1 Kings 1:1

1 King David grew old, the years took their toll, and he couldn't get warm even when they covered him with bedclothes.

1 Kings 1:1 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 1:1

Now King David was old, [and] stricken in years
Was seventy years of age; for he was thirty years of age when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years, ( 2 Samuel 5:4 ) ; this was just the age of man, ( Psalms 90:10 ) ;

and they covered him with clothes;
not wearing apparel, but bed clothes; he seems to have been bedridden and paralytic:

but he got no heat;
by them; having no natural heat in him, clothes could not communicate any to him, only keep the cold from him, see ( Haggai 1:6 ) ; there are many persons at the age he was, that are lively, healthful, and robust, comparatively speaking at least; but David's strength was impaired, and his natural force abated by his many wars, fatigues by night and day in campaigns, and the many sorrows and afflictions he met with from his family and his friends, as well as enemies; which exhausted his natural moisture, weakened his nerves, and drank up his spirits, and brought upon him the infirmities of a decrepit old age very soon.

1 Kings 1:1 In-Context

1 King David grew old, the years took their toll, and he couldn't get warm even when they covered him with bedclothes.
2 His servants said to him, "Let us try to find a young virgin for my lord the king. She can wait on the king and be a companion for him, and she can lie next to you, so that my lord the king will get some heat."
3 After looking through all of Isra'el's territory for a beautiful girl, they found Avishag the Shunamit and brought her to the king.
4 The girl was very beautiful and became a companion for the king. She took care of him, but the king did not have sexual relations with her.
5 Adoniyah the son of Haggit was beginning to claim that he would be king; to this end he organized chariots and horsemen, with fifty men to run ahead of him.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.