And Bathsheba said, Well; I will speak for thee unto the king.

1 KINGS 2:18KJV
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1 Kings 2:18 (KJV)

What does 1 Kings 2:18 mean?

In 1 Kings 2:18, Bathsheba agrees to bring Adonijah’s request to King Solomon. Her answer puts her in the role of a go-between: Adonijah has asked her to speak to the king on his behalf.

Adonijah wants Abishag to become his wife, as his request in verse 17 makes clear. Bathsheba’s “Well” signals her agreement to speak; the king’s response comes later in the passage.

Why 1 Kings 2:18 matters

  • Bathsheba agrees to approach the king, not to grant the marriage herself. Her words, “I will speak for thee unto the king,” recognize Solomon as the person who must respond.
  • Adonijah chooses a family connection for his request. Solomon is Bathsheba’s son, while Adonijah is his half-brother; Adonijah has already told Bathsheba that Solomon will not refuse her (verse 17).
  • The request has consequences beyond a proposed marriage. In verse 22, Solomon treats the request for Abishag, who had attended his father David, as connected to a claim on the kingdom.

Where else these words appear

“Bathsheba” Hebrew H1339 · used in 11 verses

  • 2 Samuel 11:3 And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
  • 1 Kings 1:15 And Bathsheba went in unto the king into the chamber: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite ministered unto the king.
  • 1 Kings 1:31 Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever.