1 Kings 1:37

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

³²Then King David said, "Call in for me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada." So they came before the king. ³³"Take my servants with you," said the king. "Set my son Solomon on my own mule and take him down to Gihon. ³⁴There Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet are to anoint him king over Israel. You are to blow the trumpet and declare, 'Long live King Solomon!' ³⁵Then you shall go up with him, and he is to come and sit on my throne and reign in my place. For I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah." ³⁶"Amen," replied Benaiah son of Jehoiada. "May the LORD, the God of my lord the king, so declare it. ³⁷Just as the LORD was with my lord the king, so may He be with Solomon and make his throne even greater than that of my lord King David."³⁸Then Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, along with the Cherethites and Pelethites, went down and set Solomon on King David's mule, and they escorted him to Gihon. ³⁹Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the trumpet, and all the people proclaimed, "Long live King Solomon!" ⁴⁰All the people followed him, playing flutes and rejoicing with such a great joy that the earth was split by the sound.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

As the: 1 Kings 3:7-9, Exodus 3:12, Joshua 1:5, Joshua 1:17, 1 Samuel 20:13, 1 Chronicles 28:20, 2 Chronicles 1:1, Psalms 46:7, Psalms 46:11, Isaiah 8:10, Matthew 1:23, Romans 8:31

and make: 1 Kings 1:47, 2 Samuel 24:3, 2 Kings 2:9, Psalms 72:8, Psalms 72:17-19, Psalms 89:27, Daniel 7:14

Gill's Notes on the Bible

As the Lord hath been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon,.... To guide and direct him, protect and defend him, succeed and prosper him the Targum is,

"as the Word of the Lord has been the help of my lord the king, so let him be for the help of Solomon:''

and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David: which he knew would not displease David, who not only had an affectionate regard for Solomon his son, but wished heartily the prosperity of the kingdom of Israel; and the wish on all accounts was grateful to him, though to an envious and ambitious prince it might have been disagreeable.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

As the Lord hath been with my lord - This phrase expresses a very high degree of divine favor. It occurs first in the promises of God to Isaac Genesis 26:3, Genesis 26:24 and Jacob Genesis 28:13. See further margin reference.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 1:37. Make his throne greater than the throne of - David. — A wish of this kind a king will suffer in behalf of his son, but it is never in ordinary cases considered a compliment to say, "I hope this child will make a better man than his father," because it seems to insinuate some reflections on his father's conduct or character. Many foolish people deal in such compliments, and they may rest assured, for the reasons given above, that they are far from being either welcome or agreeable.

Claudian, in his panegyric De Quarto Consulatu Honorii Augusti, ver. 428, has words something similar to those of Benaiah, when he describes a father, worn out with toils and difficulties, committing the reins of government to the hands of his son:-

Adspice, completur votum: jam natus adaequat Te meritis; et, quod magis est optabile, vincit.

"Behold, thy desire is accomplished. Even now thy son equals thee in worth; and what is still more desirable, surpasses thee."