Adoniram

Biblical Record

Adoniram is a royal official who appears briefly in 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, and 2 Chronicles. His name is commonly interpreted to mean "my lord is exalted." In the Hebrew text he is called Adoram in 2 Samuel 20:24 and 1 Kings 12:18, and Hadoram in 2 Chronicles 10:18. Korean Bible translations vary slightly in how they render the name.

• Reign of David: He appears in the list of David's officials as the one "over the tribute" (2 Samuel 20:24), that is, the official who supervised forced labor.
• Reign of Solomon: The list of Solomon's officials records that "Adoniram the son of Abda was over the tribute" (1 Kings 4:6). To obtain timber for building the temple, Solomon raised a levy of thirty thousand men from Israel. They were sent to Lebanon in rotation, ten thousand a month, and Adoniram supervised this work (1 Kings 5:13–14).
• Reign of Rehoboam: After Solomon's death, the people asked Rehoboam to lighten their heavy yoke. When Rehoboam refused, the northern tribes turned against him. Rehoboam sent Adoniram, who was over the tribute, but all Israel stoned him to death, and Rehoboam hastily mounted his chariot and fled to Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:18; 2 Chronicles 10:18).

Significance Within the Bible

Adoniram embodies the system of forced labor under the monarchy. His death is recorded as the moment when the people's discontent erupted and as the opening scene of the division of the kingdom. Afterward the northern tribes made Jeroboam their king. The New Testament does not mention Adoniram.

Interpretations and Issues

• One person or more? Several decades separate David's later years from Rehoboam's accession. For this reason, scholars are divided over whether the official in all three reigns was a single individual or different men who bore the same name (for example, a father and son). Traditionally, the references have often been read as describing one person.
• Tension in the record of the levy: 1 Kings 9:22 states that "of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen." This verse appears to conflict with the account of the levy in 5:13. Commentators commonly reconcile the two by drawing a distinction: permanent forced labor was imposed on the Canaanite peoples, whereas the Israelites were subject to temporary, rotating conscription.
• Connection with Samuel's warning: Some interpreters read Adoniram's office as a fulfillment of Samuel's warning that the king would take the people's sons into his service (1 Samuel 8:11–17). The text, however, does not directly link the two.

The American Baptist missionary Adoniram Judson bore the same name, but he is not to be confused with the biblical Adoniram.

In the Korean Church

Adoniram is rarely treated as a subject in his own right in sermons or Sunday school. He is generally mentioned only in passing when passages on Rehoboam's choice and the division of the kingdom are discussed.