1 Kings 2:19 (WEB)
Bathsheba therefore went to King Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. The king rose up to meet her and bowed himself to her, and sat down on his throne and caused a throne to be set for the king’s mother; and she sat on his right hand.
As quoted in the map (KJV)
1 Kings 2:19–20 (KJV)
19 Bath-sheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king’s mother; and she sat on his right hand. 20 Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; I pray thee, say me not nay. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother: for I will not say thee nay.
Key words
- וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ לָהּvayyishtachu lah · Hebrew
- 'bowed himself unto her' — the king bows to his mother, an honour he shows to no one else.
- כִּסֵּא לְאֵם הַמֶּלֶךְkisse le'em hammelekh · Hebrew
- 'a seat (throne) for the king's mother.'
- לִימִינוֹliymino · Hebrew
- 'on his right hand' — the place of highest honour beside the king (compare Psalm 45:9).
Why it matters
Solomon rises to meet his mother, bows to her, enthrones her at his right hand, and promises not to refuse her request. Pitre treats this as the definitive portrait of the gebirah, the queen mother of the Davidic kingdom: honoured by the king, enthroned beside him, and acting as intercessor for the people. Mary, mother of the Davidic Messiah, holds this office in the kingdom of her Son.