According to

2 Samuel The Book of Samuel () is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings) that constitute a theological ...

, Adonijah (, ''’Ǎḏōnīyyā''; "my

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

is Yah") was the fourth son of

King David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damas ...

. His mother was Haggith as recorded in the book of . Adonijah was born at

Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...

during the long conflict between David and the House of Saul. In 1 Kings, he briefly proclaimed himself king of Israel during the terminal illness of his father David, before peacefully ceding the throne to his brother

Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...

Life

After the death of his elder brothers

Amnon Amnon ( ''’Amnōn'', "faithful") was, in the Hebrew Bible, the oldest son of King David and his second wife, Ahinoam of Jezreel. He was born in Hebron during his father's reign in Judah. He was the heir apparent to the throne of Israel until ...

and

Absalom Absalom ( , ), according to the Hebrew Bible, was an Israelite prince. Born to David and Maacah, who was from Geshur, he was the only full sibling of Tamar. He is described in the Hebrew Bible as being exceptionally beautiful, as is his siste ...

, Adonijah considered himself the

heir-apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

to 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 army

Joab Joab (; ), the son of Zeruiah, was the nephew of King David and the commander of his army according to the Hebrew Bible. Name The name Joab is, like many other Hebrew names, theophoric—derived from Yahweh (), the name of the God of Israel, ...

and the influential priest

Abiathar Abiathar ( ''ʾEḇyāṯār'', "father (of) abundance"/"abundant father"), in the Hebrew Bible, is a son of Ahimelech or Ahijah, Kohen Gadol, High Priest at Nob, Israel, Nob, the fourth in descent from Eli (Bible), Eli and the last of Eli's Ho ...

. However, the priest

Zadok Zadok (), also spelled Ṣadok, Ṣadoc, Zadoq, Tzadok or Tsadoq (; lit. 'righteous, justified'), was a Kohen (priest), biblically recorded to be a descendant of Eleazar the son of Aaron. He was the High Priest of Israel during the reigns of Dav ...

Benaiah Benaiah (, "Yahweh builds up") is a common name in the Hebrew Bible. Etymology In the etymology of the name, the first part of Benaiah comes from the root-verb בנה (bana), which is a common Hebrew verb meaning "to build". The second part of ...

(head of the king's bodyguard),

Nathan Nathan or Natan may refer to: People and biblical figures *Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name * Nathan (surname) *Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible *Nathan (son of David), a biblical figu ...

(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. Notably, he did not invite

nor any of his supporters. According to the ''Jewish Study Bible'', by excluding Solomon, Adonijah demonstrates his awareness that he is in effect usurping the throne. Assuming that Adonijah will soon move to eliminate any rivals or opposition, Nathan warns

Bathsheba Bathsheba (; , ) was an Kings of Israel and Judah, Israelite queen consort. According to the Hebrew Bible, she was the wife of Uriah the Hittite and later of David, with whom she had all of her five children. Her status as the mother of Solomon ...

, 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. 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. 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 (). Afterwards, Adonijah asked to marry Abishag from Shunem, 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 ().

References

{{Authority control Children of David Books of Kings people Jewish royalty Solomon Biblical murder victims Heirs apparent who never acceded Sons of kings

Life

See also

References