1 Kings 1:4

4 The girl was of unsurpassed beauty, and she became the king's caregiver. She served him, but he was not intimate with^[a] her.

1 Kings 1:4 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 1:4

And the damsel [was] very fair
And so very agreeable to the king to be in his presence, and wait upon him, and take things of her hand, as well as lie with him:

and cherished the king;
enlivened his spirits by her amiable countenance, her graceful behaviour, and tender care of him, and especially by bedding with him:

and ministered to him;
serving him with her own hands whatever he took for his sustenance:

but the king knew her not;
as a man knows his wife; which shows that she was his wife, and that it would not have been criminal in him had he known her; but this is observed, not to point at the chastity of David, but his feebleness, and loss of desire after women, and that the damsel remained a virgin; and that was the ground of Adonijah's request, and his hope of succeeding.

1 Kings 1:4 In-Context

2 So his servants said to him: "Let us search for a young virgin for my lord the king. She is to attend the king and be his caregiver. She is to lie by your side so that my lord the king will get warm."

3 They searched for a beautiful girl throughout the territory of Israel; they found Abishag the Shunammite and brought her to the king.

4 The girl was of unsurpassed beauty, and she became the king's caregiver. She served him, but he was not intimate with her.

5 Adonijah son of Haggith kept exalting himself, saying, "I will be king!" He also assembled chariots, cavalry, and 50 men to run ahead of him.

6 But his father had never once reprimanded him by saying, "Why do you act this way?" In addition, he was quite handsome and was born after Absalom.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit he did not know