Chapter 1.
HOW SOLOMON, WHEN HE HAD RECEIVED THE KINGDOM TOOK OFF HIS
ENEMIES.FJAJ 8.3
1. WE have already treated of David, and his virtue, and of the benefits
he was the author of to his countrymen; of his wars also and battles, which
he managed with success, and then died an old man, in the foregoing book.
And when Solomon his son, who was but a youth in age, had taken the kingdom,
and whom David had declared, while he was alive, the lord of that people,
according to God's will; when he sat upon the throne, the whole body of
the people made joyful acclamations to him, as is usual at the beginning
of a reign; and wished that all his affairs might come to a blessed conclusion;
and that he might arrive at a great age, and at the most happy state of
affairs possible.FJAJ 8.4
2. But Adonijah, who, while his father was living, attempted to gain
possession of the government, came to the king's mother Bathsheba, and
saluted her with great civility; and when she asked him, whether he came
to her as desiring her assistance in any thing or not, and bade him tell
her if that were the case, for that she would cheerfully afford it him;
he began to say, that she knew herself that the kingdom was his, both
on account of his elder age, and of the disposition of the multitude, and
that yet it was transferred to Solomon her son, according to the will of
God
He also said that he was contented to be a servant under him, and
was pleased with the present settlement; but he desired her to be a means
of obtaining a favor from his brother to him, and to persuade him to bestow
on him in marriage Abishag, who had indeed slept by his father, but, because
his father was too old, he did not lie with her, and she was still a virgin.
So Bathsheba promised him to afford him her assistance very earnestly,
and to bring this marriage about, because the king would be willing to
gratify him in such a thing, and because she would press it to him very
earnestly
Accordingly he went away in hopes of succeeding in this match.
So Solomon's mother went presently to her son, to speak to him about what
she had promised, upon Adonijah's supplication to her
And when her son
came forward to meet her, and embraced her, and when he had brought her
into the house where his royal throne was set, he sat thereon, and bid
them set another throne on the right hand for his mother
When Bathsheba
was set down, she said, "O my son, grant me one request that
I desire of thee, and do not any thing to me that is disagreeable or ungrateful,
which thou wilt do if thou deniest me." And when Solomon bid her to
lay her commands upon him, because it was agreeable to his duty to grant
her every thing she should ask, and complained that she did not
at first begin her discourse with a firm expectation of obtaining what
she desired, but had some suspicion of a denial, she entreated him to grant
that his brother Adonijah might marry Abishag.FJAJ 8.5
3. But the king was greatly offended at these words, and sent away his
mother, and said that Adonijah aimed at great things; and that he wondered
that she did not desire him to yield up the kingdom to him, as to his elder
brother, since she desired that he might marry Abishag; and that he had
potent friends, Joab the captain of the host, and Abiathar the priest.
So he called for Benaiah, the captain of the guards, and ordered him to
slay his brother Adonijah
He also called for Abiathar the priest, and
said to him, "I will not put thee to death because of those other
hardships which thou hast endured with my father, and because of the ark
which thou hast borne along with him; but I inflict this following punishment
upon thee, because thou wast among Adonijah's followers, and wast of his
party
Do not thou continue here, nor come any more into my sight, but
go to thine own town, and live on thy own fields, and there abide all thy
life; for thou hast offended so greatly, that it is not just that thou
shouldst retain thy dignity any longer." For the forementioned cause,
therefore, it was that the house of Ithamar was deprived of the sacerdotal
dignity, as God had foretold to Eli, the grandfather of Abiathar
So it
was transferred to the family of Phineas, to Zadok
Now those that were
of the family of Phineas, but lived privately during the time that the
high priesthood was transferred to the house of Ithamar, (of which family
Eli was the first that received it,)were these that follow: Bukki, the
son of Abishua the high priest; his son was Joatham; Joatham's son was
Meraioth; Meraioth's son was Arophseus; Aropheus's son was Ahitub; and
Ahitub's son was Zadok, who was first made high priest in the reign of
David.FJAJ 8.6
4. Now when Joab the captain of the host heard of the slaughter of Adonijah,
he was greatly afraid, for he was a greater friend to him than to Solomon;
and suspecting, not without reason, that he was in danger, on account of
his favor to Adonijah, he fled to the altar, and supposed he might procure
safety thereby to himself, because of the king's piety towards God
But
when some told the king what Joab's supposal was, he sent Benaiah, and
commanded him to raise him up from the altar, and bring him to the judgment-seat,
in order to make his defense
However, Joab said he would not leave the
altar, but would die there rather than in another place
And when Benaiah
had reported his answer to the king, Solomon commanded him to cut off his
head there (1) This
execution upon Joab, as a murderer, by slaying him, even when he had taken
sanctuary at God's altar, is perfectly agreeable to the law of Moses, which
enjoins, that "if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbor to slay
him with guile, thou shalt take him from mine altar that he die,"
Exodus 21:14.
and let him take that as a punishment for those two captains of the host
whom he had wickedly slain, and to bury his body, that his sins might
never leave his family, but that himself and his father, by Joab's death,
might be guiltless
And when Benaiah had done what he was commanded to
do, he was himself appointed to be captain of the whole army
The king
also made Zadok to be alone the high priest, in the room of Abiathar, whom
he had removed.FJAJ 8.7
5. But as to Shimei, Solomon commanded that he should build him a house,
and stay at Jerusalem, and attend upon him, and should not have authority
to go over the brook Cedron; and that if he disobeyed that command, death
should be his punishment
He also threatened him so terribly, that he compelled
him to take all oath that he would obey
Accordingly Shimei said that he
had reason to thank Solomon for giving him such an injunction; and added
an oath, that he would do as he bade him; and leaving his own country,
he made his abode in Jerusalem
But three years afterwards, when he heard
that two of his servants were run away from him, and were in Gath, he went
for his servants in haste; and when he was come back with them, the king
perceived it, and was much displeased that he had contemned his commands,
and, what was more, had no regard to the oaths he had sworn to God; so
he called him, and said to him, "Didst not thou swear never to leave
me, nor to go out of this city to another? Thou shalt not therefore escape
punishment for thy perjury, but I will punish thee, thou wicked wretch,
both for this crime, and for those wherewith thou didst abuse my father
when he was in his flight, that thou mayst know that wicked men gain nothing
at last, although they be not punished immediately upon their unjust practices;
but that in all the time wherein they think themselves secure, because
they have yet suffered nothing, their punishment increases, and is heavier
upon them, and that to a greater degree than if they had been punished
immediately upon the commission of their crimes." So Benaiah, on the
king's command, slew Shimei.FJAJ 8.8