1 Kings 1:1

1 Kings 1:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat.
• New International Version (NIV)When King David was very old, he could not keep warm even when they put covers over him.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Now King David was old and advanced in years. And although they covered him with clothes, he could not get warm.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now King David was old, advanced in years; and they put covers on him, but he could not get warm.

Context of 1 Kings 1:1

King David was now a very old man. He could not stay warm, even when people put blankets over him. 2So his servants said to him, ‘We will look for a young woman who has never had sex, for you, our master the king. She can take care of you and she can be your nurse. She can also sleep beside you, so that our master the king will be warm.’ 3So they looked through all the land of Israel for a beautiful young woman. They chose Abishag, who lived in Shunem. They brought her to the king.

1 Kings 1:1 word by word

וְהַמֶּ֤לֶךְ דָּוִד֙ זָקֵ֔ן בָּ֖א בַּיָּמִ֑ים וַיְכַסֻּ֙הוּ֙ בַּבְּגָדִ֔ים וְלֹ֥א יִחַ֖ם לֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Now kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• Davidדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
• was oldזָקֵןzâqên · be oldH2204
• strickenבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): advancedH935
• in yearsיוֹםyôm · day: yearH3117
• and they coveredכָּסָהkâsâh · to coverH3680
• him with clothesבֶּ֫גֶדbeged · garmentH899
• but he gat no heatיָחַםyâcham · to conceiveH3179

Cross-references for 1 Kings 1:1

• 2 Samuel 5:4David was 30 years old when he became king. He ruled Israel as king for 40 years.
• 1 Chronicles 23:1David was old and his life had nearly finished. He chose his son Solomon to rule over Israel as king.
• 1 Chronicles 29:27He had ruled Israel for 40 years. He ruled for seven years in Hebron. Then he ruled for 33 years in Jerusalem.
• Psalms 90:10The number of our days make 70 years, or maybe 80 years if we are strong enough. But even in the best years of our lives, we have trouble and pain. Our lives quickly pass, and we hurry towards death.
• Genesis 18:11Abraham and Sarah were now very old. Sarah was past the age when she could give birth to a child.
• Genesis 24:1Abraham was now a very old man. The Lord had blessed him in every way.
• Joshua 23:1Joshua became very old. The Lord had let the Israelite people live safely for many years. The other nations who lived near them did not attack them.
• Luke 1:7But they had no children. Elizabeth could not give birth and they were both getting old.

Commentaries on 1 Kings 1:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Now King David was old - He was probably now about sixty-nine years of age. He was thirty years old when he began to reign, reigned forty, and died in the seventieth year of his age, 2 Samuel 5:4, and 1 Kings 2:11; and the transactions mentioned here are supposed to have taken place about a year before his death. But he gat no heat - Sixty-nine was not an advanced age; but David had been exhausted with various fatigues, and especially by family…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1Now - Rather, “and.” The conjunction has here, probably, the same sort of connecting force which it has at the opening of Joshua, Judges, 1Samuel, etc., and implies that the historian regards his work as a continuation of a preceding history. King David - The expression “king David,” instead of the simpler “David,” is characteristic of the writer of Kings. (See the introduction to the Book of Kings) The phrase is comparatively rare in Chronicles and…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The history now before us accounts for the affairs of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, yet with special regard to the kingdom of God among them; for it is a sacred history. It is earlier as to time, teaches much more, and is more interesting than any common histories. David's declining age. (1-4) Adonijah aspires to the throne. (5-10) David makes Solomon king. (11-31) Solomon is anointed king, and Adonijah's usurpation stopped. (32-53) Verses 1-4 We have…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-3David was seventy years old (2 Samuel 5:4–5). He was weak, likely due to years of war and stress. He needed a young person to provide warmth. This was a medical remedy also mentioned in Josephus’s Antiquities and by the Greek doctor Galen. David's weakening strength encouraged Adonijah to try to make himself king.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-4Commentary by Robert Jamieson 1Ki 1:1-4. Abishag Cherishes David in His Extreme Age. 1-2. Now king David was old--He was in the seventieth year of his age (2Sa 5:4, 5). But the wear and tear of a military life, bodily fatigue, and mental care, had prematurely, if we may say it, exhausted the energies of David's strong constitution (1Sa 16:12). In modern Palestine and Egypt the people, owing to the heat of the climate, sleep each in a "separate" bed. They…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Kings 1:1

• Abishag
• David
• Diplomacy

In the dictionaries

• David
• Account
• Assuredly
• Cherish
• Solomon
• Abishag
• Adonijah
• Chronicles, Books of
• En-Rogel
• Kings, Books of

Commentaries on 1 Kings 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings