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{{Short description|Fourth son of the Israelite king David}}
{{About||others with the given name|Adonijah (given name)|the unincorporated community|Adonijah, West Virginia}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Adonijah
| title        = [[Kings of Israel and Judah|King Rebel of Israel]]
| image        = Facial Chronicle - b.03, p.172 - David with sons in Hebron.jpg
| birth_place  = [[Hebron]]
| house        = [[Davidic line|House of David]]
| father       = [[David]]
| mother       = [[Haggith]]
}}
According to [[2 Samuel]], '''Adonijah''' ({{langx|he|{{Script/Hebrew|אֲדֹנִיָּה}}}}, ''’Ǎḏōnīyyā''; "my [[Adon|lord]] is [[Jah|Yah]]") was the fourth son of [[King David]]. His mother was [[Haggith]] as recorded in the book of {{bibleverse|2 Samuel|3:4|KJV}}. Adonijah was born at [[Hebron]] during the long conflict between David and the [[House of Saul]]. In [[1 Kings]], he briefly proclaimed himself king of Israel during the terminal illness of his father David, before peacefully ceding the throne to his brother [[Solomon]].

==Life==
After the death of his elder brothers [[Amnon]] and [[Absalom]], Adonijah considered himself the [[heir-apparent]] to the throne. He acquired chariots and a large entourage. The king was unaware of this, being as he was "stricken in years" with his health failing him, and was in a different city. (KJV) Adonijah consulted and obtained the support of both the commander of the army [[Joab]] and the influential priest [[Abiathar]]. However, the priest [[Zadok]], [[Benaiah]] (head of the king's bodyguard), [[Nathan (prophet)|Nathan]] (the court prophet), and others did not side with Adonijah.

In anticipation of his father's imminent death, Adonijah invited his brother princes and the court officials to a solemn sacrifice in order to announce his claim to the throne.<ref name=je>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/845-adonijah|title=ADONIJAH - JewishEncyclopedia.com|website=www.jewishencyclopedia.com}}</ref> Notably, he did not invite [[Solomon]] nor any of his supporters. According to the ''Jewish Study Bible'', by excluding Solomon, Adonijah demonstrates his awareness that he is in effect [[Usurper|usurping]] the throne.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yErYBAAAQBAJ&dq=adonijah&pg=PT1496|title=The Jewish Study Bible: Second Edition|first1=Adele|last1=Berlin|first2=Marc Zvi|last2=Brettler|date=October 17, 2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-939387-9 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

Assuming that Adonijah will soon move to eliminate any rivals or opposition, Nathan warns [[Bathsheba]], Solomon's mother, and counsels her to remind the king of a previous promise to make Solomon his successor. Lillian R. Klein finds in Nathan's promise to confirm Bathsheba's statement a suggestion that her words may have required verification, and that there was no earlier definite promise in Solomon's favor. However KJV confirms in 1 Chronicles 29 and 2 Samuel 15 that David had indeed promised that Solomon would be anointed King.<ref name=Klein>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eiKT5xdVOUgC&dq=adonijah&pg=PA62|title=A Feminist Companion to Samuel and Kings|first=Athalya|last=Brenner-Idan|date=June 1, 2000|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-0-567-06974-0 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

However, Adonijah was supplanted by Solomon through the influence of Bathsheba, and through the diplomacy of the prophet Nathan. They induced David to give orders that Solomon should immediately be proclaimed and admitted to the throne, which David agreed.<ref name=je/>

After receiving word that Solomon had been crowned king, Adonijah's supporters quickly fled, while Adonijah took refuge at the altar. He later received a pardon for his conduct from Solomon on the condition that he showed himself a worthy man ({{bibleverse|1 Kings|1:5-53|KJV}}). Afterwards, Adonijah asked to marry [[Abishag]] from [[Shunem]], who served his father David on his deathbed, and asks Bathsheba to plead with the king on his behalf {{bibleverse|1 Kings|2:13-18|KJV}}. The text does not indicate if Bathsheba was aware of Adonijah's possible duplicity or not, only that she brought the request, which would bring death to Solomon's most dangerous rival, before her son ({{bibleverse|1 Kings|2:19-21|KJV}}). Solomon, interpreting it as a second attempt to gain the throne, denied authorization for such an engagement and Adonijah was subsequently put to death ({{bibleverse|1 Kings|2:13-25|KJV}}).

==Interpretation of Adonijah's death==
In some interpretations,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.biblecharts.org/sermons/davidsfourlambs.pdf|title=David's four lambs|work=biblecharts.org}}</ref> the death of Adonijah was the last of the punishments meted out on David by God for his [[adultery]] with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband [[Uriah the Hittite|Uriah]]. As David demanded that the rich man of [[Prophet Nathan|Nathan's]] parable restore the lamb fourfold ({{bibleverse|2 Sam|12:6|KJV}}), so four of his sons had  to die as reparation for the murder: Bathsheba's baby son ({{bibleverse|2 Sam|12:18|KJV}}), [[Amnon]] ({{bibleverse|2 Sam|13:29|KJV}}), [[Abshalom]] ({{bibleverse|2 Sam|18:14-15|KJV}}) and, after David's death, Adonijah.

==See also==
* [[Araunah#Identity of Araunah|Identity of Araunah]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Children of David]]
[[Category:Books of Kings people]]
[[Category:Jewish royalty]]
[[Category:Solomon]]
[[Category:Biblical murder victims]]
[[Category:Heirs apparent who never acceded]]
[[Category:Sons of kings]]