מלכים א, פרק ב׳, פסוק י״ח

Bathsheba’s response to Adonijah’s request to marry Abishag the Shunammite reveals a moment of apparent agreement, yet it is tangled in political complexity and a deep misunderstanding of the situation. Her positive reply reflects her easygoing nature, but it also exposes her complete lack of awareness regarding the danger lurking behind the request. Her initial agreement can be understood simply as a willingness to listen and accept his words [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. At the same time, her response suggests that she genuinely believed the request was proper and decent [מצודת דוד], acting out of a naive assumption that it was a positive idea [אברבנאל]. Fully convinced, she commits to advocating for him and bringing the matter directly to the king [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

This willingness to help highlights her extraordinary kindness. Even though Adonijah is the son of her rival, Haggith, and had previously tried to rebel and take the throne from her own son, Solomon, Bathsheba still steps forward to assist him. She genuinely tries to do him a favor by having a pleasant conversation with the king on his behalf [חומת אנך]. Yet, this very act of kindness exposes her absolute naivete, as she completely failed to sense the trap hidden in the request. Adonijah was well aware that asking to marry a woman who was essentially a wife to the previous king was a dangerous political move. It could easily be seen as an act of rebellion and a renewed claim to the throne, which is why he had to offer a long, defensive explanation before even making his request. Bathsheba, however, missed this hidden motive entirely, later presenting the matter to Solomon as nothing more than a minor favor [אברבנאל].

This gap in understanding raises a question about how much of Adonijah’s long, political introduction Bathsheba actually shared with Solomon. It is possible that she left out those details out of pure innocence and good intentions, hoping to avoid angering the king by reminding him of the recent rebellion. However, the primary approach among commentators is that Bathsheba did, in fact, repeat everything Adonijah said, and the written account simply shortened the report. This is proven by Solomon’s harsh reaction later on. He explicitly mocks the fact that Adonijah is the older brother and points out the support he had from Joab and Abiathar. Solomon could only know these specific details, and react to them so sharply, if his mother had repeated Adonijah’s words to him in full [אברבנאל].