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His servants advised[a] him, “A young virgin must be found for our master, the king,[b] to take care of the king’s needs[c] and serve as his nurse. She can also sleep with you[d] and keep our master, the king, warm.”[e] So they looked through all Israel[f] for a beautiful young woman and found Abishag, a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 1:2 tn Heb “said to.”
  2. 1 Kings 1:2 tn Heb “let them seek for my master, the king, a young girl, a virgin.” The third person plural subject of the verb is indefinite (see GKC 460 §144.f). The appositional expression, “a young girl, a virgin,” is idiomatic; the second term specifically defines the more general first term (see IBHS 230 §12.3b).
  3. 1 Kings 1:2 tn Heb “and she will stand before the king.” The Hebrew phrase “stand before” can mean “to attend; to serve” (BDB 764 s.v. עָמַד).
  4. 1 Kings 1:2 tn Heb “and she will lie down in your bosom.” The expression might imply sexual intimacy (see 2 Sam 12:3 [where the lamb symbolizes Bathsheba] and Mic 7:5), though v. 4b indicates that David did not actually have sex with the young woman.
  5. 1 Kings 1:2 tn Heb “and my master, the king, will be warm.”
  6. 1 Kings 1:3 tn Heb “through all the territory of Israel.”

So his attendants said to him, “Let us look for a young virgin to serve the king and take care of him. She can lie beside him so that our lord the king may keep warm.”

Then they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful young woman and found Abishag,(A) a Shunammite,(B) and brought her to the king.

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