Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 1 Kings
Chapter 2: The Kingdom Was Established in the Hand of Solomon
With his last breath David charges Solomon to be strong and keep the ways of the LORD, then goes the way of all the earth. Solomon secures the throne, dealing at last with the long-deferred debts of blood and rebellion, so that 'the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon,' and the throne of David is set on a foundation of justice.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 1 Kings chapter 2. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Chapter 2 records David's death and Solomon's establishing of the kingdom in justice. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
David's Last Words to Solomon (1 Kings 2:1-12)
David charges Solomon to be strong and keep God's ways, gives final instructions, and dies after a forty-year reign.
Be Thou Strong, and Shew Thyself a Man
"Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man; And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: That the LORD may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel. Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet. Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace. But shew kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table: for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother. And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword. Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood. So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem. Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly."
Word Study
"be thou strong... and shew thyself a man," Hebrew chazaq... le-ish (חָזַק... לְאִישׁ), "be strong, and become a man." David's dying charge to Solomon is first and foremost spiritual: "be thou strong... and shew thyself a man; and keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways." True manhood and strength, in the king or in any believer, is measured not by power or conquest but by faithful obedience to God, "quit you like men, be strong" (1 Corinthians 16:13). David points Solomon to the written law of Moses as the path of prosperity and to God's covenant word as the ground of the throne's continuance. The charge to deal with Joab and Shimei is not private revenge but the settling of long-deferred justice, Joab's unavenged murders of Abner and Amasa had left innocent blood on the kingdom, and Shimei's cursing of the LORD's anointed was a pardoned but not forgotten crime. David also remembers kindness (the sons of Barzillai). Then, after forty years, "David slept with his fathers", the great king dies in peace, and Solomon's throne is "established greatly." The dying counsel of a father to walk in God's ways is a legacy more valuable than any crown.
Explanation
As David faces death, he gives Solomon a final charge. The heart of it is spiritual: be strong, be a man, and above all keep the LORD's commandments as written in the law of Moses, for on this obedience hangs both Solomon's prosperity and the continuance of the dynasty God had promised. David then gives practical instructions for settling accounts: Joab, who had murdered Abner and Amasa and left their blood unavenged, is not to go unpunished; kindness is to be shown to the sons of Barzillai who aided David in exile; and Shimei, who cursed the king but was spared by oath, is to be dealt with wisely. Then David dies, having reigned forty years, and is buried in the city of David. Solomon takes the throne, and his kingdom is established greatly. The transition of the crown is complete.
Gospel Focus
David's dying words model the legacy every believer, and especially every father, should leave: a charge to walk in the ways of the LORD. Not wealth, not position, but "keep the charge of the LORD thy God" is the counsel that matters at the end. And David grounds the throne's future on the covenant word of God, conditioned on faithful walking, "if thy children take heed to their way." The ultimate fulfillment of "there shall not fail thee a man on the throne of Israel" is not in Solomon, who would falter, but in the Son of David who never fails, Jesus, of whose kingdom "there shall be no end" (Luke 1:33). David went "the way of all the earth"; death comes to every man. Blessed is the one who, facing it, can charge those he leaves to follow the Lord, and who rests the future not on frail human faithfulness but on God's sure covenant fulfilled in Christ. Live so that your last words can point others to the ways of the LORD.
The Fall of Adonijah (1 Kings 2:13-25)
Adonijah's request for Abishag is a veiled bid for the throne, and it costs him his life.
It Was His From the LORD
"And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably. He said moreover, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And she said, Say on. And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother's: for it was his from the LORD. And now I ask one petition of thee, deny me not. And she said unto him, Say on. And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king, (for he will not say thee nay,) that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife. And Bathsheba said, Well; I will speak for thee unto the king. Bathsheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king's mother; and she sat on his right hand. Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; I pray thee, say me not nay. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother: for I will not say thee nay. And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother to wife. And king Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is mine elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah. Then king Solomon sware by the LORD, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah have not spoken this word against his own life. Now therefore, as the LORD liveth, which hath established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who hath made me an house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day. And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him that he died."
Word Study
"it was his from the LORD," Hebrew me-YHWH hayetah lo (מֵיְהוָה הָיְתָה לּוֹ), "from the LORD it became his." Adonijah admits the truth even as he plots against it: the kingdom "is become my brother's: for it was his from the LORD." He knows Solomon reigns by God's own appointment, yet he cannot let go of his ambition. His request for Abishag, David's attendant, was no small thing; to take a former king's woman was, in that world, a claim to the throne itself (compare Absalom, 2 Samuel 16:22). Solomon at once reads it as a renewed bid for the crown, "ask for him the kingdom also." Adonijah, spared once at the altar on condition he show himself "a worthy man" (chapter 1:52), has proved himself unworthy, grasping again at what God had given another. His self-will, twice indulged, now costs his life. Here is the peril of a heart that acknowledges God's will yet will not submit to it. To know "it was his from the LORD" and still scheme against it is to fight God Himself, and such rebellion, unrepented, ends in ruin. Confessing God's sovereignty is not the same as bowing to it.
Explanation
Adonijah, spared in chapter 1, has not truly submitted. He approaches Bathsheba and, admitting the kingdom went to Solomon "from the LORD," asks her to obtain for him Abishag, David's young attendant, as his wife. Bathsheba, perhaps not grasping the political weight, agrees to ask. But Solomon instantly sees the request for what it is: a veiled claim to the throne, for to marry the late king's woman was to assert royal succession. He responds sharply, "ask for him the kingdom also," and, recognizing Adonijah's persistent treachery, swears that this request has sealed his death. Benaiah is sent, and Adonijah is executed. The pretender who grasped at the crown twice, and would not be content though spared, brings judgment on his own head. Solomon's throne, established by God, will not be undermined by a rival who refuses to submit.
Gospel Focus
Adonijah is a sobering study in the heart that acknowledges God's will but will not yield to it. He said plainly the kingdom was Solomon's "from the LORD," yet still schemed to take it, and his unsubmitted ambition destroyed him. It is possible to confess God's sovereignty with the lips while resisting it in the heart, and such divided rebellion is deadly. "Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God" (Romans 13:2). The gospel calls not merely for acknowledging that Christ is King, "the devils also believe, and tremble" (James 2:19), but for bowing to Him. Adonijah's twice-indulged grasping, after being spared, warns that mercy despised and self-will persisted in end in judgment. Do not be one who admits "it is his from the LORD" yet clings to your own crown. Submit fully to the King God has established; a heart that knows His right to rule and still refuses it stands, like Adonijah, under the sentence of its own rebellion.
Abiathar Deposed and Joab Slain (1 Kings 2:26-35)
Abiathar is removed, fulfilling the word against Eli's house, and Joab, fleeing to the altar, is executed for his innocent blood.
Take Away the Innocent Blood
"And unto Abiathar the priest said the king, Get thee to Anathoth, unto thine own fields; for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou barest the ark of the Lord GOD before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted. So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD; that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh. Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD, and caught hold on the horns of the altar. And it was told king Solomon that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD; and, behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him. And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me. And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father. And the LORD shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing thereof, to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah. Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the LORD. So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host: and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar."
Word Study
"the horns of the altar," a refuge for the penitent, but not a shield for the presumptuous. Joab, guilty of the cold-blooded murders of Abner and Amasa, flees to the same altar Adonijah had fled to, and grasps its horns. But the altar was a refuge for those who killed unwittingly, not a sanctuary for the deliberate murderer; the law itself said, "thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die" (Exodus 21:14). Joab's clinging to the altar could not cancel the innocent blood on his hands. Solomon executes justice, "that thou mayest take away the innocent blood," for a kingdom cannot stand on unavenged murder, and the LORD returns Joab's blood "upon his own head." Note the sharp contrast with Adonijah in chapter 1: the altar is a true refuge for the one who casts himself on mercy, but it cannot shelter the impenitent who uses religion as a hiding place while clinging to his sin. So the cross is a refuge for every penitent sinner who flees to Christ, but it is no shield for the one who will not repent and merely uses religion to cover unrepented wickedness. Meanwhile Abiathar's removal fulfills God's ancient word against the house of Eli (1 Samuel 2:31-35); God's word never falls to the ground, though it take generations.
Explanation
Solomon deposes Abiathar the priest, who had backed Adonijah, banishing him to his fields rather than executing him, out of respect for his long service bearing the ark with David. This removal, the writer notes, fulfilled God's word spoken generations earlier against Eli's house. Joab, hearing of the reckoning, flees to the tabernacle and grasps the horns of the altar, refusing to come out. But Joab's crimes, the treacherous murders of Abner and Amasa, were deliberate bloodshed that the altar could not cover, and he had also backed Adonijah's coup. Solomon orders Benaiah to execute him there, "that thou mayest take away the innocent blood... from the house of my father," so that peace and blessing might rest on David's throne while Joab's blood returned on his own head. Benaiah slays Joab, and Solomon installs Benaiah over the army and Zadok as priest. Justice long deferred is done, and the kingdom is purged of bloodguilt.
Gospel Focus
Joab at the altar is a solemn counterpart to Adonijah in chapter 1. The altar is a genuine refuge, but only for the one who truly casts himself on mercy, not for the impenitent who grasps at religion while clinging to his sin. Joab's hands were full of innocent blood, and no altar could cover deliberate murder unrepented of; God's own law said such a man must be taken even from the altar. So the cross of Christ is a true and full refuge for every sinner who flees to it in repentance and faith, but it is no hiding place for the one who merely uses the forms of religion to shield an unrepentant heart. Beware laying hold of the altar with unclean hands and an unbroken will. And note God's faithfulness: the removal of Abiathar fulfilled a word spoken against Eli's house generations before. "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Matthew 24:35). God's word, whether of judgment or of blessing, is always fulfilled in His time; the throne of David rested on "peace for ever from the LORD," fulfilled at last in the Prince of Peace.
The End of Shimei (1 Kings 2:36-46)
Shimei is confined under oath, breaks it, and is executed, and the kingdom is firmly established in Solomon's hand.
The Kingdom Was Established in the Hand of Solomon
"And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither. For it shall be, that on the day thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head. And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days. And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish son of Maachah king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants be in Gath. And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants: and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath. And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again. And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD, and protested unto thee, saying, Know for a certain, on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, that thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst unto me, The word that I have heard is good. Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the LORD, and the commandment that I have charged thee with? The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore the LORD shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head; And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever. So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon."
Word Study
"established," Hebrew kun (כּוּן), "to be firm, fixed, established, made secure." The chapter, and this founding phase of Solomon's reign, closes with the refrain: "the kingdom was established (kun) in the hand of Solomon," echoing verse 12, "his kingdom was established greatly." The throne is now firmly fixed, its rivals removed, its bloodguilt purged, its justice done. Shimei, granted a merciful confinement on a sworn condition (stay in Jerusalem, never cross the Kidron), broke the very oath he had called good, and by his own choice brought the sentence on his head, "thy blood shall be upon thine own head." His fate underscores that mercy has terms, and to despise a gracious condition is to seal one's own doom. Solomon frames it all in covenant language: "the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever." That "for ever" reaches beyond Solomon's earthly throne to the everlasting kingdom of the Son of David, "the LORD God shall give unto him the throne of his father David... and of his kingdom there shall be no end" (Luke 1:32-33). Solomon's kingdom, established in justice, is a shadow of the true and eternal kingdom, established for ever in the righteousness of Christ.
