1 Raja-raja 1:38-44

1:38 So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites, and the Pelethites ¹  went down, put Solomon on King David’s mule, and led him to Gihon. 1:39 Zadok the priest took a horn filled with olive oil ²  from the tent and poured it on ³  Solomon; the trumpet was blown and all the people declared, “Long live King Solomon!” 1:40 All the people followed him up, playing flutes and celebrating so loudly they made the ground shake. ⁴ 

1:41 Now Adonijah and all his guests heard the commotion just as they had finished eating. ⁵  When Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he asked, “Why is there such a noisy commotion in the city?” ⁶  1:42 As he was still speaking, Jonathan ⁷  son of Abiathar the priest arrived. Adonijah said, “Come in, for ⁸  an important man like you must be bringing good news.” ⁹  1:43 Jonathan replied ¹⁰  to Adonijah: “No! ¹¹  Our master ¹²  King David has made Solomon king. 1:44 The king sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites, and the Pelethites and they put him on the king’s mule.

[1:38]  ¹ sn The Kerethites and Pelethites were members of David’s royal guard (see 2 Sam 8:18). The Kerethites may have been descendants of an ethnic group originating in Crete.

[1:39]  ² tn Heb “the horn of oil.” This has been specified as olive oil in the translation for clarity.

[1:39]  sn A horn filled with oil. An animal’s horn was used as an oil flask in the anointing ceremony.

[1:39]  ³ tn Or “anointed.”

[1:40]  ⁴ tn Heb “and all the people went up after him, and the people were playing flutes and rejoicing with great joy and the ground split open at the sound of them.” The verb בָּקַע (baqa’, “to split open”), which elsewhere describes the effects of an earthquake, is obviously here an exaggeration for the sake of emphasis.

[1:41]  ⁵ tn Heb “And Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard, now they had finished eating.”

[1:41]  ⁶ tn Heb “Why is the city’s sound noisy?”

[1:42]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew text has “look” at this point. The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh), “look draws attention to Jonathan’s arrival and invites the audience to view the scene through the eyes of the participants.

[1:42]  ⁸ tn Or “surely.”

[1:42]  ⁹ tn Heb “you are a man of strength [or “ability”] and you bring a message [that is] good.” Another option is to understand the phrase אִישׁ חַיִל (’ish khayil) in the sense of “a worthy man,” that is “loyal.” See also 1 Kgs 1:52 and HALOT 311 s.v. חַיִל.

[1:43]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “answered and said.”

[1:43]  ¹¹ tn For a similar use of אֲבָל (’aval), see Gen 17:19, where God rejects Abraham’s proposal and offers an alternative.

[1:43]  ¹² tn The plural form is used in the Hebrew text to indicate honor and authority.