And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En-rogel, and called all his brethren the king's sons, and all the men of Judah the king's servants:
Y matando Adonías ovejas y vacas y animales engordados junto a la peña de Zohelet, que está cerca de la fuente de Rogel, convidó a todos sus hermanos los hijos del rey, y a todos los varones de Judá, siervos del rey;
Verse 9. Slew sheep and oven] Making a royalfeast, in reference to his inauguration. As he had Abiathar the priest with him, no doubt these animals were offered sacrificially, and then the guests fed on the flesh of the victims. He had not only a splendid feast, but a great sacrifice; and he gave by this a popular colour to his pretensions, by affecting to receive his authority from God.
Ver. 9. And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle , etc.] To make a feast of for those that were of his party, which was numerous, and some of them persons of the first rank, and therefore a large and elegant entertainment was provided for them: by the stone of Zoheleth, which [is] by Enrogel ; or the fullers’ fountain, as the Targum, where the fullers washed their clothes, using their feet in doing it, from whence it had its name; and which they laid upon this stone for the water to drain out of them, “Zoheleth” signifying a slow motion of waters, or on which they beat them to get out the spots; the Targum calls it the stone of a watchtower, on which they could stand and look to a great distance; or, as Jarchi and Ben Gersom suggest, it was a large smooth stone, which young men used to come to, and cast to and fro to try and exercise their strength; it was, as Josephus says, in or near the king’s gardens: and called all his brethren the king’s sons : which David by his wives and concubines had in Hebron and Jerusalem; who were all younger than he, and so had not the pretension he had, and who might be displeased at the appointment of Solomon as well as he; (see 1 Chronicles 3:4,9); and all the men of Judah the king’s servants ; excepting those in ( Kings 1:8-10).
Verses 5-10 - Indulgentparents are often chastised with disobedientchildren, wh are anxious to possess their estates. No worldlywisdom, no experience, nor sacredness of character, can insure the continuance in any former course of those who remain under the power of self-love. But we may well wonder by what arts Joab and Abiathar could be drawn aside.
