1 Kings 1:33

33 The king said to them, "Take with you all the servants of your lord, and let them make Solomon my son ride on my mule, and bring him down to Gihon.

1 Kings 1:33 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 1:33

And the king said unto them, take ye the servants of your
lord
Meaning his own servants, his bodyguards, the Cherethites and Pelethites, as appears from ( 1 Kings 1:38 ) ; the Jews ^F1 from hence gather, that a king is superior to an high priest, since David calls himself the lord of Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet:

and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule;
for it seems on such a creature David used to ride, as did his sons; horses not being so common in Judea as they were afterwards. Some of the Jews ^F2 say it was not lawful to ride upon a mule, and that this case of David is to be excepted; for they pretend that this was a peculiar mule; and if the instance of his son urged, they reply, an argument from what kings and their sons used to do is of no force. Now this was one way of testifying that it was his will that Solomon should reign in his stead; for no private person might ride upon the beast the king was wont to ride on; this is now one of the Jewish canons ^F3,

``no one may ride on the king's horse, nor sit on his throne, nor use his sceptre:''

and bring him down to Gihon;
a fountain near Jerusalem, on the west side of it, which flowed from Mount Gihon, ( 2 Chronicles 32:30 ) ( 33:14 ) ; the same with Siloah according to the Targum, of which mention is made, ( John 9:7 ) . The reason for this order is not easily given; whether it was to denote the peaceableness and gentleness of Solomon's government, the waters of Shiloah moving softly, ( Isaiah 8:6 ) , or the spread, constancy, firmness, and perpetuity of it, as the Jews say ^F4, since the water of a fountain is ever running; or because there might be a concourse of people there, and so he would be anointed and proclaimed king in a public manner, and be attended to the city with great pomp and solemnity.

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 6. fol. 186. 3.
F2 Vid. Bartenoram in Misn. Celaim, c. 8. sect. 1.
F3 Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 2. sect. 5.
F4 T. Bab. Horayot, fol. 12. 1.

1 Kings 1:33 In-Context

31 Then Bathsheba knelt with her face to the ground and did obeisance to the king, and she said, "May my lord, King David, live forever."

32 Then King David said, "Summon Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada," and they came before the king.

33 The king said to them, "Take with you all the servants of your lord, and let them make Solomon my son ride on my mule, and bring him down to Gihon.

34 Let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there as king over Israel. Blow on the trumpet and say, 'Long live King Solomon!'

35 Then you shall go up after him, and let him come and sit on my throne; he shall be king in my place. I have appointed him to be leader over Israel and Judah."