1 Kings 1:9

9 And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by Enrogel, and called all his brethren, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah, the king's servants;

1 Kings 1:9 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 1:9

And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle
To make a feast of for those that were of his party, which was numerous, and some of them persons of the first rank, and therefore a large and elegant entertainment was provided for them:

by the stone of Zoheleth, which [is] by Enrogel;
or the fullers' fountain, as the Targum, where the fullers washed their clothes, using their feet in doing it, from whence it had its name; and which they laid upon this stone for the water to drain out of them, "Zoheleth" signifying a slow motion of waters, or on which they beat them to get out the spots; the Targum calls it the stone of a watchtower, on which they could stand and look to a great distance; or, as Jarchi and Ben Gersom suggest, it was a large smooth stone, which young men used to come to, and cast to and fro to try and exercise their strength; it was, as Josephus F5 says, in or near the king's gardens:

and called all his brethren the king's sons:
which David by his wives and concubines had in Hebron and Jerusalem; who were all younger than he, and so had not the pretension he had, and who might be displeased at the appointment of Solomon as well as he; see ( 1 Chronicles 3:4 1 Chronicles 3:9 ) ;

and all the men of Judah the king's servants;
excepting those in ( 1 Kings 1:8-10 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F5 Antiqu. l. 7. c. 14. sect. 4.

1 Kings 1:9 In-Context

7 And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest; and they, following Adonijah, helped him.
8 But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David were not with Adonijah.
9 And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by Enrogel, and called all his brethren, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah, the king's servants;
10 but Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he called not.
11 Therefore Nathan spoke unto Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, "Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord knoweth it not?
Third Millennium Bible (TMB), New Authorized Version, Copyright 1998 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc., Gary, SD 57237. All rights reserved.