Text -- 1 Kings 1:39-53 (NET)

1:39 Zadok the priest took a horn filled with olive oil from the tent and poured it on Solomon; the trumpet was blown and all the people declared, “Long live King Solomon!” 1:40 All the people followed him up, playing flutes and celebrating so loudly they made the ground shake. 1:41 Now Adonijah and all his guests heard the commotion just as they had finished eating. When Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he asked, “Why is there such a noisy commotion in the city?” 1:42 As he was still speaking, Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest arrived. Adonijah said, “Come in, for an important man like you must be bringing good news.” 1:43 Jonathan replied to Adonijah: “No! Our master King David has made Solomon king. 1:44 The king sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites, and the Pelethites and they put him on the king’s mule. 1:45 Then Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed him king in Gihon. They went up from there rejoicing, and the city is in an uproar. That is the sound you hear. 1:46 Furthermore, Solomon has assumed the royal throne. 1:47 The king’s servants have even come to congratulate our master King David, saying, ‘May your God make Solomon more famous than you and make him an even greater king than you!’ Then the king leaned on the bed 1:48 and said this: ‘The Lord God of Israel is worthy of praise because today he has placed a successor on my throne and allowed me to see it.’” 1:49 All of Adonijah’s guests panicked; they jumped up and rushed off their separate ways. 1:50 Adonijah feared Solomon, so he got up and went and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. 1:51 Solomon was told, “Look, Adonijah fears you; see, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘May King Solomon solemnly promise me today that he will not kill his servant with the sword.’” 1:52 Solomon said, “If he is a loyal subject, not a hair of his head will be harmed, but if he is found to be a traitor, he will die.” 1:53 King Solomon sent men to bring him down from the altar. He came and bowed down to King Solomon, and Solomon told him, “Go home.”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Ki 1:39

¹ tn Heb “the horn of oil.” This has been specified as olive oil in the translation for clarity.

sn A horn filled with oil. An animal’s horn was used as an oil flask in the anointing ceremony.

² tn Or “anointed.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 1:40

¹ tn Heb “and all the people went up after him, and the people were playing flutes and rejoicing with great joy and the ground split open at the sound of them.” The verb בָּקַע (baqa’, “to split open”), which elsewhere describes the effects of an earthquake, is obviously here an exaggeration for the sake of emphasis.

NET Notes: 1Ki 1:41

¹ tn Heb “And Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard, now they had finished eating.”

² tn Heb “Why is the city’s sound noisy?”

NET Notes: 1Ki 1:42

¹ tn The Hebrew text has “look” at this point. The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh), “look draws attention to Jonathan’s arrival and invites the audience to view the scene through the eyes of the participants.

² tn Or “surely.”

³ tn Heb “you are a man of strength [or “ability”] and you bring a message [that is] good.” Another option is to understand the phrase אִישׁ חַיִל (’ish khayil) in the sense of “a worthy man,” that is “loyal.” See also 1 Kgs 1:52 and HALOT 311 s.v. חַיִל.

NET Notes: 1Ki 1:43

¹ tn Heb “answered and said.”

² tn For a similar use of אֲבָל (’aval), see Gen 17:19, where God rejects Abraham’s proposal and offers an alternative.

³ tn The plural form is used in the Hebrew text to indicate honor and authority.

NET Notes: 1Ki 1:45

¹ tn I.e., designated by anointing with oil.

NET Notes: 1Ki 1:46

¹ tn Heb “And also Solomon sits on the throne of the kingdom.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 1:47

¹ tn Heb “to bless.”

² tn The plural form is used in the Hebrew text to indicate honor and authority.

³ tc Many Hebrew mss agree with the Qere in reading simply “God.”

⁴ tn Heb “make the name of Solomon better than your name, and make his throne greater than your throne.” The term שֵׁם (shem, “name”) is used here of one’s fame and reputation.

⁵ tn Or “bowed down; worshiped.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 1:48

¹ tn The Hebrew text reads, “and the king said.”

² tn Or “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who….” In this blessing formula אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “who; because”) introduces the reason why the one being blessed deserves the honor.

³ tn Heb “and my eyes are seeing.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 1:49

¹ tn Or “were afraid, trembled.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 1:50

¹ sn Grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. The “horns” of the altar were the horn-shaped projections on the four corners of the altar (see Exod 27:2). By going to the holy place and grabbing hold of the horns of the altar, Adonijah was seeking asylum from Solomon.

NET Notes: 1Ki 1:51

¹ tn Heb “King Solomon.” The name and title have been replaced by the pronoun (“you”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

² tn Or “swear an oath to.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 1:52

¹ tn Heb “if he is a man of strength [or ability].” In this context, where Adonijah calls himself a “servant,” implying allegiance to the new king, the phrase אִישׁ חַיִל (’ish khayil) probably carries the sense of “a worthy man,” that is, “loyal” (see HALOT 311 s.v. חַיִל).

² tn Heb “but if evil is found in him.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 1:53

¹ tn Heb “sent and they brought him down.”

² tn Heb “Go to your house.”