Verses 29-40
David Repeats His Oath To Bathsheba And Arranges For The Anointing And Crowning Of Solomon (1 Kings 1:29-40 ).
What David has learned had got the adrenalin flowing in his old body and had awoken him out of his lethargic state with the result that he confirmed his vow to Bathsheba and then called on his faithful servants Zadok the Priest, Nathan the Prophet, and Benaiah, commander of the king’s bodyguard, to arrange for the anointing and coronation of Solomon in all splendour. Such short term stirrings can often happen in old or sick people when something particular arouses their interest or concern. They then shortly lapse back into their old lethargic state. But it was enough to ensure that YHWH’s will was done, and that Solomon became king after David.
Analysis.
a And the king swore, and said, “As YHWH lives, who has redeemed my soul out of all adversity, truly as I swore to you by YHWH, the God of Israel, saying, “Assuredly Solomon your son will reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my stead, truly so will I do this day” (1 Kings 1:29-30).
b Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did obeisance to the king, and said, “Let my lord king David live for ever.” And king David said,” Call to me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” And they came before the king (1 Kings 1:31-32).
c And the king said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon, and let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel, and blow you the ram’s horn, and say, “Long live king Solomon” (1 Kings 1:33-34).
d “Then you shall come up after him, and he will come and sit on my throne, for he will be king in my place, and I have appointed him to be prince over Israel and over Judah” (1 Kings 1:35).
c And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, “Amen, YHWH, the God of my lord the king, say so too. As YHWH has been with my lord the king, even so may he be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David” (1 Kings 1:36-37).
b So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, went down, and caused Solomon to ride on king David’s mule, and brought him to Gihon (1 Kings 1:38).
a And Zadok the priest took the horn of oil out of the Tent, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the ram’s horn, and all the people said, “Let king Solomon live.” And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them” (1 Kings 1:39-40).
Note than in ‘a’ David’s assertion was that Solomon would reign, and in the parallel Solomon was anointed and announced as king. In ‘b’ Zadok, Nathan and Abiathar were called for with a view to the coronation, and in the parallel it was they who caused Solomon to ride on the king’s mule and brought him to Gihon. In ‘c’ Solomon was to be made to ride on the king’s mule, and was to be anointed and hailed as king, and in the parallel Benaiah prayed that Solomon as king would be even greater than David. Centrally in ‘d’ Solomon was to sit on the throne in David’s place and was to be prince (nagid) over Israel and Judah.
‘ And the king swore, and said, “As YHWH lives, who has redeemed my life (soul) out of all adversity, truly as I swore to you by YHWH, the God of Israel, saying, “Assuredly Solomon your son will reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my stead, truly so will I do this day.” ’
Once Bathsheba came back into David’s presence he swore to her by the living vitality of YHWH that what he had sworn to her would be done. The oath was strengthened by his indication that YHWH was the One Who had redeemed his life out of all adversity, and was thus of prime significance to him. The idea of ‘redemption’ always involves some ‘cost’ being involved. The idea was that YHWH had expended His energy on David’s behalf, as against others, at some cost to Himself, and in spite of David’s unworthiness and undeserving.
And he confirmed that what he had sworn was that Solomon would reign after him, and would sit on his throne in his place, and that he would ensure that it would happen that very day.
‘ Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face, to the earth, and did obeisance to the king, and said, “Let my lord king David live for ever.”
At his words Bathsheba, no doubt both grateful and relieved, bowed with her face to the earth and did obeisance to the king, crying, “Let my lord king David live for ever.” In view of his advanced age and medical condition her words may well simply be seen as the kind of platitude expected by the king, but she may have also been intending to convey her hope for the everlasting continuance of his house (initially through her son) as a reminder of YHWH’s covenant with him.
‘ And king David said,” Call to me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” And they came before the king.’
Then David told her to call to him the powers in Jerusalem, Zadok, the Priest in Jerusalem, serving at the Tent containing the Ark, Nathan the prophet who was the king’s close adviser and conscience, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, who commanded David’s large bodyguard and his standing army. And they came in before the king.
‘ And the king said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon, and let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel, and blow you the ram’s horn, and say, “Long live king Solomon.” ’
Then he gave instructions that they were to take with them the high officials of the court and his own personal bodyguard (‘the servants of your lord’), and were to cause Solomon to ride on his own mule. This last would in itself indicate the favour of the king. No one could ride the king’s mule without the king’s express permission. The mule was the favourite peace time mount of the king and his sons (compare Judges 5:10; Jdg 10:4 ; 2 Samuel 13:29; 2 Samuel 18:9; Zechariah 9:9), and indeed riding on horseback was probably still not practised in Israel at this time. Horses were seen as for pulling chariots. (It was Solomon who would introduce cavalry - 1 Kings 10:26).
Then, mounted on the king’s mule, they were to bring Solomon to the spring Gihon (‘gusher’, and thus an intermittent spring), and there he was to be anointed as king over Israel by the two prime representatives of YHWH, at which point the ram’s horn would be blown and the cry go out, “Let King Solomon live”. In other words let him enjoy fullness of life. The High Priest would perform the actual anointing, but the involvement of the combination of High Priest and acknowledged Prophet in the anointing by YHWH would confirm to the people that here was YHWH’s choice for the kingship. The blowing of a ram’s horn would indicate that a significant official event was taking place.
The main idea behind anointing was of being totally separated to YHWH and set apart for Him. Both the priests (Exodus 29:7; Exodus 29:21) and the Tabernacle furniture and instruments (Exodus 30:30) were anointed. The king thus by this became ‘the Anointed of YHWH’ and therefore sacrosanct. It signified that he was a vassal of YHWH, and therefore under His protection. The Pharaohs are known to have anointed vassal kings, as did all Great Kings, but they themselves were not anointed. Thus Solomon was being seen as a vassal king of YHWH.
There are no real grounds for thinking that it necessarily indicated an enduement with power, although such an enduement would be expected to accompany it in certain circumstances, simply because if the anointing was done at the command of God in preparation for some special duty, any power required would necessarily be provided (thus we find such a combination in 1 Samuel 16:13). Where God sets men apart to a task requiring such power He would also endue where necessary, but it will be noted that God’s special gift to Solomon of wisdom comes well after his anointing. It was not given at his anointing.
The spring Gihon was in the upper part of the Kidron valley under the northern section of the Jebusite fortress of Jerusalem. It is also mentioned in 2 Chronicles 32:30; 2 Chronicles 33:14 and was the spring the water from which was carried within the fortress by the tunnel which was probably excavated by Hezekiah’s men in preparation for the siege by Assyria (2 Kings 20:20). ‘Running water’ (literally ‘everflowing stream’) was seen as important in Israel (compare Deuteronomy 21:4). It indicated a place of life, and of fruitfulness from YHWH. It was also important that the anointing took place in a public place with many witnesses so as to ensure public acclamation, and that could always be guaranteed at a prominent spring.
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