Adonijah
| Adonijah | |
|---|---|
| Prince of Israel | |
| Born | Hebron |
| House | House of David |
| Father | David |
| Mother | Haggith |
According to2 Samuel,Adonijah(Hebrew:אֲדֹנִיָּה,’Ǎḏōnīyyā;"mylordisYah") was the fourth son ofKing David.His mother wasHaggithas recorded in the book of2 Samuel 3:4.Adonijah was born atHebronduring the long conflict between David and the House of Saul. In1 Kings,he briefly proclaimed himself king of Israel during the terminal illness of his father David, before peacefully ceding the throne to his brotherSolomon.
Life
[edit]After the death of his elder brothersAmnonandAbsalom,Adonijah considered himself theheir-apparentto the throne. He acquired chariots and a large entourage. The king was unaware of this, being as he was "stricken in years" with his health failing him, and was in a different city. (KJV) Adonijah consulted and obtained the support of both the commander of the armyJoaband the influential priestAbiathar.However, the priestZadok,Benaiah(head of the king's bodyguard),Nathan(the court prophet), and others did not side with Adonijah.
In anticipation of his father's imminent death, Adonijah invited his brother princes and the court officials to a solemn sacrifice in order to announce his claim to the throne.[1]Notably, he did not inviteSolomonnor any of his supporters. According to theJewish Study Bible,by excluding Solomon, Adonijah demonstrates his awareness that he is in effectusurpingthe throne.[2]
Assuming that Adonijah will soon move to eliminate any rivals or opposition, Nathan warnsBathsheba,Solomon's mother, and counsels her to remind the king of a previous promise to make Solomon his successor. Lillian R. Klein finds in Nathan's promise to confirm Bathsheba's statement a suggestion that her words may have required verification, and that there was no earlier definite promise in Solomon's favor. However KJV confirms in 1 Chronicles 29 and 2 Samuel 15 that David had indeed promised that Solomon would be anointed King.[3]
However, Adonijah was supplanted by Solomon through the influence of Bathsheba, and through the diplomacy of the prophet Nathan. They induced David to give orders that Solomon should immediately be proclaimed and admitted to the throne, which David agreed.[1]
After receiving word that Solomon had been crowned king, Adonijah's supporters quickly fled, while Adonijah took refuge at the altar. He later received a pardon for his conduct from Solomon on the condition that he showed himself a worthy man (1 Kings 1:5–53). Afterwards, Adonijah asked to marryAbishagfromShunem,who served his father David on his deathbed. Solomon, however, interpreting the request as a second attempt to gain the throne, denied authorization for such an engagement even though Bathsheba now pleaded on Adonijah's behalf, and Adonijah was subsequently put to death (1 Kings 2:13–25).
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ab"ADONIJAH - JewishEncyclopedia.com".www.jewishencyclopedia.com.
- ^Berlin, Adele; Brettler, Marc Zvi (October 17, 2014).The Jewish Study Bible: Second Edition.Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-939387-9– via Google Books.
- ^Brenner-Idan, Athalya (June 1, 2000)."A Feminist Companion to Samuel and Kings".A&C Black – via Google Books.
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