Bible Strands
1 Kings 1:26
But me your servant he has not invited, nor Zadok the priest, nor Benaiah son of Jehoiada, nor your servant Solomon.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Nathan addresses King David during the crisis of Adonijah’s unauthorized coronation feast. He reports that the king has gathered the royal sons, army commanders, and Abiathar, while deliberately excluding him and several key loyalists.
The words — אֲנִֽי־עַבְדֶּךָ (ani-‘avdekha) translates literally as “I your servant,” establishing the speaker’s deferential posture before the king. The verb for “has not invited” underscores a calculated exclusion rather than a logistical failure.
The thread — This pattern of deliberate exclusion runs through 1 Kings 1:8 and 1 Kings 1:10, where Zadok, Benaiah, Nathan, and Solomon are consistently left out of Adonijah’s political gathering. The motif contrasts with the dynastic assurance in 2 Samuel 7:2 regarding David’s house.
Why it lands — The text states that political succession is being advanced through controlled access and selective invitations. It requires the reader to evaluate legitimacy by observing who is omitted from the center of power.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
But me, even me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, hath he not called.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 1:8 But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and David’s mighty men would not join Adonijah.
- 1 Kings 1:10 But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, or his brother Solomon.
- 2 Samuel 7:2 he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”
- 2 Samuel 7:12 And when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.
- 2 Samuel 12:25 and sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah because the LORD loved him.
- 1 Kings 1:19 And he has sacrificed an abundance of oxen, fattened calves, and sheep, and has invited all the other sons of the king, as well as Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army. But he has not invited your servant Solomon.