Melakhim I Chapter 1 | The Coronation of Shlomo

The book of Melakhim opens with a grim scene: King David has lost his strength, and is now old and frail. Right under his nose, Adoniya organizes a rebellion, and David is unaware of it. In this chapter, the active characters are Batsheva, his wife, and Natan the prophet; while David himself is passive and is guided by them. At this point, the atmosphere in David’s kingdom reflects the limitations of a king's power. Even the greatest king of all is weak in his final days, and even his royal court is full with schemes and power struggles.

Natan and Batsheva remind David of an oath he made to Batsheva that her son Shlomo would inherit the throne after him. However, this oath is not mentioned in the book of Shmuel. One interpretation suggests that Batsheva and Natan wanted Shlomo to be crowned and therefore took advantage of David’s old age and frail memory to convince him that he had sworn this oath in the past. Another interpretation rejects the idea that a prophet of God would lie in such a way, claiming that if Natan mentioned the oath, it must indeed have existed. According to this reading, the oath was real but was simply not mentioned in Shmuel, and this chapter fills in the gaps by revealing its existence.

In a lecture given at Herzog's Yemei Iyun b'Tanakh, Rav Bazak proves that the oath did exist, and he provides two reasons to support this:
1.    In the following chapter, in David’s final instructions, we see that David’s memory is sharp and clear.
2.    Adoniya does not invite Shlomo to his feast because he knows that despite Shlomo’s youth, Shlomo is his primary rival to the throne.

However, even if we accept that the oath existed in the book of Shmuel, we still need to understand why it is revealed to us only now. Rav Bazak offers the following explanation: David likely swore the oath to Batsheva when he brought her into his house after his sin. However, the moment David internalized the meaning of the oath is in this chapter. Since David’s sin with Batsheva, we hear nothing about his relationship with her or with their son Shlomo. Generally, David’s defining characteristic after the sin is passivity. Whereas David had been highly proactive before the sin, he rarely initiates actions afterward.

David did not act on his own to fulfill the oath and needed prompting from Batsheva and Natan. Yet, the decision ultimately rested with him: Batsheva entered his room alone with him, and it was entirely within David’s power to confirm or deny the oath.

In his final days, David faced a critical decision: Would he take responsibility for the harm he caused Batsheva and ensure her and her son’s protection, or would he abandon her at this crucial moment? Like the rest of the nation, we as readers do not know whether the oath existed or not. Only David has the power to confirm for us and the entire nation what the truth is. This is David’s final test, and when the moment of truth arrives, the Tanakh highlights that, despite his physical frailty, David’s moral principles remain strong. He becomes proactive and declares, “I shall fulfill this very day”(1:30)