And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother to wife. 22 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. 23 Then king Solomon sware by the Lord , saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah have not spoken this word against his own life. 24 Now therefore, as the Lord liveth, which hath established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who hath made me a house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day. 25 And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him that he died.

Here is, I. Solomon's accession to the throne, v. 12. He came to it much more easily and peaceably than David did, and much sooner saw his government established. It is happy for a kingdom when the end of one good reign is the beginning of another, as it was here.

II. His just and necessary removal of Adonijah his rival, in order to the establishment of his throne. Adonijah had made some bold pretensions to the crown, but was soon obliged to let them fail and throw himself upon Solomon's mercy, who dismissed him upon his good behaviour, and, had he been easy, he might have been safe. But here we have him betraying himself into the hands of Solomon's justice, and falling by it, the righteous God leaving him to himself, that he might be punished for his former treason and that Solomon's throne might be established. Many thus ruin themselves, because they know not when they are well off, or well done to; and sinners, by presuming on God's patience, treasure up wrath to themselves. Now observe,

1. Adonijah's treasonable project, which was to marry Abishag, David's concubine, not because he was in love with her, but because, by her, he hoped to renew his claim to the crown, which might stand him in stead, or because it was then looked upon as a branch of the government to have the wives of the predecessor, 2 Sam. xii. 8. Absalom thought his pretensions much supported by lying with his father's concubines. Adonijah flatters himself that if he may succeed him in his bed, especially with the best of his wives, he may by that means step up to succeed him in his throne. Restless and turbulent spirits reach high. It was but a small game to play at, as it should seem, yet he hoped to make it an after-game for the kingdom, and now to gain that by a wife which he could not gain by force.

2. The means he used to compass this. He durst not make suit to Abishag immediately (he knew she was at Solomon's disposal, and he would justly resent it if his consent were not first obtained, as even Ishbosheth did, in a like case, 2 Sam. iii. 7), nor durst he himself apply immediately to Solomon, knowing that he lay under his displeasure; but he engaged Bathsheba to be his friend in this matter, who would be forward to believe it a matter of love, and not apt to suspect it a matter of policy. Bathsheba was surprised to see Adonijah in her apartment, and asked him if he did not come with a design to do her a mischief, because she had been instrumental to crush his late attempt. "No," says he, "I come peaceably (v. 13), and to beg a favour" (v. 14), that she would use the great interest she had in her son to gain his consent, that he might marry Abishag (v. 16, 17), and, if he may but obtain this, he will thankfully accept it, (1.) As a compensation for his loss of the kingdom. He insinuates (v. 15), "Thou knowest the kingdom was mine, as my father's eldest son, living at the time of his death, and all Israel set their faces on me." This was false; they were but a few that he had on his side; yet thus he would represent himself as an object of compassion, that had been deprived of a crown, and therefore might well be gratified in a wife. If he may not inherit his father's throne, yet let him have something valuable that was his father's, to keep for his sake, and let it be Abishag. (2.) As his reward for his acquiescence in that loss. He owns Solomon's right to the kingdom: "It was his from the Lord. I was foolish in offering to contest it; and now that it is turned about to him I am satisfied." Thus he pretends to be well pleased with Solomon's accession to the throne, when he is doing all he can to give him disturbance. His words were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart.

3. Bathsheba's address to Solomon on his behalf. She promised to speak to the king for him (v. 18) and did so, v. 19. Solomon received her with all the respect that was due to a mother, though he himself was a king: He rose up to meet her, bowed himself to her, and caused her to sit on his right hand, according to the law of the fifth commandment. Children, not only when grown up, but when grown great, must give honour to their parents, and behave dutifully and respectfully towards them. Despise not thy mother when she is old. As a further instance of the deference he paid to his mother's wisdom and authority, when he understood she had a petition to present to him, he promised not to say her nay, a promise which both he and she understood with this necessary limitation, provided it be just and reasonable and fit to be granted; but, if it were otherwise, he was sure he should convince her that it was so, and that then she would withdraw it. She tells him her errand at last (v. 21): Let Abishag be given to Adonijah thy brother. It was strange that she did not suspect the treason, but more strange that she did not abhor the incest, that was in the proposal. But either she did not take Abishag to be David's wife, because the marriage was not consummated, or she thought it might be dispensed with to gratify Adonijah, in consideration of his tame submission to Solomon. This was her weakness and folly: it was well that she was not regent. Note, Those that have the ear of princes and great men, as it is their wisdom not to be too prodigal of their interest, so it is their duty never to use it for the assistance of sin or the furtherance of any wicked design. Let not princes be asked that which they ought not to grant. It ill becomes a good man to prefer a bad request or appear in a bad cause.

4. Solomon's just and judicious rejection of the request. Though his mother herself was the advocate, and called it a small petition, and perhaps it was the first she had troubled him with since he was king, yet he denied it, without violation of the general promise he had made, v. 20. If Herod had not had a mind to cut off John Baptist's head, he would not have thought himself obliged to do it by a general promise, like this, made to Herodias. The best friend we have in the world must not have such an interest in us as to bring us to do a wrong thing, either unjust or unwise. (1.) Solomon convinces his mother of the unreasonableness of the request, and shows her the tendency of it, which, before, she was not aware of. His reply is somewhat sharp: "Ask for him the kingdom also, v. 22. To ask that he may succeed the king in his bed is, in effect, to ask that he may succeed him in his throne; for that is it he aims at." Probably he had information, or cause for a strong suspicion, that Adonijah was plotting with Joab and Abiathar to give him disturbance, which warranted him to put this construction upon Adonijah's request. (2.) He convicts and condemns Adonijah for his pretensions, and both with an oath. He convicts him out of his own mouth, v. 23. His own tongue shall fall upon him; and a heavier load a man needs not fall under. Bathsheba may be imposed upon, but Solomon cannot; he plainly sees what Adonijah aims at, and concludes, "He has spoken this word against his own life; he is snared in the words of his own lips; now he shows what he would be at." He condemns him to die immediately: He shall be put to death this day, v. 24. God had himself declared with an oath that he would establish David's throne (Ps. lxxxix. 35), and therefore Solomon pledges the same assurance to secure that establishment, by cutting off the enemies of it. "As God liveth, that establisheth the government, Adonijah shall die, that would unsettle it." Thus the ruin of the enemies of Christ's kingdom is as sure as the stability of his kingdom, and both are as sure as the being and life of God, the founder of it. The warrant is immediately signed for his execution, and no less a man than Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, general of the army, is ordered to be the executioner, v. 25. It is strange that Adonijah may not be heard to speak for himself: but Solomon's wisdom did not see it needful to examine the matter any further; it was plain enough that Adonijah aimed at the crown, and Solomon could not be safe while he lived. Ambitious turbulent spirits commonly prepare for themselves the instruments of death. Many a head has been lost by catching at a crown.

Joab Put to Death. (b. c. 1015.)

26 And unto Abiathar the priest said the king, Get thee to Anathoth, unto thine own fields; for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou barest the ark of the Lord God before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted. 27 So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the Lord ; that he might fulfil the word of the Lord , which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh. 28 Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the Lord , and caught hold on the horns of the altar. 29 And it was told king Solomon that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the Lord ; and, behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him. 30 And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the Lord , and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me. 31 And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father. 32 And the Lord shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing thereof, to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah. 33 Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the Lord . 34 So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.

Abiathar and Joab were both aiding and abetting in Adonijah's rebellious attempt, and it is probable were at the bottom of this new motion made of Adonijah for Abishag, and it should seem Solomon knew it, v. 22. This was, in both, an intolerable affront both to God and to the government, and the worse because of their high station and the great influence their examples might have upon many. They therefore come next to be reckoned with. They are both equally guilty of the treason, but, in the judgment passed upon them, a difference is made and with good reason.

I. Abiathar, in consideration of his old services, is only degraded, v. 26, 27. 1. Solomon convicts him, and by his great wisdom finds him guilty: "Thou art worthy of death, for joining with Adonijah, when thou knewest on whose head God intended to set the crown." 2. He calls to mind the respect he had formerly shown to David his father, and that he had both ministered to him in holy things (had borne before him the ark of the Lord), and also had tenderly sympathized with him in his afflictions and been afflicted in them all, particularly when he was in exile and distress both by Saul's persecution and Absalom's rebellion. Note, Those that show kindness to God's people shall have it remembered to their advantage one time or other. 3. For this reason he spares Abiathar's life, but deposes him from his offices, and confines him to his country seat at Anathoth, forbids him the court, the city, the tabernacle, the altar, and all inter-meddling in public business, with an intimation likewise that he was upon his good behaviour, and that though Solomon did not put him to death at this time he might another time, if he did not conduct himself well. But, for the present, he was only thrust out from being priest, as rendered unworthy that high station by the opposition he had given to that which he knew to be the will of God. Saul, for a supposed crime, had barbarously slain Abiathar's father, and eighty-five priests, their families, and city. Solomon spares Abiathar himself, though guilty of a real crime. Thus was Saul's government ruined and Solomon's established. As men are to God's ministers, they will find him to them. 4. The depriving of Abiathar was the fulfilling of the threatening against the house of Eli (1 Sam. ii. 30), for he was the last high priest of that family. It was now above eighty years since the ruin was threatened; but God's judgments, though not executed speedily, will be executed surely.

II. Joab, in consideration of his old sins, is put to death.

1. His guilty conscience sent him to the horns of the altar. He heard that Adonijah was executed and Abiathar deposed, and therefore, fearing his turn would be next, he fled for refuge to the altar. Many that, in the day of their security, care not for the service of the altar, will be glad of the protection of it in the day of their distress. Some think Joab designed thereby to devote himself for the future to a constant attendance upon the altar, hoping thereby to obtain his pardon, as some that have lived a dissolute life all their days have thought to atone for their crimes by retiring into a monastery when they are old, leaving the world when it has left them and no thanks to them.

2. Solomon ordered him to be put to death there for the murder of Abner and Amasa; for these were the crimes upon which he thought fit to ground the sentence, rather than upon his treasonable adherence to Adonijah. Joab was indeed worthy of death for turning after Adonijah, in contempt of Solomon and his designation to the throne, though he had not turned after Absalom, v. 28. Former fidelity will not serve to excuse any after treachery; yet, besides that, Joab had merited well of the house of David, to which and to his country he had done a great deal of good service in his day, in consideration of which, it is probable, Solomon would have pardoned him his offence against him (for clemency gives great reputation and establishment to an infant government), and would have only displaced him as he did Abiathar; but he must die for the murders he had formerly been guilty of, which his father had charged Solomon to call him to an account for. The debt he owed to the innocent blood that was shed, by answering its cries with the blood of him that shed, he could not pay himself, but left it to his son to pay it, who, having power wherewithal, failed not to do it. On this he grounds the sentence, aggravating the crime (v. 32), that he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, that had done him no wrong nor meant him any, and, had they lived, might probably have done David better service (if the blood shed be not only innocent, but excellent, the life more valuable that common lives, the crime is the more heinous), that David knew not of it, and yet the case was such that he would be suspected as privy to it; so that Joab endangered his prince's reputation in taking away the life of his rivals, which was a further aggravation. For these crimes, (1.) He must die, and die by the sword of public justice. By man must his blood be shed, and it lies upon his own head (v. 32), as theirs does whom he had murdered, v. 33. Woe to the head that lies under the guilt of blood! Vengeance for murder was long in coming upon Joab; but, when it did come, it remained the longer, being here entailed upon the head of his seed for ever (v. 33), who, instead of deriving honour, as otherwise they might have done, from his heroic actions, derived guilt, and shame, and a curse, from his villainous actions, on account of which they fared the worse in this world. The seed of such evil doers shall never be renowned. (2.) He must die at the altar, rather than escape. Joab resolved not to stir from the altar (v. 30), hoping thereby either to secure himself or else to render Solomon odious to the people, as a profaner of the holy place, if he should put him to death there. Benaiah made a scruple of either killing him there or dragging him thence; but Solomon knew the law, that the altar of God should give no protection to wilful murderers. Exod. xxi. 14, Thou shalt take him from my altar that he may die, may die a sacrifice. In case of such sins as the blood of beasts would atone for the altar was a refuge, but not in Joab's case. He therefore orders him to be executed there, if he could not be got thence, to show that he feared not the censure of the people in doing his duty, but would rectify their mistake, and let them know that the administration of justice is better than sacrifice, and that the holiness of any place should never countenance the wickedness of any person. Those who, by a lively faith, take hold on Christ and his righteousness, with a resolution, if they perish, to perish there, shall find in him a more powerful protection than Joab found at the horns of the altar. Benaiah slew him (v. 34), with the solemnity, no doubt, of a public execution. The law being thus satisfied, he was buried in his own house in the wilderness, privately, like a criminal, not pompously, like a soldier; yet no indignity was done to his dead body. It is not for man to lay the iniquity upon the bones, whatever God does.

3. Solomon pleased himself with this act of justice, not as it gratified any personal revenge, but as it was the fulfilling of his father's orders and a real kindness to himself and his own government. (1.) Guilt was hereby removed, v. 31. By returning the innocent blood that had been shed upon the head of him that shed it, it was taken away from him and from the house of his father, which implies that the blood which is not required from the murderer will be required from the magistrate, at least there is danger lest it should. Those that would have their houses safe and built up must put away iniquity far from them. (2.) Peace was hereby secured (v. 33) upon David. He does not mean his person, but, as he explains himself in the next words, Upon his seed, his house, and his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the Lord; thus he expresses his desire that it may be so and his hope that it shall be so. "Now that justice is done, and the cry of blood is satisfied, the government will prosper." Thus righteousness and peace kiss each other. Now that such a turbulent man as Joab is removed there shall be peace. Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness, Prov. xxv. 5. Solomon, in this blessing of peace upon his house and throne, piously looks upward to God as the author of it. "It shall be peace from the Lord, and peace for ever from the Lord." The Lord of peace himself give us that peace which is everlasting.

Shimei's Punishment. (b. c. 1014.)

35 And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host: and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar. 36 And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither. 37 For it shall be, that on the day thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head. 38 And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days. 39 And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish son of Maachah king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants be in Gath. 40 And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants: and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath. 41 And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again. 42 And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the Lord , and protested unto thee, saying, Know for a certain, on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, that thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst unto me, The word that I have heard is good. 43 Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the Lord , and the commandment that I have charged thee with? 44 The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore the Lord shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head; 45 And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord for ever. 46 So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.

Here is, I. The preferment of Benaiah and Zadok, two faithful friends to Solomon and his government, v. 35. Joab being put to death, Benaiah was advanced to be general of the forces in his room, and, Abiathar being deposed, Zadok was made high priest in his room, and therein was fulfilled the word of God, when he threatened to cut off the house of Eli (1 Sam. ii. 35), I will raise me up a faithful priest, and will build him a sure house. Though sacred offices may be disgraced, they shall not be destroyed, by the mal-administration of those that are entrusted with them, nor shall God's work ever stand still for want of hands to carry it on. No wonder that he who was a king so immediately of God's making was empowered to make whom he though fit high priest; and he exercised this power with equity, for the ancient right was in Zadok, he being of the family of Eleazar, whereas Eli and his house were of Ithamar.

