1 Kings 1:33

33 The king said to them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Shlomo my son to ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gichon:

1 Kings 1:33 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 1:33

And the king said unto them, take ye the servants of your
lord
Meaning his own servants, his bodyguards, the Cherethites and Pelethites, as appears from ( 1 Kings 1:38 ) ; the Jews ^F1 from hence gather, that a king is superior to an high priest, since David calls himself the lord of Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet:

and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule;
for it seems on such a creature David used to ride, as did his sons; horses not being so common in Judea as they were afterwards. Some of the Jews ^F2 say it was not lawful to ride upon a mule, and that this case of David is to be excepted; for they pretend that this was a peculiar mule; and if the instance of his son urged, they reply, an argument from what kings and their sons used to do is of no force. Now this was one way of testifying that it was his will that Solomon should reign in his stead; for no private person might ride upon the beast the king was wont to ride on; this is now one of the Jewish canons ^F3,

``no one may ride on the king's horse, nor sit on his throne, nor use his sceptre:''

and bring him down to Gihon;
a fountain near Jerusalem, on the west side of it, which flowed from Mount Gihon, ( 2 Chronicles 32:30 ) ( 33:14 ) ; the same with Siloah according to the Targum, of which mention is made, ( John 9:7 ) . The reason for this order is not easily given; whether it was to denote the peaceableness and gentleness of Solomon's government, the waters of Shiloah moving softly, ( Isaiah 8:6 ) , or the spread, constancy, firmness, and perpetuity of it, as the Jews say ^F4, since the water of a fountain is ever running; or because there might be a concourse of people there, and so he would be anointed and proclaimed king in a public manner, and be attended to the city with great pomp and solemnity.

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 6. fol. 186. 3.
F2 Vid. Bartenoram in Misn. Celaim, c. 8. sect. 1.
F3 Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 2. sect. 5.
F4 T. Bab. Horayot, fol. 12. 1.

1 Kings 1:33 In-Context

31 Then Bat-Sheva bowed with her face to the eretz, and did obeisance to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live forever.

32 King David said, Call to me Tzadok the Kohen, and Natan the prophet, and Benayah the son of Yehoiada. They came before the king.

33 The king said to them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Shlomo my son to ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gichon:

34 and let Tzadok the Kohen and Natan the prophet anoint him there king over Yisra'el; and blow you the shofar, and say, [Long] live king Shlomo.

35 Then you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne; for he shall be king in my place; and I have appointed him to be prince over Yisra'el and over Yehudah.