1 Kings 1:2-4

1:2 His servants advised¹ him, “A young virgin must be found for our master, the king,² to take care of the king’s needs³ and serve as his nurse. She can also sleep with you⁴ and keep our master, the king, warm.”⁵ 1:3 So they looked through all Israel⁶ for a beautiful young woman and found Abishag, a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. 1:4 The young woman was very beautiful; she became the king’s nurse and served him, but the king did not have sexual relations with her.⁷

1 Kings 1:2

1:2 His servants advised⁸ him, “A young virgin must be found for our master, the king,⁹ to take care of the king’s needs¹⁰ and serve as his nurse. She can also sleep with you¹¹ and keep our master, the king, warm.”¹²

1 Kings 3:7

3:7 Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in my father David’s place, even though I am only a young man and am inexperienced.¹³

1 Kings 12:8

12:8 But Rehoboam rejected their advice and consulted the young advisers who served him, with whom he had grown up.¹⁴

¹tn Heb “said to.”

²tn Heb “let them seek for my master, the king, a young girl, a virgin.” The third person plural subject of the verb is indefinite (see GKC 460 §144.f). The appositional expression, “a young girl, a virgin,” is idiomatic; the second term specifically defines the more general first term (see IBHS 230 §12.3b).

³tn Heb “and she will stand before the king.” The Hebrew phrase “stand before” can mean “to attend; to serve” (BDB 764 s.v. עָמַד).

⁴tn Heb “and she will lie down in your bosom.” The expression might imply sexual intimacy (see 2 Sam 12:3 [where the lamb symbolizes Bathsheba] and Mic 7:5), though v. 4b indicates that David did not actually have sex with the young woman.

⁵tn Heb “and my master, the king, will be warm.”

⁶tn Heb “through all the territory of Israel.”

⁷tn Heb “did not know her.”

⁸tn Heb “said to.”

⁹tn Heb “let them seek for my master, the king, a young girl, a virgin.” The third person plural subject of the verb is indefinite (see GKC 460 §144.f). The appositional expression, “a young girl, a virgin,” is idiomatic; the second term specifically defines the more general first term (see IBHS 230 §12.3b).

¹⁰tn Heb “and she will stand before the king.” The Hebrew phrase “stand before” can mean “to attend; to serve” (BDB 764 s.v. עָמַד).

¹¹tn Heb “and she will lie down in your bosom.” The expression might imply sexual intimacy (see 2 Sam 12:3 [where the lamb symbolizes Bathsheba] and Mic 7:5), though v. 4b indicates that David did not actually have sex with the young woman.

¹²tn Heb “and my master, the king, will be warm.”

¹³tn Heb “and I do not know going out or coming in.”

¹⁴tn Heb “He rejected the advice of the elders which they advised and he consulted the young men with whom he had grown up, who stood before him.” The referent (Rehoboam) of the initial pronoun (“he”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.