1 Kings 1:20

“And thou, my lord, O king, etc.] As for thee, or what concerns thee, or is incumbent on thee, will appear from the expectations of the people: the eyes of all Israel [are] upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him; this she said, to dissipate any fears that might possess his mind on hearing what Adonijah had done, that the people in general had assented to it, and encouraged him to it; whereas the body of the people were waiting to hear what was the will and determination of David: for they not only considered him as having a power to name a successor, as was afterwards done by Rehoboam, but as one that had the mind of God revealed to…”

“the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne--When the kings died without declaring their will, then their oldest son succeeded. But frequently they designated long before their death which of their sons should inherit the throne. The kings of Persia, as well as of other Eastern countries, have exercised the same right in modern and even recent times.”

“Tell them who shall sit on the throne - Side by side with what may be called the natural right of hereditary succession, there existed in the old world, and especially in the East, a right, if not of absolutely designating a successor, yet at any rate of choosing one among several sons. Thus, Cyrus designated Cambyses; and Darius designated Xerxes; and a still more absolute right of nomination was exercised by some of the Roman emperors. return to 'Top of Page'”

“the eyes: Ch2 20:12; Psa 25:15, Psa 123:2; Zac 3:9 that thou: At this time the monarchy of Israel was unsettled; no man knew who was to succeed to the crown; and the minds of the people were as unsettled as the succession. It was neither hereditary nor elective. the king, as was anciently the case in most countries, named his successor; but in this instance, God had already assigned the throne to Solomon. Sa2 23:2; Ch1 22:8-10, Ch1 28:5, Ch1 28:6, Ch1 28:10, Ch1 29:1 3 Kings (1 Kings) 1:21”