1 Kings 2:26

26 And to Abiathar the priest the king said, "Go to 1Anathoth, to your estate, for you deserve death. But I will not at this time put you to death, 2because you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before David my father, 3and because you shared in all my father's affliction."

1 Kings 2:26 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 2:26

And unto Abiathar the priest said the king
Who was either at court, or he sent for him, and thus addressed him:

get thee to Anathoth;
a city of the tribe of Benjamin, given to the priests, ( Joshua 21:18 ) ; of which place Abiathar might be originally, and whither he is bid to return:

unto thine own fields;
which belonged to him there, either by inheritance or purchase; and these he was to mind, and not perform the functions of his office, however as high priest, and at Jerusalem, and the tabernacle there, and still less appear at court, or meddle with state affairs, only to attend to his private domestic concerns:

for thou [art] worthy of death;
in joining with Adonijah in the lifetime of David, and setting him up as a king without his knowledge, and in opposition to Solomon, contrary to the will of God, and promise of David, of which he, being high priest, cannot be thought to be ignorant, and for his late confederacy with Adonijah, of which Solomon had knowledge:

but I will not at this time put thee to death;
he does not give him a full pardon, only a respite; suggesting, that should he be guilty of any overt act, he would be put to death another time, though not now:

because thou barest the ark of the Lord God before David my father;
when he fled from Absalom, ( 2 Samuel 15:24 ) ;

and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was
afflicted;
shared with him in all his afflictions under the persecutions of Saul, from the time he slew the priests at Nob, and at the rebellion of Absalom; in each of which he accompanied him, and suffered and sympathized with him.

1 Kings 2:26 In-Context

24 Now therefore as the LORD lives, who has established me and placed me on the throne of David my father, and who has made me a house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today."
25 So King Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he struck him down, and he died.
26 And to Abiathar the priest the king said, "Go to Anathoth, to your estate, for you deserve death. But I will not at this time put you to death, because you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before David my father, and because you shared in all my father's affliction."
27 So Solomon expelled Abiathar from being priest to the LORD, thus fulfilling the word of the LORD that he had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
28 When the news came to Joab--for Joab had supported Adonijah although he had not supported Absalom--Joab fled to the tent of the LORD and caught hold of the horns of the altar.

Cross References 3

  • 1. Joshua 21:18
  • 2. 1 Samuel 23:6; 2 Samuel 15:24, 29
  • 3. See 1 Samuel 22:20-23
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.