Verse Lens · Concise explanation
1 Kings 1:8 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 8. 8But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
At 1 Kings 1:8, the narrator identifies Zadok, Benaiah, Nathan, Shimei, Rei, and David's mighty men as absent from Adonijah's coalition.
Read It With
- 1 Kings 1:5–1:10
Read 1 Kings 1:8 with 1 Kings 1:5–1:10, titled “Adonijah claims the throne and gathers allies.” Identifies Zadok, Benaiah, Nathan, Shimei, Rei, and David's mighty men as absent from Adonijah's coalition.
Why This Verse Appears Here
1 Kings 1:8 identifies Zadok, Benaiah, Nathan, Shimei, Rei, and David's mighty men as absent from Adonijah's coalition; this distinct detail carries 1 Kings 1:5–1:10 from “1 Kings 1:1–1:4 has just shown: David's age and Abishag's service.” toward “1 Kings 1:11–1:14 next develops: Nathan asks Bathsheba to act.”
Read 1 Kings 1:5–10 together
Why these verses belong together: Adonijah claims the throne and gathers allies is the complete reviewed scene, prayer, oracle, list, or regnal notice bounded at 1:5–1:10.
Verse 5. 5 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.
Verse 6. 6 And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also was a very goodly man; and his mother bare him after Absalom.
Verse 7. 7 And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah helped him.
Verse 8. 8 But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.
Verse 9. 9 And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En-rogel, and called all his brethren the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah the king’s servants:
Verse 10. 10 But Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he called not.
What Remains True
Because 1 Kings 1:8 identifies Zadok, Benaiah, Nathan, Shimei, Rei, and David's mighty men as absent from Adonijah's coalition, responsible reading keeps the narrated action, source limits, accountable agents, and affected people together; The succession narrative does not make Abishag a sexual prop, Bathsheba a stereotype, or royal maneuvering and threatened death a model for leadership.
How It Can Shape Life
- When an analogous issue arises, use 1 Kings 1:8 to name the specific conduct—identifies Zadok, Benaiah, Nathan, Shimei, Rei, and David's mighty men as absent from Adonijah's coalition—then document power, evidence, uncertainty, safeguards, and people at risk.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 1 Kings 1:5–1:10 — Adonijah claims the throne and gathers alliesSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 1 Kings 1:5–1:10, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Kings
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording and morphology used for lexical, grammatical, name, clause, and older-English checks; this is not a critical apparatus or historical proof.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 1:5–1:10
Open source ↗