1 Kings 1:31

31 Bathsheba bowed low and said, "May my lord the king live forever!"

1 Kings 1:31 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 1:31

Then Bathsheba bowed with [her] face to the earth, and did
reverence to the king
Thereby expressing her veneration of him, and thankfulness to him for his favour to her and her son, in fulfilling his promise and oath:

and said, let my lord King David live for ever;
which though a common form of salutation of kings, not only in Israel, but in other nations, is not to be considered as a mere compliment, but as expressing the real desires and affection of her heart to the king; signifying hereby that her solicitations on the behalf of her son did not arise from any desire of the king's death; she heartily wished him health to live long and easy; and all her request was, that Solomon her son might succeed him, whenever it pleased God to remove him; or seeing he was now a dying man as it were, her prayer was that his soul might live for ever in happiness in the world to come; so Kimchi interprets it.

1 Kings 1:31 In-Context

29 Then he said to her, "I promise you by the living Lord, who has rescued me from all my troubles,

30 that today I will keep the promise I made to you in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, that your son Solomon would succeed me as king."

31 Bathsheba bowed low and said, "May my lord the king live forever!"

32 Then King David sent for Zadok, Nathan, and Benaiah. When they came in,

33 he said to them, "Take my court officials with you; have my son Solomon ride my own mule, and escort him down to Gihon Spring,