Abishag

She said to him, Speak.

And he said, Please ask King Solomon, he will not refuse you, to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.

Bathsheba said, Very well, I will speak for you to the king.

So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah.

Do not refuse me.

And the king said to her, Make your request, my mother, for I will not refuse you.

She said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as his wife.

King Solomon answered his mother, And why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, for he is my older brother, and on his side are Abiathar the priest and Joab the son of Zeruiah.

Therefore his servants said to him, "Let a young woman be sought for my lord the king, and let her wait on the king and be in his service.

Let her lie in your arms, that my lord the king may be warm." So they sought for a beautiful young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.

The young woman was very beautiful, and she was of service to the king and attended to him; but the king knew her not.

Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, "I will be king." And he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.

Then Nathan said to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, "Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king, and David our lord does not know it? Now therefore, come, let me give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon.

Go in at once to King David, and say to him, 'Did you not, my lord the king, swear to your servant, saying, "Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne"? Why then is Adonijah king?' Then while you are still speaking with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm your words." So Bathsheba went to the king in his chamber.

Now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was attending to the king.

Bathsheba bowed and paid homage to the king, and the king said, "What do you desire?" She said to him, "My lord, you swore to your servant by the Lord your God, saying, 'Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.' And now, behold, Adonijah is king, although you, my lord the king, do not know it.

Let her lie in your arms, that my lord the king may be warm.

So they sought for a beautiful young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.

The young woman was very beautiful, and she was of service to the king and attended to him, but the king knew her not.

Now Adonijah the son of Hagith exalted himself, saying, I will be the king.

Go in at once to king David, and say to him, Did you not, my lord the king, swear to your servant, saying, Solomon, your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne? Why then is Adonijah king? Then while you are still speaking with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm your words.

So Bathsheba went to the king in his chamber.

Now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was attending to the king.

Bathsheba bowed and paid homage to the king.

The king was very old.

Abishag the Shunammite was attending the king, Bathsheba bowed and did obeisance to the king, and the king said, What do you wish? She said to him, My lord, you swore to your servant by the Lord your God, saying, Your son Solomon shall succeed me as king, and he shall sit on my throne.

But now suddenly Adonijah has become king, though you, my lord the king, do not know it.

He has sacrificed oxen, fatted cattle, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the children of the king, the priest Abiathar, and Joab the commander of the army, but your servant Solomon he has not invited.

He replied, Please speak to King Solomon, since he won't turn you down.

Let him give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife.

Very well, Bathsheba replied, I will speak to the king for you.

So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him about Adonijah.

Then she said, I have just one small request of you, don't turn me down.

Go ahead and ask, mother, the king replied, for I won't turn you down.

So she said, let Abishag the Shunammite be given to your brother Adonijah as a wife.

King Solomon answered his mother, And now as the Lord lives, the one who established me, seated me on the throne of my father David, and made me a dynasty as he promised.

And he makes a request that sounds sort of humble.

He asks for her to go to Shlomo on his behalf and request one thing, that he be given Avishag the Shunammite, Avishag the Shunammite, the young woman who had cared for King David in his old age as a wife.

And Bathsheba agrees to bring it to

her son.

Now, Jeremy, before we get to Shlomo's reaction, which is explosive, we have to understand why this small request is anything but small.

Because on the surface, it looks like a lonely man asking for a wife.

But Avishag was no ordinary woman.

She had belonged to the household of the king.