What Does 1 Kings 1:5 Mean in the King James?
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.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Adonijah (אֲדֹנִיָּה, ʾAdoniyyāh, “My Lord is Yah”) declares “I will be king,” placing his name’s confession beside a kingship he lifts himself into.
THE MEANING
A claim to authority can speak as if its future is settled, then build a procession that makes it visible. The verse holds Adonijah’s name, “My Lord is Yah,” beside his declaration, “I will be king,” while chariots, horsemen, and fifty runners give that declaration a public shape.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A claim does not become rightful merely because the claimant gives it a throne, an escort, and an audience.
THE ROOT
וַיִּתְנַשֵּׂא
vayyitnassēʾ
GROWS FROM
נשא
lift, carry, bear
“exalted himself” in this verse is vayyitnassēʾ. The verb is reflexive: Adonijah is not merely raised; he raises himself. A branch of the same seed names a prince as one elevated, so the verse makes the source of his royal stature plain: he is claiming it for himself.
ALSO GROWS
nasi: prince, chief
נָשִׂיא
The title grows from the same lift-and-carry seed; here Adonijah’s action makes him the one lifting himself into that standing.
massa: load, burden
מַשָּׂא
The root can name what is carried as well as what is lifted, giving self-elevation the weight of a position he takes upon himself.
אֲנִי אֶמְלֹךְ
ʾanî ʾemlōkh
GROWS FROM
מלך
rule, reign
“I will be king” in this verse is ʾanî ʾemlōkh. The Hebrew phrase speaks the act of reigning as a future action: “I will reign.” The same root names the king and the kingdom, so Adonijah’s sentence reaches from a personal claim to the public rule he intends to occupy.
ALSO GROWS
melekh: king
מֶלֶךְ
The person who rules shares the root with Adonijah’s declared action of reigning.
malkhut: kingship, kingdom
מַלְכוּת
The same seed also names the rule or realm, showing how his brief declaration claims an entire order of authority.
THE PATTERN
Scripture distinguishes authority received from status a person tries to raise through self-claim.
And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.THE THREAD
The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.The verb “lift up” comes from נשא (nasa, “lift, carry, bear”), the same root as “exalted himself.” Adonijah turns that lifting inward as self-promotion; the blessing pictures the LORD lifting his face toward another, an elevation expressed as regard.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us