1 Kings 2:17
“He said, “Please speak to Solomon the king (for he will not tell you ‘no’), that he give me Abishag the Shunammite as wife.””
What does 1 Kings 2:17 mean?
Adonijah, David's son, is making a request through his mother Bathsheba to the newly crowned King Solomon. He's asking for Abishag, the young woman who cared for their aging father David in his final days, to become his wife. The phrase "he will not tell you 'no'" reveals Adonijah's strategy: he's banking on Solomon's respect for their mother and perhaps his own sense of mercy to grant this favor without resistance. What Adonijah doesn't realize is that marrying Abishag would be seen as a claim to David's legacy and authority, since royal concubines were considered part of a king's inheritance. What appears to be an innocent request is actually a political move, and Solomon will see through it immediately. This moment shows how easy it is to disguise ambition as something harmless, and how what looks reasonable on the surface can carry hidden meanings we don't always recognize.