1 Kings 1:19

19 1He has sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, 2Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army, but 3Solomon your servant he has not invited.

1 Kings 1:19 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 1:19

And he hath slain oxen, and fat cattle, and sheep in
abundance
Has made a grand entertainment, and is feasting and rejoicing; which was another instance of irreverence and disrespect to his aged father, labouring under the infirmities of old age, and on his dying bed, and he carousing, and showing all the tokens of pleasure in the view of his death, and wishing for it:

and hath called all the sons of the king;
invited them to his entertainment, in order to gain them to his interest:

and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the host;
two persons, though of eminent rank, she knew David had no respect for, and therefore it would not be pleasing to him to hear that they were invited, had this affair been more acceptable than it was; Bathsheba, considering the shortness of the time she had to think, and the flurry she must be in, very artfully threw together the most material things that might work upon the mind of David in her favour:

but Solomon thy servant hath he not called;
which made it a plain case that it was not a feast of a peace offering, nor a common friendly entertainment, but a feast made on account of his accession to the throne; and that he looked upon Solomon as his rival, and bore an ill will to him on that account, and bad a design upon him.

1 Kings 1:19 In-Context

17 She said to him, "My lord, you swore to your servant by the LORD your God, saying, 'Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.'
18 And now, behold, Adonijah is king, although you, my lord the king, do not know it.
19 He has sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army, but Solomon your servant he has not invited.
20 And now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
21 Otherwise it will come to pass, when my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted offenders."

Cross References 3

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.