1 Kings 2:17

 1 Kings 2:17

And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king, (for he will not say thee nay,) that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife.

a. ASV: And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king (for he will not say thee nay), that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife.  [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

b. YLT: And he saith, 'Speak, I pray thee, to Solomon the king, for he doth not turn back thy face, and he doth give to me Abishag the Shunammite for a wife.' [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. Classic Amplified: And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king, (for he will not say thee nay,) that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife.  [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. The Rubin Edition, The Early Prophets, 1 & 2 Kings, Rabbinic Commentary: He said, “Please speak to Solomon, for he will not turn you away, that he give me Abishag the Shunnamite as wife.” [The ArtScroll Series/Rubin Edition THE PROPHETS: KINGS Copyright 2006 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ltd.]

f. ESV: And he said, “Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.” [Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

1. “ And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king, (for he will not say thee nay,)...”

a. [And he] said [Strong: 559 ʼâmar, aw-mar'; a primitive root; to say (used with great latitude):—answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, × desire, determine, × expressly, × indeed, × intend, name, × plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), × still, × suppose, talk, tell, term, × that is, × think, use (speech), utter, × verily, × yet.]

b. Speak [Strong: 559 ʼâmar, aw-mar'; a primitive root; to say (used with great latitude):—answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, × desire, determine, × expressly, × indeed, × intend, name, × plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), × still, × suppose, talk, tell, term, × that is, × think, use (speech), utter, × verily, × yet.]

c. [I] pray thee [Strong: 4994 nâʼ, naw; a primitive particle of incitement and entreaty, which may usually be rendered; 'I pray', 'now', or 'then'; added mostly to verbs (in the Imperative or Future), or to interjections, occasionally to an adverb or conjunction:—I beseech (pray) thee (you), go to, now, oh.]

d. [unto] Solomon [Strong: 8010 Shᵉlômôh, shel-o-mo'; from H7965; peaceful; Shelomah, David's successor:—Solomon.]

e. [the] king [Strong: 4428 melek, meh'-lek; from H4427; a king:—king, royal.]

f. for [Strong: 3588 kîy, kee; a primitive particle (the full form of the prepositional prefix) indicating causal relations of all kinds, antecedent or consequent; (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed:—and, (forasmuch, inasmuch, where-) as, assured(-ly), but, certainly, doubtless, else, even, except, for, how, (because, in, so, than) that, nevertheless, now, rightly, seeing, since, surely, then, therefore, (al-) though, till, truly, until, when, whether, while, whom, yea, yet.]

g. [he will] not [Strong: 3808 lôʼ, lo; or לוֹא lôwʼ; or לֹה lôh; (Deuteronomy 3:11), a primitive particle; + not (the simple or abstract negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles:—× before, + or else, ere, + except, ig(-norant), much, less, nay, neither, never, no((-ne), -r, (-thing)), (× as though...,(can-), for) not (out of), of nought, otherwise, out of, + surely, + as truly as, + of a truth, + verily, for want, + whether, without.]

h. say thee nay [Strong: 7725 shûwb, shoob; a primitive root; to turn back (hence, away) transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively (not necessarily with the idea of return to the starting point); generally to retreat; often adverbial, again:—((break, build, circumcise, dig, do anything, do evil, feed, lay down, lie down, lodge, make, rejoice, send, take, weep)) × again, (cause to) answer ( again), × in any case (wise), × at all, averse, bring (again, back, home again), call (to mind), carry again (back), cease, × certainly, come again (back), × consider, continually, convert, deliver (again), deny, draw back, fetch home again, × fro, get (oneself) (back) again, × give (again), go again (back, home), (go) out, hinder, let, (see) more, × needs, be past, × pay, pervert, pull in again, put (again, up again), recall, recompense, recover, refresh, relieve, render (again), requite, rescue, restore, retrieve, (cause to, make to) return, reverse, reward, say nay, send back, set again, slide back, still, × surely, take back (off), (cause to, make to) turn (again, self again, away, back, back again, backward, from, off), withdraw.]

i. [Strong: 853 853 'eth ayth apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely):--(as such unrepresented in English).]

j. [Strong: 6440 pânîym, paw-neem'; plural (but always as singular) of an unused noun פָּנֶה pâneh; from H6437); the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.):— accept, a-(be-) fore(-time), against, anger, × as (long as), at, battle, because (of), beseech, countenance, edge, employ, endure, enquire, face, favour, fear of, for, forefront(-part), form(-er time, -ward), from, front, heaviness, × him(-self), honourable, impudent, in, it, look(-eth) (-s), × me, meet, × more than, mouth, of, off, (of) old (time), × on, open, out of, over against, the partial, person, please, presence, prospect, was purposed, by reason of, regard, right forth, serve, × shewbread, sight, state, straight, street, × thee, × them(-selves), through ( -out), till, time(-s) past, (un-) to(-ward), upon, upside ( down), with(-in, -stand), × ye, × you.]

2. “...that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife.”

a. [that he] give [Strong: 5414 nâthan, naw-than'; a primitive root; to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etc.):—add, apply, appoint, ascribe, assign, × avenge, × be (healed), bestow, bring (forth, hither), cast, cause, charge, come, commit, consider, count, cry, deliver (up), direct, distribute, do, × doubtless, × without fail, fasten, frame, × get, give (forth, over, up), grant, hang (up), × have, × indeed, lay (unto charge, up), (give) leave, lend, let (out), lie, lift up, make, O that, occupy, offer, ordain, pay, perform, place, pour, print, × pull, put (forth), recompense, render, requite, restore, send (out), set (forth), shew, shoot forth (up), sing, slander, strike, (sub-) mit, suffer, × surely, × take, thrust, trade, turn, utter, weep, willingly, withdraw, would (to) God, yield.]

b. me [Strong: 589 ʼănîy, an-ee'; contracted from H595; I:—I, (as for) me, mine, myself, we, × which, × who.]

c. [Strong: 853 853 'eth ayth apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely):--(as such unrepresented in English).]

d. Abishag [Strong: 49 ʼĂbîyshag, ab-ee-shag'; from H1 and H7686; father of error (i.e. blundering); Abishag, a concubine of David:—Abishag.]

e. [the] Shunnamite [Strong: 49 Shûwnammîyth, shoo-nam-meeth'; patrial from H7766; a Shunammitess, or female inhabitant of Shunem:—Shunamite.]

f. [to] wife [Strong: 802 ʼishshâh, ish-shaw'; feminine of H376 or H582; irregular plural, נָשִׁים nâshîym;(used in the same wide sense as H582) a woman:—(adulter) ess, each, every, female, × many, none, one, together, wife, woman. Often unexpressed in English.]

1). The Rubin Edition, The Early Prophets, 1 & 2 Kings, Rabbinic Commentary: David had never married Abishag, so the prohibitions against marrying one’s stepmother (Leviticus 18:8) or marrying the widow of a king (Sanhedrin 18a) did not apply. Neverthe less, it is forbidden for a commoner to take the king’s scepter or any other personal object for his own use.Since Abishag had served David, the same prohibition applied to her, so that Adonijah could not marry her, unless he too was a king (Sanhedrin 22a). Thus, his request to be allowed to marry Abishag was tantamount to saying that he should have the status of a king (Rashi, Radak). This explains his opening remarks (1 Kings 2:15), that his position as the oldest, and as the choice of the people shoul earn him recognition as royalty. Abarbanel comments that it was this that convinced Solomon that Adonijah still had designs on the throne.    [The ArtScroll Series/Rubin Edition THE PROPHETS: KINGS Copyright 2006 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ltd.]