II. The course that was taken with Shimei. He is sent for, by a messenger, from his house at Bahurim, expecting perhaps no better than Adonijah's doom, being conscious of his enmity to the house of David; but Solomon knows how to make a difference of crimes and criminals. David had promised Shimei his life for his time. Solomon is not bound by that promise, yet he will not go directly contrary to it. 1. He confines him to Jerusalem, and forbids him, upon any pretence whatsoever, to go out of the city any further than the brook Kidron, v. 36, 37. He would suffer him to continue at his country seat lest he should make mischief among his neighbours, but took him to Jerusalem, where he kept him prisoner at large. This might make Shimei's confinement easy to himself, for Jerusalem was beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, the royal city, the holy city (he had no reason to complain of being shut up in such a paradise); it would also make it the more safe for Solomon, for there he would have him under his eye and be able to watch his motions; and he plainly tells him that if he ever go out of the rules he shall certainly die for it. This was a fair trial of his obedience, and such a test of his loyalty as he had no reason to complain of. He has his life upon easy terms: he shall live if he will but be content to live at Jerusalem. 2. Shimei submits to the confinement, and thankfully takes his life upon those terms. He enters into recognizance (v. 38), under the penalty of death, not to stir out of Jerusalem, and owns that the saying is good. Even those that perish cannot but own the conditions of pardon and life unexceptionable, so that their blood, like Shimei's, must rest upon their own heads. Shimei promised, with an oath, to keep within his bounds, v. 42. 3. Shimei forfeits his recognizance, which was the thing Solomon expected; and God was righteous in suffering him to do it, that he might now suffer for his old sins. Two of his servants (it seems, though he was a prisoner, he lived like himself, well attended) ran from him to the land of the Philistines, v. 39. Thither he pursued them, and thence brought them back to Jerusalem, v. 40. For the keeping of it private he saddled his ass himself, probably went in the night, and came home he thought undiscovered. "Seeking his servants," says bishop Hall, "he lost himself; those earthly things either are, or should be, our servants. How commonly do we see men run out of the bounds set by God's law, to hunt after them, till their souls incur a fearful judgment!" 4. Solomon takes the forfeiture. Information is given him that Shimei has transgressed, v. 41. The king sends for him, and, (1.) charges him with the present crime (v. 42, 43), that he had put a great contempt upon the authority and wrath both of God and the king, that he had broken the oath of the Lord and disobeyed the commandment of his prince, and by this it appeared what manner of spirit he was of, that he would not be held by the bonds of gratitude or conscience. Had he represented to Solomon the urgency of the occasion, and begged leave to go, perhaps Solomon might have given him leave; but to presume either upon his ignorance or his connivance was to affront him in the highest degree. (2.) He condemns him for his former crime, cursing David, and throwing stones at him in the day of his affliction: The wickedness which thy heart is privy to, v. 44. There was no need to examine witnesses for the proof of the fact, his own conscience was instead of a thousand witnesses. That wickedness which men's own hearts alone are privy to is enough, if duly considered, to fill them with confusion, in expectation of its return upon their own heads; for if the heart be privy to it, God is greater than the heart and knoweth all things. Others knew of Shimei's cursing David, but Shimei himself knew of the wicked principles of hatred and malice against David which he displayed in cursing him and that his submission was but feigned and forced. (3.) He blessed himself and his government (v. 45.): King Solomon shall be blessed, notwithstanding Shimei's impotent curses, which perhaps, in fury and despair, he now vented freely: Let them curse, but bless thou. And the throne of David shall be established, by taking away those that would undermine it. It is a comfort, in reference to the enmity of the church's enemies, that, how much soever they rage, it is a vain thing they imagine. Christ's throne is established, and they cannot shake it. (4.) He gives orders for the execution of Shimei immediately, v. 46. All judgment is committed to the Lord Jesus, and, though he be King of peace, he will be found a King of righteousness; and this will shortly be his word of command concerning all his enemies, that would not have him to reign over them: Bring them forth, and slay them before me; the reproaches of those that blasphemed him will fall on themselves, to their eternal condemnation.