1 Reyes 1:1-27

Adonías usurpa el trono

1 El rey David era ya tan anciano y tan entrado en años que, por más que lo abrigaban, no conseguía entrar en calor.

2 Por eso sus servidores le dijeron: «Busquemos a una joven soltera para que atienda a Su Majestad y lo cuide, y se acueste a su lado para darle calor».

3 Así que fueron por todo Israel en busca de una muchacha hermosa, y encontraron a una sunamita llamada Abisag y se la llevaron al rey.

4 La muchacha era realmente muy hermosa, y se dedicó a cuidar y a servir al rey, aunque el rey nunca tuvo relaciones sexuales con ella.

5 Adonías, cuya madre fue Jaguit, se llenó de ambición y dijo: «¡Yo voy a ser rey!» Por lo tanto, consiguió carros de combate, caballos^[a] y cincuenta guardias de escolta.

6 Adonías era más joven que Absalón, y muy bien parecido. Como David, su padre, nunca lo había contrariado ni le había pedido cuentas de lo que hacía,

7 Adonías se confabuló con Joab hijo de Sarvia y con el sacerdote Abiatar, y estos le dieron su apoyo.

8 Quienes no lo apoyaron fueron el sacerdote Sadoc, Benaías hijo de Joyadá, el profeta Natán, Simí y Reguí, y la guardia personal de David.

9 Cerca de Enroguel, junto a la peña de Zojélet, Adonías ofreció un sacrificio de ovejas, bueyes y terneros engordados. Invitó a todos sus hermanos, los hijos del rey, y a todos los funcionarios reales de Judá,

10 pero no invitó al profeta Natán, ni a Benaías, ni a la guardia real ni a su hermano Salomón.

11 Por eso Natán le preguntó a Betsabé, la madre de Salomón: «¿Ya sabes que Adonías, el hijo de Jaguit, se ha proclamado rey a espaldas de nuestro señor David?

12 Pues si quieres salvar tu vida y la de tu hijo Salomón, déjame darte un consejo:

13 Ve a presentarte ante el rey David, y dile: “¿Acaso no le había jurado Su Majestad a esta servidora suya que mi hijo Salomón lo sucedería en el trono? ¿Cómo es que ahora el rey es Adonías?”

14 Mientras tú estés allí, hablando con el rey, yo entraré para confirmar tus palabras».

15 Betsabé se dirigió entonces a la habitación del rey. Como este ya era muy anciano, lo atendía Abisag la sunamita.

16 Al llegar Betsabé, se arrodilló ante el rey, y este le preguntó:—¿Qué quieres?

17 —Mi señor juró por el SEÑOR su Dios a esta servidora suya —contestó Betsabé—, que mi hijo Salomón sucedería en el trono a Su Majestad.

18 Pero ahora resulta que Adonías se ha proclamado rey a espaldas de Su Majestad.

19 Ha sacrificado una gran cantidad de toros, terneros engordados y ovejas, y ha invitado a todos los hijos del rey, al sacerdote Abiatar y a Joab, general del ejército; sin embargo, no invitó a Salomón, que es un fiel servidor de Su Majestad.

20 Mi señor y rey, todo Israel está a la expectativa y quiere que usted le diga quién lo sucederá en el trono.

21 De lo contrario, tan pronto como Su Majestad muera, mi hijo Salomón y yo seremos acusados de alta traición.

22 Mientras Betsabé hablaba con el rey, llegó el profeta Natán,

23 y el rey se enteró de su llegada. Entonces Natán se presentó ante el rey y, arrodillándose,

24 le dijo:—Mi señor y rey, ¿acaso ha decretado usted que Adonías lo suceda en el trono?

25 Pregunto esto porque él ha ido hoy a sacrificar una gran cantidad de toros, terneros engordados y ovejas. Además, ha invitado a todos los hijos de Su Majestad, a los comandantes del ejército y al sacerdote Abiatar, y allí están todos ellos comiendo y bebiendo, y gritando en su presencia: “¡Viva el rey Adonías!”

26 Sin embargo, no me invitó a mí, que estoy al servicio de Su Majestad, ni al sacerdote Sadoc, ni a Benaías hijo de Joyadá, ni a Salomón, que es un fiel servidor de Su Majestad.

27 ¿Será posible que mi señor y rey haya hecho esto sin dignarse comunicarles a sus servidores quién lo sucederá en el trono?

