1 Kings 1:4

4 The girl was unsurpassed in beauty; she cared for the king and served him, but he had no relations with her.

1 Kings 1:4 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 1:4

And the damsel [was] very fair
And so very agreeable to the king to be in his presence, and wait upon him, and take things of her hand, as well as lie with him:

and cherished the king;
enlivened his spirits by her amiable countenance, her graceful behaviour, and tender care of him, and especially by bedding with him:

and ministered to him;
serving him with her own hands whatever he took for his sustenance:

but the king knew her not;
as a man knows his wife; which shows that she was his wife, and that it would not have been criminal in him had he known her; but this is observed, not to point at the chastity of David, but his feebleness, and loss of desire after women, and that the damsel remained a virgin; and that was the ground of Adonijah's request, and his hope of succeeding.

1 Kings 1:4 In-Context

2 So his servants said to him, “Let us search for a young virgin for our lord the king, to attend to him and care for him and lie by his side to keep him warm.”

3 Then they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful girl, and they found Abishag the Shunammite and brought her to the king.

4 The girl was unsurpassed in beauty; she cared for the king and served him, but he had no relations with her.

5 At that time Adonijah, David’s son by Haggith, began to exalt himself, saying, “I will be king!” And he acquired chariots and horsemen and fifty men to run ahead of him.

6 (His father had never once reprimanded him by saying, “Why do you act this way?” Adonijah was also very handsome, born next after Absalom.)