Explanation
Solomon deals last with Shimei, who had cursed David. Rather than execute him, Solomon shows measured mercy: Shimei must build a house in Jerusalem and never leave the city, on pain of death, and Shimei agrees, calling the terms good and swearing to keep them. For three years he abides; but when two of his servants flee to Gath, he saddles his donkey and goes after them, breaking his oath and the king's command. Summoned, he is condemned by his own broken word and by the wickedness he had done to David. Solomon declares that Shimei's own wickedness returns on his head, while the throne of David shall be "established before the LORD for ever," and Benaiah executes him. The chapter ends with the settled note: "the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon." The reign is now founded firmly on justice and covenant.
Gospel Focus
Shimei's end teaches that mercy has terms, and to despise them is fatal. He was spared on a gracious, easy condition, yet he valued two runaway servants above his own life and broke the oath he had sworn, bringing his blood on his own head. So the mercy of God, freely offered, is received on the terms of repentance and faith, and to trifle with it, to take the gift lightly and go on in self-will, is to perish by one's own choice. "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?" (Hebrews 2:3). But the great note of the chapter is grace: "the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever," and "the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon." God secured David's throne, purged of bloodguilt and founded on justice, as a shadow of the everlasting kingdom of the Son of David, established for ever in the perfect righteousness of Christ. Every earthly throne is shaken; His is not. Bow to the King whose kingdom is established for ever, and take the mercy He offers on His terms, not on your own.
Chapter 2 in Review
1 Kings 2 records David's death and Solomon's establishing of the kingdom. David's dying charge is above all spiritual, "be thou strong... and keep the charge of the LORD thy God", grounding the throne's future on covenant obedience, with final instructions to settle the debts of blood and rebellion. After forty years David dies, and Solomon takes the throne. Adonijah, grasping again at the crown through a request for Abishag, is executed; Abiathar is deposed, fulfilling the word against Eli's house; Joab, fleeing to the altar with innocent blood on his hands, is slain, for the altar shelters the penitent, not the presumptuous; and Shimei, breaking the oath on which his life was spared, brings his blood on his own head. So "the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon."
For the Apostolic reader, the chapter shows a kingdom founded on justice and covenant. David's charge models the legacy of pointing others to God's ways; Adonijah warns that acknowledging God's will while resisting it is deadly; Joab at the altar shows that the refuge of mercy shelters the penitent, not the impenitent who clings to sin; and Shimei's end teaches that mercy has terms. Above all, the throne "established before the LORD for ever" points beyond Solomon to the everlasting kingdom of the Son of David, secured in the righteousness of Christ, the King whose reign shall never be shaken.
- David's last charge was to "keep the charge of the LORD"; the best legacy points others to God's ways.
- Adonijah confessed the kingdom was Solomon's "from the LORD" yet grasped it, and perished; acknowledging God's will is not submitting to it.
- The altar sheltered the penitent, not Joab the impenitent murderer; the cross is no hiding place for unrepented sin.
- "The kingdom was established", a shadow of the throne of the Son of David, established for ever in Christ.
Questions for Reflection
- What legacy are you leaving? Could your last words point others to the ways of the LORD?
- Do you merely acknowledge Christ as King, or truly submit to Him, unlike Adonijah?
- Have you fled to the altar in true repentance, or are you using religion to shield unrepented sin?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). The Hebrew terms are standard and can be checked in any Hebrew lexicon. Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- David's dying charge; the covenant throne: 1 Kings 2:1-12; 1 Corinthians 16:13; Luke 1:33.
- The fall of Adonijah; acknowledging yet resisting God's will: 1 Kings 2:13-25; 2 Samuel 16:22; Romans 13:2; James 2:19.
- Justice at the altar; the refuge of the penitent; God's word fulfilled: 1 Kings 2:26-35; Exodus 21:14; 1 Samuel 2:31-35; Matthew 24:35.
- The end of Shimei; mercy has terms; the throne established for ever: 1 Kings 2:36-46; Hebrews 2:3; Luke 1:32-33.