1 Kings 1:38-40

B. THE ANOINTING OF SOLOMON 1:38-40

TRANSLATION

(38) So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites went down, and they caused Solomon to ride upon the mule of the king, and brought him to Gihon. (39) Now Zadok the priest had taken the horn of the oil from the tent, and he anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, May King Solomon live! (40) And all the people went up after him, and the people were piping with pipes and greatly rejoicing; and the earth rent with their sound.

COMMENTS

In short order Zadok, Nathan[99] and Benaiah organized the coronation processional. The Cherethites and Pelethitesthe royal palace guardprovided armed escort for the brief march to Gihon (1 Kings 1:38). These troops were of foreign extraction, probably Philistine. While the function of these soldiers is evident, the precise origin and meaning of the terms Cherethite and Pelethite are subject to dispute.

[99] The prophets from Samuel (1 Samuel 10:1; 1 Samuel 16:13) to Elisha (2 Kings 9:1-6) had a prominent part in designating and rejecting kings. Nathan thus conferred on Solomon the authority of prophetic designation.

At Gihon Zadok took a horn of the holy anointing oil which he secured from the tabernacle on Mt. Zion (2 Samuel 6:17) and ceremoniously poured it over the head of Solomon. The holy anointing oil had been compounded in the days of Moses of special ingredients (Exodus 30:23-25). It was preserved in the Tabernacle for just such occasions. Jewish tradition says this special oil lasted until the days of the Babylonian captivity. As the oil trickled down the bearded face of Solomon, the coronation trumpet sounded and the great throng which had been attracted by the processional shouted their approval of the transaction: May King Solomon live! (1 Kings 1:39). Solomon returned to Mt. Zion and the palace in triumph with hundreds, perhaps thousands, following behind singing and playing their pipes. The ground seemed to rumble as in an earthquake because of the noise generated by the jubilant throng (1 Kings 1:40).