Obrazy na stronie
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a wicked man often goes a long time nounished for his deeds, but divine justice ds not fail to overtake him finally, ere he is av re.-It requires wisdom to punish; a premature ill-judged chastisement does more harm than good.

this (Rom. xiii. 4; Gen. ix. 6).-Ver. 6. Gray hairs, if found in the way of righteousness, are a crown of glory (Prov. xvi. 31), adorned with which a man may go the way of all flesh in peace and comfort; but an old sinner, whom even gray hairs have not brought to repentance, goes down to the grave Vers. 10-12. David's death: (a) He slept with without solace or peace.-Ver. 7. A noble heart his fathers (STARKE: The death of believers is a does not forget what was done for him in times sleep, and being gathered to their fathers, who of trouble especially, and thinks of it even in the also still live with God, and await the coming reshour of death. The world is ungrateful. A bless-urrection to eternal life, Isai. xxvi. 19); (b) they rest ing rests on deeds of faithfulness and self-sacrificing disinterested love, and it descends to children and children's children.-Vers. 8, 9. A curse rests on those who curse the "powers" which are God's ministers, instead of praying for them, and they are made, sooner or later, to feel the curse (1 Peter ii. 17, 6). The Lord prayed for those who cursed Him; but when they did not repent and become converted, divine judgment came down on them. No doubt

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in the grave. (Rest is good to those who have borne the burden and heat of the day forty years long-that rest which God has promised to those who strive after eternal life with patient continuing in good works. Rom. ii. 7; Isai. lvii. 2).—Da vid's grave is a pledge that the memory of the just is blessed (Prov. xl. 7; Acts ii. 29), and that the blessing of the father builds the children's houses (ver. 12; Ecclesiasticus iii. 11).

C.-Solomon's course with the opposers of his accession to the throne.
CHAP. II. 13-46.}

AND Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bath-sheba the mother of Solo14 mon.' And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably. He 15 said moreover, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And she said, Say on. And

he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is 16 become my brother's: for it was his from the Lord [Jehovah]. And now I ask 17 one petition of thee, deny me not. And she said unto him, Say on. And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king, (for he will not say thee nay,) that 18 he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife. And Bath-sheba said, Well; I will speak for thee unto the king.

19

Bath-sheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king's mother; and she 20 sat on his right hand. Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; I pray thee, say me not nay. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother; for I 21 will not say thee nay. And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given. 22 to Adonijah thy brother to wife. And king Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is mine elder brother; even for him, and 23 for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah. Then king Solomon sware by the Lord [Jehovah], saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Ado24 nijah hath not spoken this word against his own life. Now therefore, as the Lord [Jehovah] liveth, which hath established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who hath made me a house, as he promised, Adonijah 25 shall be put to death this day. And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaial. the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him that he died.

26 And unto Abiathar the priest said the king, Get thee to Anathoth, unto thine own fields; for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou barest the ark of the Lord [Jehovah] God before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was 27 afflicted. So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the Lord [Jehovah]; that he might fulfil the word of the Lord [Jehovah], which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

28 Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom.' And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the Lord [Je29 hovah], and caught hold on the horns of the altar. And it was told king Solomon that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the Lord [Jehovah]; and, behold,

he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, 30 Go, fall upon him.' And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the Lord [Jehovah], and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said 31 Joab, and thus he answered me. And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away' the innocent 32 [omit] blood, which Joab shed [without cause], from me, and from the house of my father. And the Lord [Jehovah] shall return his blood" upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, [and] my father David not knowing thereof [knew it not"], to wit, 33 Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah. Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from 34 the Lord [Jehovah]. So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.

35

36

And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host: " and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar."

And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither. 37 For it shall be, that on the day thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall 38 be upon thine own head." And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in 39 Jerusalem many days. And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish son of Maachah king of 40 Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants be in Gath. And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his ser41 vants and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath. And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again. 42 And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the Lord [Jehovah], and protested unto thee, saying, Know for a certain, on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, that thou shalt surely die?" and thou saidst unto me, The word that I have heard is good. 43 Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the Lord [Jehovah], and the command44 ment that I have charged thee with? The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou

knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father; therefore the Lord [Jehovah] shall return thy wickedness upon 45 thine own head: and king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David 46 shall be established before the Lord [Jehovah] for ever. So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.10

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL,

1 Ver. 13.-[The Sept. adds kaì πpoσekúvnσev avtỷ (Al. aůrýv).

2 Ver. 14. [Two MSS. and some editions (followed by the Sept., Vulg., and Syriac) add i

= to him.

