Solomon Executes Adonijah

I Kings 2:13–25
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In the closing verses of chapter one Solomon, as the new King, forgave his brother Adonijah for his attempted takeover of the kingdom and told him to go his way and behave himself. Now in this passage we have a new and strange turn of events. Adonijah comes to Bathsheba (the Queen Mother) requesting that she go to Solomon (the King and her son) asking that Abishag (David’s nurse and part of his harem at the time of his death) be given to him to wife. He also stated to her that the kingdom was rightfully his. It was evident that he had not abandoned his hope of becoming king.

Bathsheba initially expressed caution but Adonijah convinced her that his intentions were peaceful.  In her excitement to promote a seemingly innocent love affair, Bathsheba agrees to present his request to the king.

In the ancient East, often when a king died his harem became the property of the new ruler. For someone to take to himself one of the king’s wives would have been regarded as taking to himself the rights of the king. To take possession of a woman from the harem was understood to be taking claim to the throne. When Bathsheba comes to him with this request, Solomon recognized immediately the intentions of Adonijah. In his wisdom, he realized that the people would regard Abishag as a concubine and would interpret Adonijah’s marriage to her as a claim to the throne. Therefore, he called for Benaiah, the captain of the guard, to execute Adonijah for conspiracy.

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