1 Kings 1:3 - Exposition

So [Heb. and ] they sought (cf. Esther 2:2 ), for a fair [this word points to the same conclusion as "virgin" in per. 2] damsel throughout all the coasts [ i.e; borders ( costa = rib, side). An old writer speaks of the " coasts and quarters of heaven"] of Israel, and found Abishag [= "Father of error." Names compounded with Ab, "father," were and are very common in the East. We have, e.g; Ab -salom in Per. 6, and Abi- athar in Per. 7] a [Heb. the ] Shunammite [Shunem, a town of Issachar ( Joshua 19:18 ), now called Solam, "a flourishing village encompassed by gardens" (Porter), and "in the midst of the finest cornfields in the,world" (Grove), lies on the lower slope of "Little Hermon," and has before it the wide plain of Esdraelon. Another Shunammite appears in the sacred history ( 2 Kings 4:8 )] and brought her to the king.