Lives of Scripture
Adonijah (M)
First named in 2 Samuel 3:4
Adonijah, David's fourth son and, after Absalom's death, the presumed heir by age, declared himself king while David was still alive but old and failing, gathering chariots, horsemen, and the support of Joab and the priest Abiathar for a public coronation feast (1 Kings 1:5-10). Nathan the prophet and Bathsheba moved quickly, reminding David of his earlier promise that Solomon would reign, and David immediately had Solomon anointed king at Gihon, undercutting Adonijah's claim before it could take hold (1:11-40). Hearing the trumpets and celebration for Solomon, Adonijah's guests scattered in fear, and Adonijah himself fled to the altar, grasping its horns for sanctuary until Solomon swore to spare him if he proved himself "a worthy man" (1:49-53). Solomon released him to go home in peace. But after David's death, Adonijah asked Bathsheba to request that Solomon give him Abishag, David's attendant in his final days, as a wife -- a request Solomon read as a renewed and calculated claim to the throne, since taking a former king's concubine carried royal implications in the ancient Near East (2:13-22; compare Absalom's similar act in 2 Samuel 16:22). Solomon had him executed immediately for it, closing out a life defined by grasping prematurely for a throne that was never his to take (1 Kings 2:23-25).
Thought for Today
Adonijah crowned himself king before his father had chosen an heir, then ran for the altar in terror the moment his scheme collapsed. We don't have to seize what God hasn't given us; Jesus' throne was appointed by the Father from the start, not grabbed early out of fear of missing it.
References: 2 Samuel 3:4; 1 Kings 1:5-51; 1 Kings 2:13-28; 1 Chronicles 3:2
Genealogy
Connections
- David (M) — begot → Adonijah (M)
- Haggith (F) — bore → Adonijah (M)
- Bathsheba (F) — blocked his bid for the throne → Adonijah (M)
When Adonijah declared himself king, Bathsheba reminded David of his promise that Solomon would reign, securing Solomon's coronation before Adonijah's could take hold; later she carried Adonijah's request for Abishag to Solomon, who read it as a renewed claim to the throne and had him executed.
1 Kings 1:11-31; 1 Kings 2:13-25
- Adonijah (M) ↔ tried to seize the throne, then was executed ↔ Solomon (M)
Adonijah declared himself king while David was still alive, but Nathan and Bathsheba moved quickly to have Solomon anointed instead, undercutting his claim; Solomon spared him once, but had him executed after he later asked for David's attendant Abishag as a wife, a request read as a renewed claim to the throne.
1 Kings 1:5-53; 1 Kings 2:13-25
- Adonijah (M) ↔ recruited him for his bid for the throne ↔ Abiathar (M)
Adonijah gathered the support of Joab and the priest Abiathar for his attempt to make himself king while David lay dying, holding a public coronation feast with their backing; when Solomon was anointed instead, Abiathar's involvement cost him his priesthood once Solomon secured the throne.
1 Kings 1:5-10; 1 Kings 1:19; 1 Kings 2:26-27