3 Ver. 22.-[All the VV. here give a sense which seems based on the supposition that before Abiathar and before Joab is pleonastic; but for this there is no authority. Thus the Vulg.: "et habet Abiathar," etc. Sept.: κaì avтy 'Aßiáðap K.T.A. Similarly Syr. and Arab. The Chald.: nonne in consilio fuerunt ille et Abiathar," etc.

Ver. 26. [The Sept., without authority, alters the place of the conjunction so as to read ȧvìp lavátov el où év tỷj ἡμέρᾳ ταύτῃ, καὶ οὐ θανατώσω σε. Ver. 28.-[The Vulg., Sept., (Vatican) and Syr. curiously substitute here the name of Solomon for that of Absalom. The Arab. attempts to reconcile both by translating "neither did he love Solomon."

Ver. 29.-[The Sept, add "And king (Alex, omit king) Solomon sent to Joab, saying, What has been done to thee that thou hast fled to the altar? And Joab said, Because I was afraid of thee, and I fled to the Lord."

7 Ver. 29.-[The Sept. add "and bury him." See ver. 31.

8 Ver. 30.-[One MS., followed by the Sept., Vulg., and Syr., adds NYN after NS.

• Ver. 31.-[The Sept. add onμepov and translate D accurately "without cause." The Chald. gives both senses. The Vatican Sept. omits the name of Joab.

10 Ver. 32. [Sept. the blood of his iniquity.

11 Ver. 32.-There is no reason for omitting the conjunction and changing the preterite of the Hebr. which are preserved in the Sept. and the Chald.

12 Ver. 35.-[The Sept. add kai ǹ Baσiλeía κаTwрlovто év 'Tepovσadýμ. Cf. ver. 46.

19 Ver. 85.-[The Sept. add καὶ Σαλωμὼν υἱὸς Δαυὶδ ἐβασίλευσεν ἐπὶ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ Ἰούδα ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ. (Thns far Alex, emits) καὶ ἔδωκε κύριος φρόνησιν τῷ Σαλωμὼν καὶ σοφίαν πολλὴν σφόδρα καὶ πλάτος καρδίας ὡς ἡ ἄμμος ἡ παρὰ τὴν Báλaoσav. (See iv. 29.) Then follows the first verse of chap. iii. much altered, and a long interpolation which may be thus translated: " And the wisdom of Solomon was increased greatly above the wisdom of all the ancients and above all the wise men of Egypt (see iv. 80), and he (iii. 1) took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house and the house of the LORD in the first place, and the wall of Jerusalem round about: in seven years he made and finished them." V. 15 follows then.

"And Solomon made the sea and the bases and the great lavers and the pillars and the fountain of the court and the brazen sea. And he built the citadel and battlements upon it, he divided the city of David. So Pharaoh's daughter went up from the city of David into her own house which he built for her. Then he built the citadel. And three times in the year Solomon offered whole burnt-offerings and peace-offerings upon the altar which he built to the Lord, and he offered incense before the Lord, and finished the house. And these were the chiefs (v. 16) which were set over the works of Solomon: three thousand and six hundred rulers of the people that wrought in the work. And he built Asshur and Magdo and Gezer (ix. 15, 17, 18) and Bethhoron the upper and Ballath. Besides his building the house of the Lord and the wall of Jerusalem round about, after these he built these cities." Then follows, with some variations, ii. 8, 9, which form the junction again with ver. 36. 14 Ver. 37.-[The Sept. add xai wρxiσev avтòv ò Baσiλevs iv Tŷ nμépų ėkeivy. Cf. vers. 42, 43.

