1 Kings 1:9

9 Adoniyahu killed sheep and oxen and fatlings by the stone of Zochelet, which is beside `En-Rogel; and he called all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the men of Yehudah, 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 He conferred with Yo'av the son of Tzeru'yah, and with Avyatar the Kohen: and they following Adoniyahu helped him.
8 But Tzadok the Kohen, and Benayah the son of Yehoiada, and Natan the prophet, and Shim`i, and Re`i, and the mighty men who belonged to David, were not with Adoniyahu.
9 Adoniyahu killed sheep and oxen and fatlings by the stone of Zochelet, which is beside `En-Rogel; and he called all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the men of Yehudah, the king's servants:
10 but Natan the prophet, and Benayah, and the mighty men, and Shlomo his brother, he didn't call.
11 Then Natan spoke to Bat-Sheva the mother of Shlomo, saying, Haven't you heard that Adoniyahu the son of Haggit reigns, and David our lord doesn't know it?
The Hebrew Names Version is in the public domain.