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1 Chronicles 23 · a question people ask

Was Solomon made king here, or in 1 Kings 1?

In the text

Both books tell it, in their own words. Chronicles says, "Now David was old and full of days; and he made Solomon his son king over Israel" (23:1), and later, "They made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him before the LORD to be prince" (29:22). 1 Kings 1 opens, "Now King David was old and advanced in years" (1 Kings 1:1). There "Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself" (1 Kings 1:5); David says he will keep his oath, "Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me" (1 Kings 1:30); and "Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the Tent, and anointed Solomon" (1 Kings 1:39). In Hebrew, 23:1's he made… king is the verb of Jonathan's news in 1 Kings: "Most certainly our lord King David has made Solomon king" (1 Kings 1:43). 1 Chronicles names Adonijah among David's sons (3:2) but doesn't tell what he did. 1 Kings 1 sets the two side by side in a go-deeper of its own. Neither book says how its account fits the other's, and this answer doesn't join them.

The verses

“Now David was old and full of days; and he made Solomon his son king over Israel.”
1 Chronicles 23:1 · World English Bible
“and ate and drank before the LORD on that day with great gladness. They made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him before the LORD to be prince, and Zadok to be priest.”
1 Chronicles 29:22 · World English Bible
“the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith;”
1 Chronicles 3:2 · World English Bible
“Now King David was old and advanced in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he couldn’t keep warm.”
1 Kings 1:1 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of 1 Chronicles 23

1 Chronicles 23: No longer carrying

When David says the Levites "will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all its vessels" (23:26), he lays down the very task Numbers 1:50 gave them, with the same Hebrew verb and the same words for the tabernacle and its vessels. And Aaron is set apart "to minister to him, and to bless in his name" (23:13) in the words Deuteronomy 10:8 used of the whole tribe of Levi.

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions