1 Kingsd 2:15-18 - The kingdom was mine

2:15,16

He starts by saying “the kingdom was mine”. This was never really true. All Israel did not look to him as king, some did, but such support as there was was very shallow. He then recounts how Solomon ended up as king. All this should alert us to the intentions of Adonijah, and to how we understand the request that he is about to make.

2:17,18

His request is that Abishag should be given to him in marriage. Now to our western ears this seems to have nothing to do with a plot to gain the kingdom. Abishag was beautiful, and we think Adonijah just fancies her. However, Abishag was part of David’s harem, so taking Abishag as a wife would give Adonijah some possession of the harem. In the culture of the time this would be seen as giving him some claim to the kingdom. I.e. It was much more than just taking a fancy to a girl and marrying her. He wants Bathsheba to make the request because he believes that that is more likely to lead to a favourable outcome. We see here another example of how the “many wives” scenario is something that always leads to trouble!