UTN uW Translation Notes:

1 Kings 1 General Notes

Structure and formatting

1. David dies and Solomon begins to reign (1:1–2:46) * Abishag begins to take care of King David (1:1–4) * Adonijah claims to be the next king (1:5–10) * Nathan advises Bathsheba on how to respond (1:11–14) * Bathsheba and Nathan inform King David about Adonijah (1:15–27) * King David responds by appointing Solomon as the next king (1:28–37) * Solomon is proclaimed as the next king (1:38–40) * Jonathan informs Adonijah, Joab, and the people with them about Solomon (1:41–48) * Solomon has mercy on Adonijah (1:49–53)

Special Concepts in this Chapter

The next king

It was customary in this culture for a king, when he became old or died, to be succeeded as king by one of his sons. King David had many sons with many different wives, and he had not indicated which son would be king after him. So, Adonijah, one of the oldest sons, decided that he wanted to be king. He invited many important people to a feast, and they all agreed that he should be the next king. However, some other important people went to King David and asked him to make Solomon, one of Adonijah’s younger brothers, the next king. When David agreed to do this, everyone who agreed that Adonijah should be the next king ran away and no longer supported him. Be sure that your readers understand that the narrative of this chapter is about who will be the next king after King David.

Important Figures of Speech in this Chapter

Symbolic actions

In this chapter, people perform several different kinds of actions that had special significance in their culture. When someone sits on a throne, it indicates that this person has power and authority. When people bow or prostrate themselves before someone else, it indicates that they are honoring and giving respect to that person. When someone is anointed with oil, it indicates that this person is being commissioned to accomplish a specific task or fill a specific role. If the significance of these actions would be misunderstood in your culture, you state their meaning explicitly in your translation. See the notes on the verses that describe these actions for translation options. (See: translate-symaction)

Other Possible Translation Difficulties in this Chapter

Singular and plural forms of “you”

Most of the forms of “you” in this chapter appear in conversations with individual people. Because of this, most forms of “you” in this chapter are singular. You should assume forms of “you” are singular unless a note specifies that the form is plural. (See: figs-yousingular)