1 Kings 1:31

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

¹¹Then Nathan said to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, "Have you not heard that Adonijah son of Haggith has become king, and our lord David does not know it? ¹²Now please, come and let me advise you. Save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. ¹³Go at once to King David and say, 'My lord the king, did you not swear to your maidservant, "Surely your son Solomon will reign after me, and he will sit on my throne"? Why then has Adonijah become king?' ¹⁴Then, while you are still there speaking with the king, I will come in after you and confirm your words." ¹⁵So Bathsheba went to see the king in his bedroom. Since the king was very old, Abishag the Shunammite was serving him. ¹⁶And Bathsheba bowed down in homage to the king, who asked, "What is your desire?" ¹⁷"My lord," she replied, "you yourself swore to your maidservant by the LORD your God: 'Surely your son Solomon will reign after me, and he will sit on my throne.' ¹⁸But now, behold, Adonijah has become king, and you, my lord the king, did not know it. ¹⁹And he has sacrificed an abundance of oxen, fattened calves, and sheep, and has invited all the other sons of the king, as well as Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army. But he did not invite your servant Solomon. ²⁰And as for you, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon you to tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

did reverence: 2 Samuel 9:6, Esther 3:2, Matthew 21:37, Ephesians 5:33, Hebrews 12:9

Let my: 1 Kings 1:25, Nehemiah 2:3, Daniel 2:4, Daniel 3:9, Daniel 5:10, Daniel 6:6, Daniel 6:21

Reciprocal: 1 Kings 1:53 - bowed himself 1 Chronicles 29:22 - and anointed

Cross-References

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:2
Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

Genesis 1:5
God called the light "day," and the darkness He called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning-the first day.

Genesis 1:8
God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning-the second day.

Genesis 1:13
And there was evening, and there was morning-the third day.

Genesis 1:19
And there was evening, and there was morning-the fourth day.

Genesis 1:23
And there was evening, and there was morning-the fifth day.

Genesis 2:2
And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work.

Exodus 20:11
For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day He rested. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.

Job 38:7
while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Gill's Notes on the Bible

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.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A lower and humbler obeisance than before 1 Kings 1:16. In the Assyrian sculptures ambassadors are represented with their faces actually touching the earth before the feet of the monarch.