people, had reserved to Himself the choice of the earthly king (Deu 17:15), and this right He exercised not only in the case of Saul and David, but in that of Solomon also. When He gave to David the promise that his seed should rule for ever (2Sa 7:12-16), He did not ensure the establishment of the throne to any one of his existing sons, but to him that would come out of his loins (i.e., to Solomon, who was not yet born); and after his birth He designated him through the prophet Nathan as the beloved of Jehovah (2Sa 12:24-25). David discerned from this that the Lord had chosen Solomon to be his successor, and he gave to Bathsheba a promise on oath that Solomon should sit upon the throne (1Ki 1:13 and 1Ki 1:30). This promise was also acknowledged in the presence of Nathan (1Ki 1:11.), and certainly came to Adonijah's ears. Adonijah said, “I will be king,” and procured chariots and horsemen and fifty runners, as Absalom had done before (2Sa 15:1). רכב, in a collective sense, does not mean fighting or war chariots, but state carriages, like מרכּבה in 2Sa 15:1; and פּרשׁים are neither riding nor carriage horses, but riders to form an escort whenever he drove out.
Verse 6
1Ki 1:6 “And (= for) his father had never troubled him in his life (מיּמיו, a diebus ejus, i.e., his whole life long), saying, “Why hast thou done this?” Such weak oversight on the part of his father encouraged him to make the present attempt. Moreover, he “was very beautiful,” like Absalom (see at 2Sa 14:25), and born after Absalom, so that after his death he appeared to have the nearest claim to the throne. The subject to ילדה is left indefinite, because it is implied in the idea of the verb itself: “she bare,” i.e., his mother, as in Num 26:59 (vid., Ewald, §294, b.). There was no reason for mentioning the mother expressly by name, as there was nothing depending upon the name here, and it had already been given in Num 26:5.
Verse 7
He conferred (for the expression, compare 2Sa 3:17) with Joab and Abiathar the priest, who supported him. אהרי עזר, to lend a helping hand to a person, i.e., to support him by either actually joining him or taking his part. Joab joined the pretender, because he had fallen out with David for a considerable time (cf. 1Ki 2:5-6), and hoped to secure his influence with the new king if he helped him to obtain possession of the throne. But what induced Abiathar the high priest (see at 2Sa 8:17) to join in conspiracy with Adonijah, we do not know. Possibly jealousy of Zadok, and the fear that under
