Introduction: A Book that Opens an Era
With God's help, we now begin Sefer Melachim. The previous book, Sefer Shmuel, closes an era: the era of David. Sefer Melachim is a book that opens an era: the era of Shlomo, followed by the building of the Beit HaMikdash, until at the end of the book we witness the exile of Am Yisrael from their land. With this Sefer Melachim concludes. Sefer Melachim was written by Yirmiyahu, as Chazal say: Yirmiyahu wrote his book and Sefer Melachim.
And our book opens specifically at the twilight of David's reign:
וְהַמֶּלֶךְ דָּוִד זָקֵן בָּא בַּיָּמִים וַיְכַסֻּהוּ בַּבְּגָדִים וְלֹא יִחַם לוֹ׃ - And King David was old, advanced in years, and they covered him with garments, but he could not get warm.
Here we need to reflect on several questions. First, what is the importance of this information? The king was old, he was cold, they brought him a young woman to warm him. Why does this concern us? What matters for us to know is that Adoniyah son of Chagit wanted to reign and that the kingship had been promised to Shlomo. Second, this whole matter of the twilight of David's reign should properly have concluded in Sefer Shmuel, while Sefer Melachim should have opened with Shlomo's reign. Why does the conclusion of Sefer Shmuel spill over into Sefer Melachim? And third, how does all this connect to the next pasuk, "וַאֲדֹנִיָּה בֶן־חַגִּית מִתְנַשֵּׂא לֵאמֹר אֲנִי אֶמְלֹךְ"? The connecting vav teaches that there is a link between the matters.
For each individual question one could give an answer, but we want to understand the whole picture. The Malbim always explains the matter as a whole; he does not give piecemeal answers, but rather an explanation of the entire matter. So too here.
Why He Could Not Get Warm
King David was then seventy years old. The plain meaning is that although he was only seventy, he had fought many wars, his strength was depleted, and old age came upon him prematurely. As a person ages, his natural warmth gradually diminishes. This is a reality we see with our own eyes: the eternal argument in the synagogue over the air conditioners, the young want strong cooling and the elderly come with blankets. A person grows old, and his body warmth leaves him.
But Chazal expound that there was something beyond this, for even an old man is warmed by garments, and with David we see that the garments did not help. Chazal say that this was on account of the sin of David cutting the corner of Shaul's robe. When he was in the cave, and after he came out while Shaul was pursuing him, David went out with the corner of Shaul's robe in his hand and said to him: here is the proof, I could have killed you, you were near me and there was but a step between you and death, I spared you, why do you pursue me? Even so, there was a flaw in his act, that he damaged the garment, and one who damages a garment ultimately does not benefit from its warmth.
The Ben Yehoyada explains what was so grave here: the corner of the robe is the place where the tzitzit hang, and by cutting the corner David caused Shaul to walk for one hour without tzitzit. He should have cut a different part of the robe and not the corner. The Radak brings an explanation that seems preferable to him: when David saw the angel with its hand raised and stretched out over Yerushalayim, it is written there that David was terrified and his body grew cold from fear of the angel, and because of that chill "they covered him with garments, but he could not get warm."
Why This Is Written Here: An Introduction to Adoniyah
The Malbim explains that this whole matter of David's chill and all that he goes through, until they bring him Avishag the Shunamite, is an introduction meant to explain to you why "Adoniyah son of Chagit exalted himself, saying, I will reign." All of these are the reasons that led Adoniyah to decide that he was the one who would take the kingship.
For anyone who thinks about it, Adoniyah is acting foolishly here. We already had someone in history who tried to rebel against David, Avshalom, and we saw how he fared and what became of him. Why on earth, Adoniyah, are you doing such a thing while your father is still alive? Do you have no patience? Wait, hold on until your father dies, and then take the kingship. What is more, he does this without David's knowledge, as we will see later: "And now, my lord the king, you did not know" - they concealed the matter from him. How does he try to bypass David and crown himself, when experience shows that such a path will not succeed?
Therefore the verse comes to teach that there were several reasons that encouraged Adoniyah. He said to himself: Avshalom did not act correctly, since Avshalom went out to reign while my father was still at the height of his strength. Who rebels against a king while he is at the peak of his power and holds firm to the kingship? The king will fight against him with all his might, even if it is his own son. In contrast, now his father is already lying in bed, sick. And not merely sick, where you might say tomorrow he will recover and return to his firmness, but rather that he had grown cold, his natural body heat had dropped. And that means there is no coming back from this. It is a matter of age; he will no longer emerge from this state, to the point that they need to bring him someone to warm him. If so, there is no problem in rising up and acting against the king; there is no one strong enough here to stop me, he is utterly spent.
