Bible Strands
1 Kings 2:21
So Bathsheba said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to your brother Adonijah as his wife.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Bathsheba addresses King Solomon directly after he has promised to grant her petition. She makes this request during a private audience following David’s death and Solomon’s coronation.
The words — The verb יֻתַּן (yu.Tan) operates as a passive imperative meaning "let it be given," framing the petition as a formal transfer. The phrase לְאִשָּׁה (le.'i.Shah) literally specifies "to a wife," defining the legal status Bathsheba demands.
The thread — 1 Kings 2:21 follows 1 Kings 1:3, where Abishag was originally brought to David for care, and anticipates the pattern in 2 Samuel 16:21 where claiming a king’s concubines signals a royal succession claim. The text places a personal favor within a documented political framework.
Why it lands — The passage requires a reader to note that requesting a former royal attendant as a wife functions as a direct claim to the throne. It asks the reader to observe how personal petitions can trigger structural consequences in succession narratives.
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
And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother to wife.
Cross-references
- 2 Samuel 16:21 Ahithophel replied, “Sleep with your father’s concubines, whom he has left to take care of the palace. When all Israel hears that you have become a stench to your father, then the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.”
- 1 Kings 1:3 Then they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful girl, and they found Abishag the Shunammite and brought her to the king.