Bible Strands
1 Kings 2:41
When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator reports that Solomon receives information regarding Shimei's unauthorized journey. This report arrives at the moment Shimei secretly leaves Jerusalem to retrieve his slaves, immediately preceding Solomon's summons and confrontation.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַ/יֻּגַּ֖ד (va/i.yu.Gad) literally means "and it was told," denoting passive reporting rather than direct revelation. The verbs הָלַ֨ךְ (ha.Lakh) and וַ/יָּשֹֽׁב\׃ (va/i.ya.Sho) record Shimei's physical departure from Jerusalem and his subsequent return to the city.
The thread — The narrative pattern of a bound individual testing a royal prohibition appears in the immediate context of 1 Kings 2:40 and 2:42. The structure of reported violation followed by judicial confrontation recurs in covenant lawsuit formulations such as those in Isaiah 1:2-4.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that recorded movement precedes judicial reckoning. It requires the reader to note that royal warnings carry enforceable boundaries and that reported transgression triggers immediate accountability.
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The Hebrew words
King James Version
And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again.