1 Kings 1:19

19 He has sacrificed oxen and sheep and fattened animals {in abundance},[a] and he has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, Joab the commander of the army, but Solomon your servant he did not invite.

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 by Yahweh your God to your servant, 'Solomon your son surely shall become king after me, and he will sit upon my throne!'
18 But now, look! Adonijah has become king! And now, my lord the king, you do not know!
19 He has sacrificed oxen and sheep and fattened animals {in abundance}, and he has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, Joab the commander of the army, but Solomon your servant he did not invite.
20 But as for you, my lord the king, the eyes of all of Israel are on you, to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
21 It shall be that when my lord the king sleeps with his ancestors, I and my son Solomon will be [considered as] sinners."

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Literally "as far as the many"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.