World English Bible · The united kingdom
1 Kings 1
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Now King was old and advanced in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he couldn't keep warm. Therefore his servants said to him, "Let a young virgin be sought for my the king. Let her stand before the king, and cherish him; and let her lie in your , that my the king may keep warm." So they sought for a beautiful young lady throughout all the borders of Israel, and found the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. The young lady was very beautiful; and she cherished the king, and him; but the king didn't know her intimately. Then the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, "I will be king." Then he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. His had not displeased him at any time in saying, "Why have you done so?" and he was also a very handsome man; and he was born after . He conferred with the son of and with the priest; and they followed and helped him. But the priest, the son of , the , , Rei, and the who belonged to , were not with . killed sheep, cattle, and fatlings by the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside ; and he called all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah, the king's servants; but he didn't call the , and , and the , and his brother. Then spoke to the mother of , saying, "Haven't you heard that the son of Haggith reigns, and our doesn't know it? Now therefore come, please let me give you , that you may your own life and your son life. Go in to King , and tell him, 'Didn't you, my the king, to , saying, "Assuredly your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my "? Why then does reign?' Behold, while you are still talking there with the king, I will also come in after you and confirm your words." went in to the king in his room. The king was very old; and the Shunammite was the king. bowed and showed respect to the king. The king said, "What would you like?" She said to him, "My , you by your to , 'Assuredly your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my .' Now, behold, reigns; and you, my the king, don't know it. He has slain cattle and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has called all the sons of the king, the priest, and the captain of the army; but he hasn't called . You, my the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who will sit on of my the king after him. Otherwise it will happen, when my the king sleeps with his fathers, that I and my son will be considered criminals." Behold, while she was still talking with the king, the came in. They told the king, saying, "Behold, the !" When he had come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with to the ground. said, "My , King, have you said, ' shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my '? For he has gone down today, and has slain cattle, fatlings, and sheep in abundance, and has called all the king's sons, the captains of the army, and the priest. Behold, they are eating and drinking before him, and saying, 'Long live King !' But he hasn't called me, even me , the priest, the son of , and . Was this thing done by my the king, and you haven't shown to your servants who should sit on of my the king after him?" 28Then King answered, "Call in to me." She came into the king's and stood before the king. The king and said, "As lives, who has out of all adversity, most certainly as I to you by , the of Israel, saying, 'Assuredly your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my in my place;' I will most certainly do this today." Then bowed with her to the earth and showed respect to the king, and said, "Let my King live !" King said, "Call to me the priest, the , and the son of ." They came before the king. The king said to them, "Take with you the servants of your , and cause my son to ride on my own mule, and bring him down to . Let the priest and the anoint him there king over Israel. Blow the , and say, 'Long live King !' Then come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my ; for he shall be king in my place. I have appointed him to be prince over Israel and over Judah." the son of answered the king, and said, ". May , the of my the king, say so. As has been with my the king, even so may he be with , and make his greater than of my King ." So the priest, the , the son of , and the and the went down and had ride on King mule, and brought him to . the priest took of oil from the Tent, and . They blew the ; and all the people said, "Long live King !" All the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth shook with their sound. and all the guests who were with him heard it as they had finished eating. When heard the sound of the , he said, "Why is this noise of the city being in an uproar?" While he yet spoke, behold, Jonathan the son of the priest came; and said, "Come in; for you are a worthy man, and bring ." 43Jonathan answered , "Most certainly our King has made king. 44The king has sent with him the priest, the , the son of , and the and the ; and they have caused him to ride on the king's mule. the priest and the have him king in . They have come up from there rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This is the noise that you have heard. Also, sits on of . Moreover the king's servants came to our King , saying, 'May your make the name of better than your name, and make his greater than your ;' and the king bowed himself on the bed. Also thus said the king, ' be , the of Israel, who has given one to sit on my today, my eyes even seeing it.'" All the guests of were afraid, and rose up, and each man went his way. was afraid because of ; and he arose, and went, and hung onto the of the . 51 was told, "Behold, fears King ; for, behold, he is hanging onto the of the , saying, 'Let King to me first that he will not kill his servant with .'" said, "If he shows himself a worthy man, not a hair of his shall fall to the earth; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall ." So King sent, and they brought him down from the . He came and to King ; and said to him, "Go to your house."
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · The united kingdom, 1050 BC to 931 BC ›
Saul, David, and Solomon. A rare window when both Egypt and Mesopotamia are weak, which is how a small kingdom in the corridor between them could briefly become a regional power.
- The power vacuum
- This is the whole political explanation for the united kingdom. Egypt is fragmented, Assyria is recovering but still local, the Hittites are gone, and nobody is in a position to object to a strong state in the corridor. It lasts about a century, and Israel's golden age fits exactly inside it.
- Phoenicia
- Tyre under Hiram is the commercial power of the coast, and supplies the cedar, the craftsmen, and the shipping for Solomon's building programme. The alliance is trade, not charity: Israel had grain and a land route, Tyre had timber and ships.
- Egypt
- Weak enough that a pharaoh gives a daughter in marriage to an Israelite king, which is the opposite of Egyptian practice in stronger centuries. Late in the era it recovers under a new house, and Shishak will invade within five years of Solomon's death.
- Further afield
- Greece is still in its dark age but beginning to recover, and will adopt the Phoenician alphabet within a century or two. Carthage is founded by settlers from Tyre by tradition in 814 BC. In the Americas the Olmec centre shifts to La Venta.