1 Kings 2

This is the second chapter of 1 Kings. In chapter 1, Solomon was anointed king and Adonijah's attempt to seize the throne was thwarted. This chapter goes on to relate the death of David and the establishment of Solomon's royal authority.

Outline

• Verses 1–4: As his death approaches, David charges Solomon to "shew thyself a man" and to keep the law of Moses, and he reminds him of the promise concerning the throne.
• Verses 5–9: David instructs Solomon to deal with Joab, who had killed Abner and Amasa, and with Shimei, who had cursed him. He also tells him to show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite.
• Verses 10–12: David dies and is buried in the city of David. He had reigned forty years: seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. Solomon sits on the throne.
• Verses 13–25: Adonijah asks, through Bathsheba, to be given Abishag the Shunammite as his wife. Solomon regards this as a bid for the throne and sends Benaiah to put Adonijah to death.
• Verses 26–27: Solomon banishes Abiathar the priest to his hometown of Anathoth and removes him from the priesthood.
• Verses 28–35: Joab flees to the tabernacle of the LORD and takes hold of the horns of the altar, but he is killed by Benaiah. Benaiah is then made commander of the army, and Zadok becomes priest.
• Verses 36–46: Solomon orders Shimei not to leave Jerusalem. Three years later, Shimei goes to Gath to retrieve runaway servants, and after his return Solomon has him executed.

Key Verses

• 1 Kings 2:3, "as it is written in the law of Moses": This verse introduces obedience to the law as the standard by which the books of Kings evaluate the kings.
• 1 Kings 2:4: The Davidic covenant, promising that David's line would not fail from the throne, is restated together with the condition of obedience.
• 1 Kings 2:46, "And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon": Together with verse 12, this concluding statement frames the chapter.

Characters and Places

• David, Solomon, Bathsheba, Joab
• Adonijah: A son of David born to Haggith, who sought to become king in chapter 1.
• Abiathar: A priest who had long served David and who sided with Adonijah.
• Benaiah: The son of Jehoiada, who carried out Solomon's orders.
• Shimei: A Benjamite, the son of Gera, who cursed David during Absalom's rebellion.
• Abishag: The Shunammite woman who attended David in his old age.
• Gath: A Philistine city.

Points for Reflection

• David's final instructions (vv. 5–9): Some interpreters read these as the administration of justice to stabilize the kingdom, while others see them as a human failing in which David passed his personal grudges on to his son. The text itself offers no direct evaluation.
• Adonijah's request: Some explain that taking a woman who had belonged to the previous king was regarded as a claim to the throne. This is an interpretation offered by commentators on the basis of the account of Absalom in 2 Samuel 16.
• The prophecy against the house of Eli: Verse 27 states that the prophecy pronounced against the house of Eli in 1 Samuel 2 was thereby fulfilled.
• The horns of the altar and asylum: Joab was executed even though he had taken hold of the horns of the altar. This event is often read alongside Exodus 21:14, which directs that one who kills deliberately be taken even from the altar.
• Connection to the New Testament: Peter, citing the fact that David died and was buried, interprets a psalm of David as a prophecy of Christ's resurrection (Acts 2:29).