In the twilight of King David’s life, a political drama unfolds within the royal court as his son Adonijah attempts to seize the throne, presenting himself as the undisputed heir. Adonijah firmly viewed himself as the rightful crown prince [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. His overwhelming self confidence stemmed from his extraordinary physical beauty and the fact that his father had never once rebuked him, granting him a sense of unchecked power [רד״ק, צאינה וראינה, אלשיך].
Beyond his ego, Adonijah relied on complex political and legal calculations, interpreting David’s decision to take Abishag into his household as a golden opportunity. One perspective suggests Adonijah believed David was using Abishag to conquer his physical desires as a way to atone for his earlier sin with Bathsheba. From this, Adonijah concluded that Bathsheba was actually forbidden to David, rendering her son Solomon illegitimate and unfit to inherit the throne [צוארי שלל]. Another approach proposes that Adonijah was carefully counting his father's wives. Since a king is permitted a maximum of eighteen wives, and David had already reached this quota, taking Abishag supposedly proved that Bathsheba was never considered a legal wife, but merely a concubine. Consequently, Solomon was the son of a concubine, leaving the crown rightfully to Adonijah [אהבת יהונתן].
To solidify his position, Adonijah began to act with intense arrogance and boasting [רש״י, רד״ק, אברבנאל]. He deliberately adopted royal customs while his father was still alive, ensuring that upon David's death, his own transition to power would appear natural and effortless [מצודת דוד, אלשיך]. Rather than keeping his ambitions secret, he publicly announced his intentions to rally popular support [אברבנאל]. This arrogance took physical form when he organized a royal honor guard, preparing a chariot surrounded by horsemen [מצודת דוד, אברבנאל]. In doing so, he closely mimicked the rebellion tactics previously used by his older brother Absalom [מלבי״ם]. This display of power was also a direct violation of the Torah's command forbidding a king of Israel from acquiring too many horses [רלב״ג, אברבנאל]. However, some suggest Adonijah was exploiting a legal loophole: the Torah forbids a king from multiplying horses after his coronation, but it does not require him to sell horses he already owns. Therefore, he rushed to hoard horses and chariots just before declaring himself king [אהבת יהונתן].
Additionally, Adonijah appointed fifty armed men to run ahead of him and announce his arrival, a well known custom of royalty [רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ, אברבנאל]. According to early rabbinic tradition, these men underwent extreme physical modifications to achieve incredible running speeds: their spleens were surgically removed, and the flesh from the soles of their feet was hollowed out [רש״י, רד״ק, צאינה וראינה, אברבנאל]. One unique interpretation assigns a deeply spiritual and political motive to this specific procedure. In human anatomy, the spleen was considered the organ responsible for laughter and levity, while walking barefoot on hollowed soles was thought to cool the body and suppress physical lusts. Adonijah intentionally selected these specific men to project an image of an entourage filled with pious, ascetic, and pure servants. By doing so, he hoped to deceive the public, crafting a false reputation as a deeply righteous and holy man who was uniquely worthy of leading Israel [אהבת יהונתן].