15 Ver. 42.--The Vatican Sept. omits the rest of ver. 42. The last clause is sometimes pointed, "The word is good: I have heard." 16 Ver. 46.-[Here follows in the Sept. a passage made up of extracts from chap. iv. and containing about one-fourth of that chapter, most of which is omitted froin its place.-F. G.]

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Ver. 13. And Adonijah.. to Bath-Sheba, &c. What Adonijah really aimed at in his petition to Bath-Sheba is made apparent in ver. 22. He did not care about the fair Abishag, but about the kingdom, which he hoped to acquire through possession of her. In the ancient East, after a king died, or his kingdom passed from him, the harem fell to the new ruler. On the other hand, also, he who took to himself the king's wives, was regarded as having taken to himself the rights of the king. The claim to the possession of the women of the harem was understood to mean the claim to the throne. It was so also with the Persians (Herodot. iii. 68; Justin x. 2: occiso Cyro Aspasiam pellicem ejus rex Artaxerxes in matrimonium acceperat. Hanc patrem cedere sibi, sicuti regnum Darius postulaverat). When Absalom went, according to Ahithophel's advice, into the king's harem and to his concubines in the sight of all the people, it was a public, practical announcement that he had assumed the king's rights (2 Sam. xvi. 20-23; comp. xii. 11). When, therefore, Adonijah demanded Abishag for his wife, ostensibly from love to her, it was a secret claim to the throne; for Abishag was looked on by the nation as David's last wife, although he had not known her. He did not venture to make his request personally to Solomon, but, as Grotius says: aggre ditur mulierem, ut regnandi ignaram, ita amoribus facilem. He plays, before Bath-Sheba, the part of an humble saint who has been set aside-who is resigned to God's will, thus softening her woman's heart. His assertion that all Israel wished him for their king, if not exactly a lie, showed great self-deception and boasting. He very wisely and prudently says, instead of: through thy intercession my brother became king (chap. i. 17)-the kingdom is turned about, and it was his from the Lord, which he of course did not believe, because he wished himself to be king. Bath-Sheba may have thought that a discontented subject might be satisfied by granting his request, and the kingdom

made thus more secure to her son.

Vers. 19-21. Bath-Sheba therefore went unto king Solomon, &c., ver. 19. Solomon received his mother as 7 (chap. xv. 13). The queen mother was in great honor; and therefore the name of the king's mother is always expressly given in the account of the commencement of a new king's reign (chap. xiv. 21. xv. 2, &c.). The ND offered

her was not literally a throne, but only a particular seat of honor. The seat at the right hand was the one of highest distinction (Ps. cx. 1; Joseph., Antiq. vi.-xi. 9). Bath-Sheba calls her petition a small one, because she thought it was only about a love-affair, and did not think of its political results.

Vers. 22-25. And King Solomon answered, &c. Solomon instantly detected the intrigue. He says, in asking Abishag for Adonijah, you indirectly request the kingdom for him too. He is my elder brother, and thinks that the kingdom belongs to him on that account; if he gets Abishag as wife, he will be further strengthened in his imaginary claims, and his entire party will have a firm footing. The

beginning the concluding statement

in ver. 22, cannot be understood otherwise than the preceding is, and the in the following words is this then: In asking the kingdom for him, thou must consequently mean the same. The meaning askest it at the same time for Abiathar and Joab; they who have joined themselves to him, would reign with and through him; but they are well known to be my enemies. It follows, then, that both are included in Adonijah's plan. We cannot, therefore, translate like the Sept.: kai aurÿ ́AßiaÐàp kai air 'Iwaß έraipos, or with the Vulg.: et habet Abiathar et Joab; there is therefore no reason to strike out, with Thenius, the before Abiathar and Joab. Solomon's anger, which appears in ver. 23, was the more natural, because Adonijah had The oath, which means: may God punish me condared to gain over and abuse the queen-mother. tinually if Adonijah be not, &c., is a usual one (Ruth i. 17; 1 Sam. xiv. 44; xx. 13; Jer xxii. 5).— an house, are not to be understood, with Keil and others, as if Solomon had then had issue (his marriage did not occur till afterwards, chap. iii. 1); the meaning is this rather: Adonijah demands Abishag to wife, to found a dynasty through his union with her; but Jehovah has determined that from me (2 Sam. vii. 11 sq.).—The execution of David's dynasty and line of kings shall come Adonijah was performed by Benaiah, as captain of the Cherethites and Pelethites (chap. i. 38), Te does not mean exactly with "his own hand" (Thenius), but only that Benaiah was charged with the execution. Comp. vers. 34-46. Capital punishment was executed in Egypt, and also in Baby

The words of ver. 24: and who hath made me

lon, by the king's guard, the captain of which was therefore called 'a (27), Gen. xxxvii. 36; 2 Kings xxv. 8; Dan. ii. 14.

Vers. 26-27. And unto Abiathar the priest, &c. The proceedings now commenced against Abiathar and Joab, were no doubt caused by the share both had taken in the new plans of Adonijah to usurp the kingdom.-Anathoth, a priests' town in the tribe of Benjamin (Josh. xxi. 18; 1 Chron. vi. 45), about one hour and a quarter's distance northeast of Jerusalem (Robinson, Palestine, vol. i. p. 437-8). Abiathar had possessions there. To strike out the before Dia with Thenius (according to the Sept.), and place it before, is unnecessary: the meaning remains the same.-Bearing the Ark, on the occasion of David's flight from Absalom (2 Sam. XV: 24). That Abiathar and Zadok went with David then, bearing the ark of the covenant, showed great veneration and fidelity, upon their part, to him. Of course they did not carry the ark themselves; but it was borne by the levites, whose office it was to do so (Num. iv. 15; 1 Chron. xvi. 15), and who did it at their command. It is therefore quite unnecessary to read, with Thenius,

tar.

omon) would be guilty of desecrating the al Deut. xix. 11-13), the altar was only an asylum But according to the law (Ex. xxi. 14; for those who had killed unwittingly, and Joab was no such person. He had sinned grievously against Israel and Judah by a double assassination (ver. 32), and yet had gone hitherto unpunished. This guilt could not rest upon David and his house, if the kingdom was to continue in his line (ver. 33). Not to add the utmost disgrace to the punishment (chap. xiv. 11; 2 Kings ix. 35; Jer. vii 33; xxii. 19), and in consideration of his military achievements, Solomon commanded that Joab should be buried with his fathers in the wilderness of Judah, which was not far from Bethlehem, near towns (Josh. xv. 61; Judges i. 16). Tekoa, and was a rocky district containing some

It does not follow fron- אֲרוֹן instead of אֵפוֹד

the banishment of Abiathar, that every king has the right to set up and depose a high-priest at pleasure. This case was a peculiar one. A highpriest who had repeatedly conspired against the anointed of Jehovah, had thereby become incapable of filling his office, and, strictly speaking, deserved death.— is an addition of the narrator, not the intention of Solomon; it is the iva πпpon of the New Testament. The divine threatenings upon Eli's house, from which Abiathar was (through Ithamar) descended, were now fulfilled; for when Saul slew the priests, Abiathar alone, of all his house, escaped (1 Sam. xxii. 20). With his deposition the hereditary high-priesthood passed over to Eleazar's house, to which Zadok belonged (Numb. xxv. 13; 1 Chron. xxiv. 5-6).

46

Vers. 28-35. Then tidings came to Joab, &c. The parenthesis means that Joab, who was formerly such a decided enemy of Absalom, who promised much more than his brother, had twice conspired with the pretender, Adonijah, and now feared for his own life, as he heard of his death, and of Abiathar's punishment. All old translations, except the Chaldee, have Solomon instead of Absalom," and Ewald and Thenius declare the former to be the right reading; this, however, is not sustained by any Hebrew MS., and would, besides, make the sentence superfluous; for when Joab was on Adonijah's side, it follows of course that he was not on that of Solomon.-If Joab, who had been unpunished for his share in the first conspiracy, had felt free from all share in the second, he would not have fled to a place of refuge (chap. i. 50).-The Sept. adds, before Solomon's words, ver. 29: "What has happened to thee, that thou hast fled to the altar? And Joab said: I was afraid of thee, and have fled to Lord." Surely this is only a gloss; but it explains the passage. When Joab saw that Benaiah did not venture to kill him at the altar, he defied him, either because he hoped that Solomon would not dare to give the order, or that if he did, he (Sol

for Shimei, &c., ver. 36. Vers. 36-46. And the king sent and called faction had made such repeated efforts to seize As Adonijah and his the helm of state, Solomon deemed it needful to keep a watch on all suspected persons. Now the restless Shimei was the principal of these; he was a close adherent of the house of Saul, and in order to keep him in sight, and test his obedience, a bitter foe of David's house. Solomon, therefore, ordered him to settle in Jerusalem, and to leave it only under penalty of death. The brook Kidron is scarcely named as the exact limit of his confinement (Ewald); but Shimei was not to cross it, because, in doing so, he went towards Bahurim, in his native district, where he had most influence (2 Sam. xix. 16 sq.).-Thy blood, &c.—the usual mode of the death sentence, Levit. xx. 9-16.— Shimei declared he was satisfied to observe the king's command, for he knew right well that according to the ideas of that time, no king, not even Solomon, need feel himself bound by the promise of his predecessor (2 Sam. xix. 23), (Ewald, Gesch. Isr., iii. s. 271).-The Philistine king Achish, of Gath (Josh. xiii. 3; 1 Sam. v. 8), may be the same who is mentioned in 1 Sam. xxi. 11; xxvii. 2; he must have certainly attained a great age; if so, Shimei, then, in spite of his solemn vow, not only left Jerusalem for his native place, not distant, but even went into the far-off land of the Philistines, thus giving proof of his disobedience and obstinacy. Solomon now reproaches him with his old crime, and says to him: thy measure is full; the Lord has turned thy curse into a blessing, as David hoped (2 Sam. xvi. 12).—The Vulgate, Thenius, Bunsen, and others place the concluding sentence of ver. 46 at the commencement of chap. iii.: "and when the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon, he made affinity," &c.; it seems, however, to refer back to ver. 12, and in the manner of Semitic histories, as Keil remarks, concludes the whole section of Solomon's throne-ascension. Thus the kingdom was estab lished in the hand of Solomon, i. e., under him.

HISTORICAL AND ETHICAL.

1. The repeated attempt of Adonijah to gain the throne throws real light on his character. Though his enterprise came to a lamentable and disgrace. ful end, he immediately began to concoct new plans in spite of the favor and the warning he had received. As he once sought to obtain his purpose by collecting chariots, horsemen, and soldiers,

through making fortified places, in short, by grand | low this custom, but showed forgiveness and gen and showy preparations, he now pursued the op- erosity; in fact, he avoided all persecution of posite plan of fawning and artifice. He steals Adonijah's partisans. Only when Adonijah, conalone to Bath-sheba, placing his hopes on wo- trary to his word, and notwithstanding his humble man's influence. When she is astonished at his homage (chap. i. 51), again appeared as pretender visit, he utters the most peaceful sentiments, acts to the throne, and sought to reach his end by deas one deeply disappointed, but now humbly and ceit and hypocrisy, did he order the affixed punpiously resigned to God's will, and as an unhappy ishment. He had allowed Abiathar, too, to go unlover. If anything deserves the name of a "ha- punished at first, which scarcely any other eastern rem intrigue," through which, according to Dunc-prince would have done. But when the repeated ker, Solomon came to the throne (see above), it is Adonijah's device. He could not have shown more clearly that he was not the chosen of Jehovah (Deut. xvii. 15). What would have become of the kingdom which David had at last brought to tranquillity and its proper position, if a man like Adonijah had succeeded him?