1 Reyes 1:1-27 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST KINGS

This, and the following book, properly are but one book, divided into two parts, and went with the Jews under the common name of Kings. This, in the Syriac version, is called the Book of Kings; and in the Arabic version, the Book of Solomon, the Son of David the Prophet, because it begins with his reign upon the death of his father; and, in the Vulgate Latin version, the Third Book of Kings, the two preceding books of Samuel being sometimes called the First and Second Books of Kings, they containing the reigns of Saul and David; and in the Septuagint version both this and the following book are called Kingdoms, because they treat of the kingdom of Israel and Judah, after the division in the times of Rehoboam, son of Solomon, and of the several kings of them; as of Solomon before the division, so afterwards of the kings of Judah; Rehoboam, Abijam, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, Ahaziah, Jehoash, Amaziah, Uzziah or Azariah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah; and of the kings of Israel, Jeroboam, Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Omri, Ahab, Ahaziah, Jehu, Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam the son of Joash, Zachariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, and Hoshea; so that these books may, with great propriety, be called the books or histories of the kings in the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel: who they were written by, is not easy to say; some think they were written by piecemeal by the prophets that lived in the several reigns successively, as Nathan, Ahijah the Shilonite, Iddo, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and afterwards put together by an inspired writer. The Jews commonly say {a}, that Jeremiah wrote the book of the Kings, by which they mean this, and the following book; though very probably they were written by Ezra, since the history in them is carried down to the liberty granted to Jehoiachin in Babylon; but that Ezra was the writer of all the preceding historical books, and even of the Pentateuch, cannot be admitted, which is the conceit of Spinosa {b}; part of whose tract is just now republished by somebody, word for word, under a title as in the margin {c}; but that Ezra was not the writer of the Pentateuch is clear, since he refers to it as written by Moses, and as the rule of religion and worship in his times, Ezr 3:2-4, 6:18; and it is certain these writings were in being in the times of Josiah, Amaziah, Joash, yea, of David, and even of Joshua, \2Ch 34:14 25:4 23:18 1Ki 2:3 Jos 8:34\; and as for the book of Joshua, that also was written long before Ezra's time; it must be written long before the times of David, before the Jebusites were expelled from Jerusalem, since the writer of it says, that they dwelt there in his days, Jos 15:63; the book of Judges must be written before the times of Samuel and David, since the former refers to the annals of it, 1Sa 12:9,10; and the latter alludes to some passages in it, Ps 68:7,8; see Jud 5:4,5; and a speech of Joab's, 2Sa 11:21, shows it to be an history then extant: to which may be added, that in it Jerusalem is called Jebus, Jud 19:10,11; which it never was, after it was taken by David out of the hands of the Jebusites, 2Sa 5:6; the book of Ruth very probably was written by Samuel; had it been of a later date, or written by Ezra, the genealogy with which it concludes, would doubtless have been carried further than to David: the Book of Samuel, and particularly the song of Hannah in it, were written in all probability before the penning of the hundred thirteenth psalm, Ps 113:1-9, in which some expressions seem to be taken from it wherefore, though the two books of Kings may be allowed to be written or compiled by Ezra, the ten preceding ones cannot be assigned to him: however, there is no room to doubt of the divine authority of these two books, when the honour our Lord has done them is observed, by quoting or referring to several histories in them; as to the account of the queen of Sheba coming to hear the wisdom of Solomon; of the famine in the times of Elijah; and of that prophet being sent to the widow of Sarepta, and of the cleansing of Naaman the Syrian in the times of Elisha, Mt 12:42, Lu 4:25-28 from 1Ki 17:1-10 2Ki 5:10-14; to which may be added, the quotations and references made by the apostles to passages in them, as by the Apostle Paul in Ro 11:2-4 from 1Ki 19:14,18; where this book is expressly called the Scripture; and by the Apostle James, Jas 5:17,18; who manifestly refers to 1Ki 17:1-24; and there are various things in this part of Scripture, which are confirmed by the testimonies of Heathen writers, as will be observed in the exposition of it. The use of these books is to carry on the history of the Jewish nation, to show the state of the church of God in those times, and his providential care of it amidst all the changes and vicissitudes in the state; and, above all, to transmit to us the true genealogy of the Messiah, which serves to confirm the Evangelist Matthew's account of it.

{a} T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol. 15. 1. {b} Tractat. Theolog. Politic. c. 8. & 9. p. 150 {c} Tractatus de Primis 12. Vet. Test. Lib. &c. Londini 1763.

\\INTRODUCTION TO FIRST KINGS 1\\

This chapter gives an account of the infirmities of David in his old age, and the method used to relieve him under them, 1Ki 1:1-4; of the preparation his son Adonijah made to usurp the throne, 1Ki 1:5-10; of Bathsheba's address to the king upon it, in favour of her son Solomon, on which she was put by, Nathan the prophet, and seconded in it by him, 1Ki 1:11-27; when the king with an oath confirmed the succession of Solomon in the kingdom, and ordered Nathan the prophet, and Zadok the priest, to anoint him, which was accordingly done with great ceremony, to the satisfaction of the king and his servants, 1Ki 1:28-40; the news of which being brought to Adonijah and his friends, struck them with terror, and on which they dispersed, 1Ki 1:41-50; and upon the promise of Adonijah, that he would behave well to Solomon, he was pardoned and dismissed, having fled and lain hold on the horns of the altar, 1Ki 1:51-53.

Footnotes

• [a] "caballos" . Alt. "aurigas" .