King Solomon views the request made by his mother as a threat. The idea of Adonijah marrying Abishag was a threat to Solomon because asking to marry her was virtually the same as asking for the kingdom. Abishag was responsible for taking care of King David in his old age and was probably a part of his harem. According to the custom at that time, the king’s harem became the personal property of his successor. It was for this reason that Adonijah was seen as a rival for the throne.
It will be noticed that the Hebrew text refers to Solomon without his title of king in verses 12 and 13. But the writer again uses the title King Solomon in verses 19, 22, 23, and 25, perhaps in order to represent Solomon as more distant and to show that he, and not Adonijah, is the one who has power to act. Good News Translation omits the title “king” in verse 23 for reasons of English style. Translators in other languages, however, will need to decide whether repetition of the title, as in Hebrew, will help focus on Solomon as one who uses his royal power to destroy his enemy.
Abishag the Shunammite: See the comments on the shorted form of this name in Good News Translation in verse 21. Also, for reasons of English style, Good News Translation replaces the name Adonijah with the pronoun “him.”
He is my elder brother: See the comments on 1 Kgs 1.5-6.
Abiathar is first mentioned in this book in 1.7.
The words the son of Zeruiah, like the Shunammite, are omitted by Good News Translation in this verse because this designation is found frequently in previous passages. See 1 Kgs 1.7 and 2.5.
The meaning of the end of this verse in Hebrew is not clear. A literal translation is “Ask for him the kingdom also; for he is my elder brother, and for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.” The translations found in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation are based on the Septuagint, the ancient Syriac, and the Latin Vulgate.
Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, however, gives a {C} rating to the Masoretic Text and interprets these words as increasing irony on the part of Solomon. If Bathsheba is going to be an advocate for Adonijah, then she should go all the way! The sense is probably “Ask for Adonijah, because he is entitled to be king since he is the eldest son of David. And ask for Abiathar to be the chief priest instead of Zadok since Abiathar held that position first. And ask for Joab to be the commander of the army instead of Benaiah since Joab was the first to be the army commander! Go ahead and ask for all of this!” Compare New Revised Standard Version: “Ask for him the kingdom as well! For he is my elder brother; ask not only for him but also for the priest Abiathar and for Joab son of Zeruiah!” (similarly Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Nouvelle Bible Segond). Contemporary English Version may provide a useful model of this interpretation of the Hebrew: “You may as well ask me to let him rule the kingdom! And why don’t you ask such favors for Abiathar and Joab?”
If translators follow the Masoretic Text, Parole de Vie provides another good model for the whole verse:
• Solomon replied to his mother: “What? You dare ask for Abishag of Shunem for Adonijah? But ask, then, that he become king, because he is my older brother! Ask this power for him and for those who sided with him, the priest Abiathar and Joab, the head of the army!”
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .