1 Kings 1:39
ESV
There Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, "Long live King Solomon!"
NIV
Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the sacred tent and anointed Solomon. Then they sounded the trumpet and all the people shouted, "Long live King Solomon!"
NASB
And Zadok the priest then took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, 'Long live King Solomon!'
CSB
The priest Zadok took the horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the ram’s horn, and all the people proclaimed, "Long live King Solomon!"
NLT
There Zadok the priest took the flask of olive oil from the sacred tent and anointed Solomon with the oil. Then they sounded the ram’s horn and all the people shouted, 'Long live King Solomon!'
KJV
And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon.
NKJV
Then Zadok the priest took a horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. And they blew the horn, and all the people said, “Long live King Solomon!”
What does 1 Kings 1:39 mean?
Adonijah, David's son, had gathered supporters to crown him as king. David is old and infirm. He's so closed off by his servants that he doesn't know this is happening. When Bathsheba and Nathan tell David, David orders his most loyal officials to immediately anoint Solomon. They follow his instructions. They put Solomon on David's mule and brought him to Gihon, a spring in east Jerusalem (1 Kings 1:38).Solomon is only Israel's third king. Samuel anointed both Saul (1 Samuel 10:1) and David (1 Samuel 16:13). Zadok the priest had the honor of anointing Solomon. The oil represents God's presence and blessing, as well as Israel's submission to the ultimate authority of the Lord. God gave extremely specific instructions on how to make and use it (Exodus 30:22–33). It's uncertain which "tent" the text is referring to. The tent that holds the ark of the covenant is next to David's palace. The tabernacle where the altar sits is not far away in Gibeon. Considering the urgency, it most likely comes from the tent with the ark.
Next, the trumpet is blown in celebration and recognition of the moment. This verse reveals that more than just David's loyal servants and personal soldiers are present. Despite the hasty procession, a crowd of people from Jerusalem realized what was happening and gathered to witness it. Everyone shouts joyfully, "Long live King Solomon!"
The crowd celebrates so passionately that "the earth was split by their noise" (1 Kings 1:40). A short distance away, Joab, David's military commander who betrayed David to follow Adonijah, hears and asks, "What does this uproar in the city mean?" (1 Kings 1:41).
The hasty coronation is only Solomon's first. David's health will recover enough to give Solomon a larger, more formal ceremony (1 Chronicles 29:10–22).
