1 Kings 2:46

1Ki 2:46 So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.

Ver. 46. And the kingdom was established.] Hoc est, sine aemulis regnare coepit; the contrary faction was destroyed, and none left to oppose him.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Because all his enemies were destroyed.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon--Now, by the death of Shimei, all the leaders of the rival factions had been cut off.

Next: 1 Kings Chapter 3

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 46. And the kingdom was established] He had neither foes within nor without. He was either dreaded or loved universally. His own subjects were affectionately bound to him, and the surrounding nations did not think proper to make him their enemy.

As there are serious doubts relative to the dying charge of David as it relates to Shimei, most believing that, in opposition to his own oath, David desired that Solomon should put him to death; I shall here insert Dr. Kennicott's criticism on this part of the text: -

"David is here represented in our English version as finishing his life with giving a command to Solomon to kill Shimei, and to kill him on account of that very crime for which, as David here says, he had sworn to him by the Lord he would not put him to death. The behaviour thus imputed to the king and prophet, and which would be justly censurable if true, should be examined very carefully as to the ground it stands upon; and when the passage is duly considered, I presume it will appear highly probable that an injury has been here done to this illustrious character. The point to which I now beg the reader's attention is this: That it is not uncommon in the Hebrew language to omit the negative in a second part of the sentence, and to consider it as repeated, when it has been once expressed, and is followed by the connecting particle. And thus on Isa 13:22 the late learned annotator says: 'The negative is repeated or referred to by the conjunction vau, as in many other places.' So also Isa 23:4. The necessity of so very considerable an alteration as inserting the particle NOT, may be here confirmed by some other instances. Ps 1:5: The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, NOR (the Hebrew is AND, signifying and not) sinners in the congregation of the righteous. Ps 9:18: The needy shall not alway be forgotten, (and then the negative, understood as repeated by the conjunction, now dropped,) the expectation of the poor shall (NOT) perish for ever. Ps 38:1: O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath; NEITHER (AND, for and not) chasten me in thy hot displeasure. Ps 75:5: Lift not up your horn on high, (and then the negative, understood as repeated by the conjunction, now dropped,) speak (NOT) with a stiff neck. Pr 24:12, (our version is this:) Doth not he, that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth the soul, doth (NOT) he know it? and shall (NOT) he render to every man according to his works? And Pr 30:3: I neither learned wisdom, NOR (AND, for and not) have the knowledge of the holy. If then there are in fact many such instances, the question is, Whether the negative here, expressed in the former part of David's command, may not be understood as to be repeated in the latter part; and if this may be, a strong reason will be added why it should be, so interpreted. The passage will run thus: 'Behold, thou hast with thee Shimei, who cursed me - but I swore to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put thee to death by the sword. Now, therefore, hold him NOT guiltless, (for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him,) but bring NOT down his hoar head to the grave with blood.' Now if the language itself will admit of this construction, the sense thus given to the sentence derives a very strong support from the context. For how did Solomon understand this charge? Did he kill Shimei in consequence of it? Certainly he did not; for after he had immediately commanded Joab to be slain, in obedience to his father, he sends for Shimei, and knowing that Shimei ought to be well watched, confines him to a particular spot in Jerusalem for the remainder of his life; 1Kg 2:36-42. See also Job 23:17; Job 30:20; Job 31:20." This is the best mode of interpreting this text.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

46. which went out] Literally ‘and he went out,’ which reads rather better than the A.V.

in the hand of Solomon] The conspirators who might have been dangerous were all removed, and now, though still but a youth, Solomon had gained complete hold of the reins of government. Cf. 2Ch_1:1, where it is said that he ‘was strengthened in his kingdom, and the Lord his God was with him.’

The Vulgate joins on the last clause of this verse to the first verse of the next chapter; which seems to be a most natural connexion.

In the Chronicles no mention is made either of David’s dying injunctions to his son, nor of their execution. The compiler of that book appears designedly to have omitted all notice of the troubles under which David suffered, and so it does not fall within his plan to speak of the punishment of his adversaries. The religious zeal of Solomon, his wealth and wisdom, his abundant offerings and the building of the Temple were themes better suited to the time when the Chronicler compiled his narrative, and such matter therefore makes up the most part of his book.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Which went out; carrying Shimei along with him to the place of execution, which was not fit to be in the king’s presence.

The kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon; his secret and worst enemies being taken out of the way.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

46. The kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon — By the utter crushing out of treason in the removal of those who alone were disposed to rebellion. Solomon might say from his own experience: “Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness.” Pro_25:5.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

So the king commanded Ben-aiah the son of Jehoiada, which went out and fell upon him that he died. The execution of Shimei has, perhaps, on the whole given more offence than that of Joab or even Adonijah. He, at any rate, was not "a murderer whom vengeance suffereth not to live," nor had he taken any part in recent conspiracies. On the contrary, he seems to have lived quietly enough under the eye of the king. And it consequently has the appearance of cruelty and malevolence that Solomon should "press the letter of a compact against him," especially when, by returning to Jerusalem, he placed his life at Solomon"s mercy. But it is not difficult to offer a complete justification of Solomon"s action in this matter. In the first place, it is to be remembered that cruelty had no part in his character. In his long reign of forty years there are absolutely no evidences of a brutal and tyrannical disposition. There is a strong presumption, consequently, that he was not actuated by cruelty on this occasion, a presumption which finds support in the consideration that Solomon was much too sagacious to prejudice himself in popular estimation at the commencement of his reign by proceedings which would have the least suspicion of vindictiveness. And

(2) with this probability the facts of the case entirely agree. Shimei"s life, as we have seen, was forfeited to Jewish law. As he had so long been spared, however, the king gave him a gracious respite. The conditions imposed were not onerous. Shimei had but to keep his parole and he would live; to break it and he would assuredly die. He did break it; not without provocation, it may be, but he broke it, and broke too his solemn oath. It may be said it was hard he should lose his slaves, but better, surely, lose them than his life. Besides, there were other ways of recovering them; or, if he must pursue them in person, his proper course was evidently to ask the king"s permission. That he did not do so is in itself a suspicious circumstance, and Solomon might reasonably think that the flight of the slaves was but a feint, and that Shimei"s visit to a foreign court had really a political object. But, be that as it may, the king had protested unto him that if he went any whither, he should most certainly die. When he went, when he despised the royal command and disregarded his sacred oath, how was it possible for Solomon to break his word? To do so would have been inevitably to compromise himself with his subjects, and to forfeit their reverence and trust. Besides, there was a duty he owed to his dead father, and above all, one which he owed to the living God. He had now the opportunity for which his father bade him wait, of putting into force the provisions of the Mosaic law, of requiring the death of the blasphemer, of showing his subjects that the law could not be defied with impunity, that though vengeance was not executed speedily against evil works, still retribution was certain in the long run, and so of teaching them a much needed lesson of obedience and respect of authority. Every consideration, therefore, of justice, morality, filial piety, and religion warranted him in putting Shimei to death. Every imputation of weakness, irresolution, disregard of his plighted word, compromise of his royal dignity, and indifference to religion might justly have been levelled against him, had he interfered between Shimei and the sword of Justice.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The kingdom was thus established, etc. I.e., he was not punished for all these [actions].

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.