2. Adonijah and his faction show the truth of what is often found, namely, that revolutionary men are not discouraged by the failure of their plans, and even disgraceful defeat, but they always brood over the means of attaining their ambitious views and gratifying their thirst for power. Pardon and forbearance do not change them, but generally harden and embolden them. If they do not succeed by open force, they choose deceitful ways, notwithstanding all the promises they may have given; and they feign submission until they think their opportunity has arrived. Every one, however, to whom God has confided the government, should hear the words of David to Solomon (chap. ii. 2): "be thou strong, therefore, and show thyself a man!" for weakness is, in this respect, sin against God and man. The old Wurtemburg summaries say: "let authorities learn from Solomon to punish such crimes severely, if they wish to have a happy, peaceful, and lasting reign. If they wink at such things, God's anger and punishments come down on them, on their land and people."

attempt of Adonijah to seize the kingdom was discovered, Abiathar could no longer be passed over. Yet instead of inflicting death on him, he deprived him of his influential office, and let him live at liberty on his estate, on account of his former good behavior. Here was no severity, but gratitude, kindness, and generosity. Joab was the most formidable opponent, because of his position at the head of the entire army, and his well-known military roughness and unscrupulousness; he was also unpunished after Adonijah's first attempt, and the last was certainly not planned without his consent, but more likely, as some suppose, originated by him. The fact that he instantly fled to the horns of the altar, on hearing of Adonijah's death, shows that he knew himself to have deserved death. Besides this, the guilt of a double murder rested on him, and should be washed out. "When this was superadded," says Ewald (s. 271), "Solomon did not venture to show him any further grace," and adds in the note with great truth: "A superficial observer alone can charge Solomon with needless cruelty here." Finally, with regard to Shimei, nothing was more natural than that Solomon, in the circumstances attending the beginning of his reign, should have kept especial guard over such a restless, suspected person, who one day cursed the king, calling him a bloody man, and the next fawned upon and flattered him, and who be sides was not without partisans (2 Sam. xvi. 7, comp. with xix. 16-20). Shimei was himself quite content with his confinement to Jerusalem, and Solomon let He first prom-him live there "many days" (ver. 38), placing his fate in his own hand. After three years (not before), (ver. 39), when Shimei broke his solemn. promise, what his king had threatened him with upon oath came upon him. "Surely, every one must at that time have seen in such fatal oblivion of the oath which the old arch-traitor had sworn against David, a divine sign, that that old sin still rested on him and that he must be punished; otherwise he would not have acted with such defiance of God and with such madness. Solomon had him also executed, evidently not out of revenge nor any other passion, but from the belief that the last of those who had sinned greatly against David, should fall under divine Providence" (Ewald, s. 272). How weak and forgetful of his word would the king have seemed to all the people if he had let Shimei now go free, particularly with the notions then entertained about a king! (Prov. xvi. 12–15; xx. 2, 26). It is worthy of remark that the settlement of Shimei at Jerusalem was coincident with Solomon's elevation to the throne; that his punish ment did not at once follow that of Adonijah and Joab, but was three years later. We cannot therefore possibly reckon this among the "bloody deeds" with which Solomon is said to have begun his reign. The union of mildness and firmness, generosity and official justice, in the conduct of the young sovereign, must have deeply impressed the

3. Solomon's treatment of his foes, has often been called great cruelty, or at least extreme severity. "Solomon," says Duncker, "began his reign with bloody deeds.

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ised Adonijah he should be spared, then had him
slain by Benaiah. Joab fled to the sanctuary and
caught hold of the horns of the altar. Benaiah
trembled to stain the altar with blood, but Solo-
mon tells him to go and stab him there!
Benaiah also killed Shimei at Solomon's com-
mand." In reading this imperfect and detestable
view of the circumstances, we must remember
that there is not to be found in the forty years of
Solomon's reign, one single trace of barbarous tyr-
anny or cruelty, such as are here said to have
characterized him, though these qualities rather
strengthen than otherwise with age. We cannot
judge Solomon any more than David in the light
of the sermon on the mount, but should recollect
what the time and circumstances were. The vital
point was to establish the kingdom, and in order
to avert the dangers that threatened it, "every
firm and sagacious ruler had to act so, for the
artificial means now used in similar cases, for in-
stance, imprisonment for life, were wholly un-
known" (Ewald). As to Adonijah, the whole
East knew but one punishment for such plans as
he cherished, viz., death. Had his enterprise
succeeded he would doubtless (see above, on chap.
i. 11) have destroyed Solomon and his principal
adherents, in accordance with the usual practice
hitherto. Solomon, on the contrary, did not fol-

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