And another reason: if there are people who are with the king, they pass along to him all the information about everything that is happening. But David was cut off, since his wives were not with him, and who was with him? Only Avishag the Shunamite. And that is the emphasis in the next verse.
וַיֹּאמְרוּ לוֹ עֲבָדָיו יְבַקְשׁוּ לַאדֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ נַעֲרָה בְתוּלָה וְעָמְדָה לִפְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ וּתְהִי־לוֹ סֹכֶנֶת וְשָׁכְבָה בְחֵיקֶךָ וְחַם לַאדֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ׃ - And his servants said to him: Let them seek for my lord the king a young virgin, and let her stand before the king and be to him a caretaker, and let her lie in your bosom, that my lord the king may be warm.
A young virgin and a caretaker
Why a virgin? The Sages say: a virgin is warmer than one who has been intimate. And what does "sochenet" mean? It has several meanings. Some say sochenet means beneficial, and so the Radak explains, one who is of use, as in the expression "what benefit will it be to you" (mah yiskan lecha). Some interpret sochenet as related to being appointed over the treasures, like the familiar term "the steward who is over the house." And some explain it from the verse "one who chops wood will be warmed by it" (yiskan bam), meaning he will warm himself with it. The Radak brings that in Arabic a warm thing is called "sachun," akin to "sechinah," hot things and heat. According to this explanation "and let her be to him a sochenet" means one who warms him, "and let her lie in your bosom, that my lord the king may be warm."
Let us note that the servants do not suggest that David marry a wife, because David was limited in taking wives. It says "and I would have added to you such and such" - at first he had six wives, and "such and such" doubles it twice, making eighteen. It was impossible for David to take another wife beyond eighteen.
And another reason for the request of a virgin, the Malbim says: his physicians did not want King David to weaken, and since they knew that intimacy weakens him, they therefore removed his wives from his house. And who remained? Only she. That is why it says "and let her stand before the king and be to him a caretaker" - she was appointed over the affairs of the house, so that David would not need his servants to come in for some matter, but she would handle all the affairs, and thereby he would not weaken either.
Precision in the wording: "before the king" and "in your bosom"
Let us note an interesting precision. The verse opened with one form and ended with another: "and let her stand before the king" is third person, and afterward "and let her lie in your bosom" is second person. If you said "before the king," you should have ended "and let her lie in his bosom"; and if you said "in your bosom," you should have opened "and let her stand before you." The Malbim says: see how precise the wording is. The servants say to David: we will announce that we are seeking a young virgin who will stand before the king, that is what will be heard and that is what will appear in the terms of the search. But what will actually be? "And let her lie in your bosom." From the standards of modesty it is not fitting to publicize that they are seeking a young virgin to lie in David's bosom, and therefore the public announcement is in third person, while what is said to him alone is stated in the second person: you yourself will know of this, and it is something that will not be publicized.
And according to this, the Malbim says, you will understand what led Adoniyah to reign. At that moment David was weak, and not only was he weak but his wives no longer came before him, and if so he was cut off from every means of communication and did not know what was happening. Adoniyah said: there is no more opportune situation than this, that I enter and reign, and King David will not know of the matter, and by the time he knows it will already be too late, for I will have seized the kingship. In contrast, if his wives were coming before him frequently, he would have feared to carry out an action whose knowledge would reach the king at once, and then the king would put him back in his place. For the king is still one with power in this respect, that he has a word, he has authority, and his ruling is a ruling.
וַיְבַקְשׁוּ נַעֲרָה יָפָה בְּכֹל גְּבוּל יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּמְצְאוּ אֶת־אֲבִישַׁג הַשּׁוּנַמִּית וַיָּבִאוּ אֹתָהּ לַמֶּלֶךְ׃ - And they sought a beautiful young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and they found Avishag the Shunamite, and they brought her to the king.
Avishag the Shunamite and the additional reason for Adoniyahu's haste
Here Scripture tells us an additional reason why Adoniyahu rushed to begin his reign. Notice: Avshalom too coveted the kingship intensely, and in the end he came upon his father's concubines. The same thing recurs with Adoniyahu - he coveted the kingship, and after he lost it he asked Bat Sheva, Shlomo's mother, to speak with Shlomo about arranging for him to have Avishag the Shunamite, on the claim that his father had not known her and therefore she was not forbidden to him. In both of them, then, we see both the desire to reign and the desire to take their father's wives.
But there is a difference between them, says the Malbim, and it lies in the order of priorities. With Avshalom the central goal was to reign, and he came upon his father's concubines so that everyone would know that he had become repugnant in his father's eyes and there was no chance his father would ever return - that is, in order to establish an irreversible situation in which it was clear that he was the one reigning. With Adoniyahu it began the other way around: Adoniyahu saw Avishag the Shunamite, of whom Scripture testifies that she was a beautiful young woman the like of whom there was none in all of Israel, and he coveted her. From this desire everything began: he said, if so, I will reign, and since I will reign, the king's wife is fitting for the king's son, especially since the king had not known her, and therefore he would be fit to receive the wife of the deceased king.
וְהַנַּעֲרָה יָפָה עַד־מְאֹד וַתְּהִי לַמֶּלֶךְ סֹכֶנֶת וַתְּשָׁרְתֵהוּ וְהַמֶּלֶךְ לֹא יְדָעָהּ׃ - And the young woman was exceedingly beautiful, and she became the king's attendant and served him, but the king did not know her.
וַאֲדֹנִיָּה בֶן־חַגִּית מִתְנַשֵּׂא לֵאמֹר אֲנִי אֶמְלֹךְ וַיַּעַשׂ לוֹ רֶכֶב וּפָרָשִׁים וַחֲמִשִּׁים אִישׁ רָצִים לְפָנָיו׃ - And Adoniyahu son of Chagit exalted himself, saying, I will reign, and he made himself a chariot and horsemen and fifty men running before him.
Fifty men running before him
"Exalted himself" - from the language of pride and self-elevation: I will reign. And for this purpose he made himself a chariot and horsemen and fifty men running before him. It was customary in their times that when an important person traveled, people would run before him - just as today motorcycles ride ahead of a royal motorcade.
Chazal say that the distinction of those fifty men was that they were spleenless and had the soles of their feet cut out. That is, they were able to run over thorns and briars without feeling it. And what does spleenless mean? When a person runs a great deal he feels pain in his side, and this pain is like a red light in a car telling you to stop. For these men the red light was disconnected, and they could run and run without feeling pain, and thereby they were not limited in their running. Certainly from a health standpoint this is not a good thing, but this was their distinction.
וְלֹא־עֲצָבוֹ אָבִיו מִיָּמָיו לֵאמֹר מַדּוּעַ כָּכָה עָשִׂיתָ וְגַם־הוּא טוֹב־תֹּאַר מְאֹד וְאֹתוֹ יָלְדָה אַחֲרֵי אַבְשָׁלוֹם׃ - And his father had never pained him in his days by saying, Why have you done thus? And he too was very handsome, and she had borne him after Avshalom.
strong>Why he did not fear his father and why he was confident the people would accept him
Here Scripture explains two things. First: how could it be that he did not fear his father? And second: how was he not worried that Israel would not accept his kingship, for a king without a people is no king?
Concerning the fear of his father it says: "And his father had never pained him in his days by saying, Why have you done thus?" His father never once said to him, Adoniyahu, why do you act this way; he never once rebuked him. If so, his father will accept this too; I will reign and my father will not oppose me, he will see that there is already someone who has seized the kingship and he will accept it.
He had two grounds on which to expect the people's acceptance. First, "and he too was very handsome." Who else have we seen who was the most handsome in all of Israel? Avshalom, and he too assumed that because of his beauty he would find favor in everyone's eyes and they would choose him. Second, the kingship was rightfully his by order of succession: "and she bore him after Avshalom." Avshalom had wanted to reign because he thought he was next in the line of succession; and after Avshalom was gone, who was next? Adoniyahu. Amnon the firstborn had died, after him Daniel, after him Avshalom, after him Adoniyahu; and once the first three had died, he was the eldest to reign in his father's stead.
But what is the meaning of "and she bore him after Avshalom," when Avshalom was the son of Maacha and Adoniyahu the son of Chagit? Rashi explains: the meaning is that his mother raised him according to the same manner of upbringing as Avshalom. "Bore" here means raised: his mother raised him in the same culture in which Avshalom had been raised, and that same culture which brought Avshalom to what it brought him, is what brought Adoniyahu as well to what it brought him.
A Terrible Moral Lesson from the Ralbag
Incidentally, the Ralbag draws a terrible moral lesson here. On the place where it is brought that David appointed his sons to be kohanim, meaning ministers, the Ralbag says: know that David did not succeed in raising his children. See what happened to him with Amnon, who violated his sister Tamar; see what happened to him with Avshalom, who rose to rebel against his father and came upon his concubines; see what happened to him with Adoniyahu son of Chagit. And what is the reason? "His father had never pained him" - his father never rebuked him. And since he did not rebuke his sons, and on the contrary even gave them appointments that gave them a sense of authority, therefore you see that he did not succeed so well in raising his sons.
There is another explanation of the verse here. I believe I saw it in the name of the Ben Ish Chai: many times when a child asks his father questions, the father grows weary of the questions and answers him "just because." Just because, that's it, enough. He does not have too many answers. And this is what is said, "his father had never pained him, saying, why have you done thus?" - when the son would ask "why," his father would not answer him "just because," which is a distressing answer, but would always give him an answer that satisfied him.
I also saw another explanation: why does it say "why have you done thus" in the past tense, and not in the present tense, "why are you doing thus"? Rather, Adoniyahu would do his deeds in secret and not openly, and since that was so, David did not know. When would he know? Only after the deed was done, and then he would come and say to him, why have you done thus. And this is what is said, "his father had never pained him, saying, why have you done thus?" - because he did not know what he was doing, since he would do it in secret.
וַיִּהְיוּ דְבָרָיו עִם יוֹאָב בֶּן־צְרוּיָה וְעִם אֶבְיָתָר הַכֹּהֵן וַיַּעְזְרוּ אַחֲרֵי אֲדֹנִיָּה׃ - And his talks were with Yoav son of Tzeruyah and with Evyatar the kohen, and they helped after Adoniyah.
The Party of the Embittered: Yoav and Evyatar
You know that when someone wants to form a new party, what does he do? He takes all those who were rejected and oppressed and angry at all the other parties and gathers them to himself, making himself a party of the embittered: this one is angry at that one and that one is angry at this one, so let us band together.
And so it is here. Yoav son of Tzeruyah, as we will see in the coming chapters, became utterly repugnant in David's eyes, to the point that David has an explicit instruction to Shlomo to kill Yoav son of Tzeruyah, who had caused him many troubles, and we will speak about this further on. And Evyatar the kohen - recall what happened with him: when David fled from Avshalom he took him along and asked him to inquire of the Urim and Tumim, and it did not succeed for him, and then he sent him away. And what was the reason it did not succeed? Because he was of the sons of Eli, and of the sons of Eli it was said that they would not be ministering kohanim, and therefore at a certain stage he was, as it were, pushed away from the priesthood.
These two were the people most fit to join Adoniyahu, for both of them know that if Adoniyahu reigns, they have a continuation, they have a role; whereas if the one who continues David's path reigns, whatever David rejected will be rejected by the successor as well. And in this Adoniyahu acted wisely: Yoav was the commander of the army, and we all know that when one wants to carry out a coup in a totalitarian state, one needs to form a pact with the army officers: if you have the army, you are set. And what you need afterward is the media, and that is Evyatar the kohen, who was the High Priest, the man of the spirit, the one who speaks to the people. And there are even those who would place the media ahead of the army, for it is the media that crowns kings. Here, Adoniyahu went and organized the fitting people: the physical figure, the one who knows how to rally the army, and the spiritual figure, the one who would provide the spiritual aspect for this kingship. These two could give him the stamp of approval to be king.
וְצָדוֹק הַכֹּהֵן וּבְנָיָהוּ בֶן־יְהוֹיָדָע וְנָתָן הַנָּבִיא וְשִׁמְעִי וְרֵעִי וְהַגִּבּוֹרִים אֲשֶׁר לְדָוִד לֹא הָיוּ עִם־אֲדֹנִיָּהוּ׃ - But Tzadok the kohen, and Benayahu son of Yehoyada, and Natan the prophet, and Shimi and Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David, were not with Adoniyahu.
Whom Adoniyahu did not invite
Notice that Adoniyahu was careful also about whom not to invite. He knows there are certain people to whom David is closely bound, and the moment he tries to draw them in, the plot would fall apart, for they remain loyal to David and would go and tell him, blocking the move while it was still in its early stages.
Tzadok the Kohen was the one who assisted David when he fled from his son Avshalom. Benayahu ben Yehoyada was one of David's mighty warriors. Natan the prophet was the one who prophesied that Shlomo would reign, so surely he would not take him. "And Shimi" - some say this is Shimi ben Gera. And "Rei" - the Metzudat David suggests it is very possible that this is Chushai the Archite, who was called the king's friend. And all of David's mighty men were not with Adoniyahu, for they saw in this a rebellion against the monarchy, and so Adoniyahu too did not seek to take them.
וַיִּזְבַּח אֲדֹנִיָּהוּ צֹאן וּבָקָר וּמְרִיא עִם אֶבֶן הַזֹּחֶלֶת אֲשֶׁר־אֵצֶל עֵין רֹגֵל וַיִּקְרָא אֶת־כָּל־אֶחָיו בְּנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ וּלְכָל־אַנְשֵׁי יְהוּדָה עַבְדֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ׃ - And Adoniyahu slaughtered sheep and oxen and fatlings beside the stone of Zochelet, which is near Ein Rogel, and he invited all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the men of Yehudah, the king's servants.
The feast: "all his brothers" and "all the men of Yehudah"
We hold a well known principle: when one wishes to bind people together, food is a connecting force. Our Sages already said there is nothing that brings people closer like a drink; great is a drink, for it draws near those who are distant. That is why you will always see at all sorts of party gatherings that food is a central component, there must be food for the activists. So too Adoniyahu takes care to provide them food - sheep and oxen and fatlings - and with this he brings them into this covenant; they all forge it together, there is a feast, and everyone accepts his kingship upon themselves.
At the foundation of the plan stands suddenness: in one moment I have drawn all my people close, in one moment we will rise up and reign, and my people will already take care to spread the word. Therefore notice: at first "and he invited all his brothers, the king's sons" - his brothers and relatives, who should first be in on the secret of the plot, so that the alliance would be strong, and only afterward would it be made public. And afterward "and all the men of Yehudah, the king's servants," which is a separate call.
The Malbim makes a precise observation: at first it says "et" (the direct object marker) and afterward "ulchol" (and to all). There is a difference between "et" and a word preceded by a lamed. "Et" means I am inviting you for an important matter, for a lofty purpose; therefore "and he invited all his brothers," summoning them for an important matter, namely to establish the rebellion and to found the monarchy he wishes to set up. In contrast, "ulchol" is a call for a less important matter; there he is not consulting with them, rather there is a party and they crown him, and so he calls everyone as well. But those who were at the foundation of the rebellion, the more important people, were called in order to formulate the plan.
וְאֶת־נָתָן הַנָּבִיא וּבְנָיָהוּ וְאֶת־הַגִּבּוֹרִים וְאֶת־שְׁלֹמֹה אָחִיו לֹא קָרָא׃ - But Natan the prophet, and Benayahu, and the mighty men, and Shlomo his brother, he did not invite.
All of these he did not want to call, as we explained, for he knew that not only would they fail to support him but they would even oppose his plan. And here he adds Shlomo as well, whom he did not call because he knew that the monarchy was somehow promised to him, and therefore he must not know of this, and he needs to be faced with an accomplished fact.
וַיֹּאמֶר נָתָן אֶל־בַּת־שֶׁבַע אֵם־שְׁלֹמֹה לֵאמֹר הֲלוֹא שָׁמַעַתְּ כִּי מָלַךְ אֲדֹנִיָּהוּ בֶן־חַגִּית וַאֲדֹנֵינוּ דָוִד לֹא יָדָע׃ - And Natan spoke to Bat Sheva the mother of Shlomo, saying: Have you not heard that Adoniyahu ben Chaggit has become king, and our lord David does not know it?
Natan the prophet rouses Bat Sheva
Natan comes to rouse her regarding three matters. First, he tells her: do not think there is time. "Adoniyahu the son of Chagit has become king" - he has already reigned, the deed is done, one must act quickly. Second, so that she should not say that what is done cannot be undone, he adds "and our master David does not know" - understand that there is still something to be done; David does not know, and if David finds out, there is a chance to stop this from happening.
וְעַתָּה לְכִי אִיעָצֵךְ נָא עֵצָה וּמַלְּטִי אֶת־נַפְשֵׁךְ וְאֶת־נֶפֶשׁ בְּנֵךְ שְׁלֹמֹה׃ - And now come, let me give you counsel, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Shlomo.
And this is the third reason. Natan tells her: do not think this is merely a matter of pursuit of honor, whether I will reign or my son will reign. No. Understand that you are now going to fight for your life and for the life of your son. We have already discussed this in the previous books, that when a king would rise to reign, the first thing he would do was ethnic cleansing - anyone connected in any way to the previous king was a danger to him, and he would eliminate them all. In other words: Shlomo will always be a sword hovering over Adoniyah's head, and therefore the moment Adoniyah seizes the kingship, the first thing he will do is kill Shlomo and his mother - why should he have more enemies? Therefore you must save your life and the life of your son, and so you must hurry and take action.
Some explain "save your life" differently: Rashi says that she should save herself from the dispute, for after David's death a dispute would arise, since the promise had been given to Shlomo, and this is to prevent a dispute from arising. But according to what we have explained, the meaning is to save her life literally from death, her life in its plain sense.
לְכִי וּבֹאִי אֶל־הַמֶּלֶךְ דָּוִד וְאָמַרְתְּ אֵלָיו הֲלֹא־אַתָּה אֲדֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ נִשְׁבַּעְתָּ לַאֲמָתְךָ לֵאמֹר כִּי־שְׁלֹמֹה בְנֵךְ יִמְלֹךְ אַחֲרַי וְהוּא יֵשֵׁב עַל־כִּסְאִי וּמַדּוּעַ מָלַךְ אֲדֹנִיָּהוּ׃ - Go and come to King David and say to him: Did you not, my lord the king, swear to your handmaid saying that Shlomo your son shall reign after me and he shall sit upon my throne? Then why has Adoniyahu become king?
Where the oath came from
Natan knew of this oath that David had sworn, that Shlomo would reign. And from what cause did this oath arise? Our Sages write that after David was with Bat Sheva a son was born to him, and in the Navi it is stated explicitly that the child was gravely ill, and David prayed for him greatly but it did not help and the child died. And the Sages say that afterward Bat Sheva did not want to be with David, for she said: they will always say of the child that will be born to us that he is a flawed child. Here the first child was born through a forbidden act and died, and the second child is presumably a flawed son, for from the outset he came to her through sin and there is apparently something not proper here, and they will disgrace him. David said to her: I promise you that this son will not only not be flawed, but he will be proper in Israel and he will be king over all of Israel, and he swore to her about this. And since he swore to her she agreed, and as a result the next son she conceived was Shlomo. If so, David was obligated to fulfill his promise and make him king over Israel. This is "you swore to your handmaid saying that Shlomo your son shall reign after me and he shall sit upon my throne - then why has Adoniyahu become king?"
הִנֵּה עוֹדָךְ מְדַבֶּרֶת שָׁם עִם־הַמֶּלֶךְ וַאֲנִי אָבוֹא אַחֲרַיִךְ וּמִלֵּאתִי אֶת־דְּבָרָיִךְ׃ - Behold, while you are still speaking there with the king, I will come in after you and confirm your words.
While you are speaking with the king, I will come and fill in whatever is needed, I will strengthen your words.
וַתָּבֹא בַת־שֶׁבַע אֶל־הַמֶּלֶךְ הַחַדְרָה וְהַמֶּלֶךְ זָקֵן מְאֹד וַאֲבִישַׁג הַשּׁוּנַמִּית מְשָׁרַת אֶת־הַמֶּלֶךְ׃ - So Bat Sheva came to the king into the chamber, and the king was very old, and Avishag the Shunamite was attending the king.
וַיִּזְבַּח שׁוֹר וּמְרִיא־וְצֹאן לָרֹב וַיִּקְרָא לְכָל־בְּנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ וּלְאֶבְיָתָר הַכֹּהֵן וּלְיֹאָב שַׂר הַצָּבָא וְלִשְׁלֹמֹה עַבְדְּךָ לֹא קָרָא׃ - And he has slaughtered oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, and Evyatar the Kohen, and Yoav the commander of the army, but Shlomo your servant he did not invite.
Bat Sheva's argument
Here she adds a further charge to his offense: notice that he went and prepared a great feast, and not only that, but during his father's lifetime, while his father lies on his sickbed, he gathers people in order to make himself king. And beyond that, he himself understands that his deed is improper, and the proof is "but Shelomo your servant he did not invite." That is, he is aware that the kingship is promised to Shelomo, so why would he invite his rivals, who would serve as a means of opposition to what he is doing? If you are aware that Shelomo is the one meant to inherit, and that is why you do not call him, it is a sign that the matter was not done innocently.
וְאַתָּה אֲדֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ עֵינֵי כָל־יִשְׂרָאֵל עָלֶיךָ לְהַגִּיד לָהֶם מִי יֵשֵׁב עַל־כִּסֵּא אֲדֹנִי־הַמֶּלֶךְ אַחֲרָיו׃ - And you, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon you, to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
The Malbim says: note that she did not tell David that Adoniyahu had summoned all the king's servants. For had she told him so, it would have appeared as if the matter were sealed and there was nothing to be done, everyone is with him, so it is over, what can I do. Instead, precisely the opposite: she says to him, know that all the king's servants, all Israel, are awaiting the word of your mouth. That is, the situation is reversible and can still be changed, "the eyes of all Israel are upon you, to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king." She does not want David to think that everyone is already with him, for then perhaps, having no choice, he would resign himself to the move.
וְהָיָה כִּשְׁכַב אֲדֹנִי־הַמֶּלֶךְ עִם־אֲבֹתָיו וְהָיִיתִי אֲנִי וּבְנִי שְׁלֹמֹה חַטָּאִים׃ - And it shall be, when my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, that I and my son Shelomo shall be counted as offenders.
"And I and my son Shelomo shall be offenders" - five explanations
When my lord the king lies with his fathers, that is, when you depart from the world, "and I and my son Shelomo shall be offenders." And what does "offenders" (chataim) mean? The Radak says: chataim as the Targum renders it, "cast out," from the language of divorce, just as one says of a divorced woman metarcha, expelled, meaning I and my son Shelomo will be expelled from the kingship.
And some explain that this will involve an exposure of sin. That is, they will say: why in truth did they not choose Shelomo? Apparently the story there was not so pure and not so clean. And then they will pin a sin upon us, they will say that we came about through sin, that I committed a transgression and that Shelomo was born in sin, "I and my son Shelomo were offenders," they will pin upon us the guilt of a sin.
And there is a further explanation, that her intent is that you will be the sinner in this. "I and my son Shelomo offenders" does not refer to us but to you, only that very often the respectful way to address royalty is not to speak to the king directly. Just as Moshe did not say to Pharaoh "you will go down to pursue me" but rather "your servants will go down to pursue me," he did not want to strike at him directly, for one speaks to a king with respect. And so too here: she did not want to say "and it shall be, when my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, that you, my lord the king, will be a sinner, guilt will rest upon you, you swore and did not fulfill," and therefore she said that the sin will be upon us, speaking as though of herself and her son, while the words are meant to hint at David the king himself.
The Ralbag brings a further explanation: chataim means punished. Since Adoniyahu knows that Shelomo threatens his kingship all his days, for he is the one who was meant to receive the kingship, he will strive to kill us so that we do not threaten his reign, and this will cause us to be punished, offenders in the sense of being punished.
And there is yet another explanation, that chataim means lacking. Chet means a deficiency, and "there shall be no chet in you" means there shall be no deficiency in you; a person who missed the mark fell short of the target, and when there is a chet in a person it means there is a deficiency in him. And this is what she says to him: if we do not arrange this matter, it turns out that there will be a deficiency in us, that this distinction and this greatness are coming to us and we are losing them, and we do not want to be lacking.
In summary:
The chapter opens with a description that at first appears a marginal detail, David's old age, his coldness, and Avishag the Shunamite, and it turns out that all of it is a preface to understanding the rebellion of Adoniyahu: David's weakness from which there is no return, his being cut off from information after his wives were removed from his house, and Avishag's beauty, which kindled in him the desire from which the wish to rule grew. Adoniyahu arranges for himself a chariot and horsemen and runners, forges an alliance with Yoav the army commander and with Evyatar the priest, the power and the spirit, and takes care to exclude David's loyalists and Shelomo, and holds a feast to bind his men together. Amid all this echoes the moral of the Ralbag: "and his father never grieved him" - upbringing without rebuke, and appointments without guidance, are what produced Amnon, Avshalom, and Adoniyahu. And against the swift move rises Natan the prophet, who rouses Bat Sheva with three points: the deed is already done, yet David does not yet know and therefore it is reversible, and above all, this is not a struggle over honor but a struggle for her life and for the life of her son.