1 Kings 1:3

Old Testament Historical ASV (1901)

What does 1 Kings 1:3 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the borders of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the borders of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
1 Kings 1:3 — American Standard Version

Context — 1 Kings 1

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
3So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the borders of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, etc.] Not only a damsel, but a beautiful one, that she might be the more acceptable to the king; who otherwise, if deformed and ugly, would not have endured her in his sight, or received at her hands, and much less suffered her to lie in his bosom: and found Abishag a Shunammite; a native of the city Shunem, a city in the tribe of Issachar, (<061918>Joshua 19:18); and brought her to the king; for his approbation of her, and to make her his concubine wife, as he did.”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“a Shunammite--Shunem, in the tribe of Issachar (Jos 19:18), lay on an eminence in the plain of Esdraelon, five miles south of Tabor. It is now called Sulam.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“So: Est 2:2, Est 2:4 Abishag: Kg1 2:17-25 Shunammite: Jos 19:18; Sa1 28:4; Kg2 4:8, Kg2 4:25 3 Kings (1 Kings) 1:4”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“They then looked about for a beautiful girl for this purpose, and found Abishag of Shunem, the present Sulem or Solam, at the south-eastern foot of the Duhy of Little Hermon (see at Jos 19:18), who became the king's nurse and waited upon him. The further remark, "and the king knew her not," is not introduced either to indicate the impotence of David or to show that she did not become David's concubine, but simply to explain how it was that it could possibly occur to Adonijah ( Kg1 2:17) to ask for her as his wife. Moreover, the whole affair is to be judged according to the circumstances of the times, when there was nothing offensive in polygamy. 3 Kings (1 Kings) 1:5”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification