1 Kings 1:2

1 Kings 1:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat.
• New International Version (NIV)So his attendants said to him, “Let us look for a young virgin to serve the king and take care of him. She can lie beside him so that our lord the king may keep warm.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)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."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore his servants said to him, “Let a young woman, a virgin, be sought for our lord the king, and let her stand before the king, and let her care for him; and let her lie in your bosom, that our lord the king may be warm.”

Context of 1 Kings 1:2

1Now king David was old and advanced in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he could not get warm. Therefore his servants said to him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get warm. 3So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the land of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. 4And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not.

1 Kings 1:2 word by word

וַיֹּ֧אמְרוּ ל֣וֹ עֲבָדָ֗יו יְבַקְשׁ֞וּ לַאדֹנִ֤י הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ נַעֲרָ֣ה בְתוּלָ֔ה וְעָֽמְדָה֙ לִפְנֵ֣י הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ וּתְהִי־ל֖וֹ סֹכֶ֑נֶת וְשָׁכְבָ֣ה בְחֵיקֶ֔ךָ וְחַ֖ם לַאדֹנִ֥י הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃Read the interlinear

• servantsעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• soughtבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
• lordאָדוֹן'âdôn 'âdôn · lordH113
• kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• youngנַעֲרָהna‛ărâh · maidenH5291
• virginבְּתוּלָהbethûlâh · virginH1330
• standעָמַד‛âmad · to stand: standH5975
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• cherishסָכַןsâkan · be usefulH5532
• lieשָׁכַבshâkab · to lie down: lay downH7901
• bosomחֵיקchêyq chêq chôq · bosom: embraceH2436
• warmחָמַםchâmam · to warmH2552

Cross-references for 1 Kings 1:2

• Deuteronomy 10:8At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister to him, and to bless in his name, to this day.
• 1 Samuel 16:21And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer.
• 2 Chronicles 29:11My sons, be not now negligent: for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister to him, and burn incense.
• Genesis 16:5And Sarai said to Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.
• Deuteronomy 13:6If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, who is as thy own soul, shall entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;
• 2 Samuel 12:3But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it fed of his own food, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was to him as a daughter.
• Micah 7:5Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.
• Ecclesiastes 4:11Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone ?

Commentaries on 1 Kings 1:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Let there be sought - a young virgin - This was the best remedy which in his state could be prescribed. His nearly exhausted frame would infallibly absorb from her young and healthy body an additional portion of animal heat, and consequently trim and revive the flame of animal life. This is properly, as I have elsewhere expressed it, Friar Bacon's secret for the cure of old age.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Since the Jewish law allowed polygamy, David‘s conduct in following - what has been said to have been - physician‘s advice, was blameless.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 1:2

• Abishag
• Benaiah
• David
• Diplomacy

In the dictionaries

• Account
• Assuredly
• Cherish
• Solomon
• Abishag
• Adonijah
• Chronicles, Books of
• En-Rogel
• Kings, Books of
• Nathan (1)

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