1 Kings 1:16 (WEB)
Bathsheba bowed and showed respect to the king. The king said, “What would you like?”
As quoted in the map (KJV)
1 Kings 1:16–17 (KJV)
16 And Bath-sheba bowed, and did obeisance unto the king. And the king said, What wouldest thou? 17 And she said unto him, My lord, thou swarest by the LORD thy God unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne.
Key words
- וַתִּקֹּד… וַתִּשְׁתַּחוּ לַמֶּלֶךְvattiqqod… vattishtachu lammelekh · Hebrew
- 'Bathsheba bowed, and did obeisance unto the king' — as David's wife she bows to him.
- אֲדֹנִיadoni · Hebrew
- 'My lord' — the wife addresses the king as her lord, the ordinary court address to the Davidic king.
Why it matters
While David lives, Bathsheba bows to him and calls him 'my lord.' Pitre sets this beside 1 Kings 2:19, where, once her son Solomon is king, the roles reverse and the king bows to her and enthrones her (p 69). The contrast proves that the queen of the Davidic kingdom is the king's mother, not his wife: Bathsheba becomes queen only when her son reigns.