1 Kings 1:29

And the king sware, and said, As the LORD liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress,

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(29) As the Lord liveth, that hath redeemed my soul.—A characteristic adjuration of David, found also in 2Samuel 4:9; but now peculiarly appropriate in the old man, who was so near the haven of rest, after all the storms of life. “O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer,” is the climax of his address to God, as the Creator of all things and the ruler of all men, in Psalm 19:14.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

1:11-31 Observe Nathan's address to Bathsheba. Let me give thee counsel how to save thy own life, and the life of thy son. Such as this is the counsel Christ's ministers give us in his name, to give all diligence, not only that no man take our crown, Re 3:11, but that we save our lives, even the lives of our souls. David made a solemn declaration of his firm cleaving to his former resolution, that Solomon should be his successor. Even the recollection of the distresses from which the Lord redeemed him, increased his comfort, inspired his hopes, and animated him to his duty, under the decays of nature and the approach of death.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

"As the Lord liveth" was the most common form of oath among the Israelites (e. g. Judges 8:19; 1 Samuel 14:39; 1 Samuel 19:6). It was unique to David to attach a further clause to this oath - a clause of thankfulness for some special mercy 1 Samuel 25:34, or for God's constant protection of him (here and in 2 Samuel 4:9).

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

28-31. Then king David answered and said, Call me Bath-sheba—He renews to her the solemn pledge he had given, in terms of solemnity and impressiveness which show that the aged monarch had roused himself to the duty the emergency called for.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

No text from Poole on this verse.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And the king sware,.... To his former oath, he added another for greater confirmation:

and said, as the Lord liveth; which was the proper form of an oath, which ought to be taken by the living God; and as what would lay him under the greater obligation to observe it, he adds,

that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress; saved his life when in the most imminent danger; delivered him out of the hand of Goliath, and from the Philistines and other enemies, in his wars with them; and from Saul and his persecuting rage and fury, and from the rebellion of his son Absalom, and the insurrection of Sheba.

Geneva Study Bible

And the king sware, and said, As the LORD liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress,

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

29. And the king sware] i.e. Solemnly renewed the oath which he had before (see 1 Kings 1:13) made unto Bath-sheba.

As the Lord liveth] The expression is equivalent to ‘As surely as the Lord liveth,’ though in the Hebrew there is no word for as. God is frequently spoken of as ‘the living God’ and the idea in this form of asseveration seems to be this, ‘the Lord is living, of that there is no doubt, and as certainly shall that come to pass which is prefaced by this solemn assertion.’

that hath redeemed, &c.] David employs exactly the same words (in Hebrew) in 2 Samuel 4:6, previous to the punishment of Baanah and Rechab for the murder of Ishbosheth. And it is not without reason that he thinks of the termination of his distresses in connexion with Solomon, for the birth of that son marked the time when he became at peace not only with men but with God.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 29. - And the king sware [see on ver., 51] and said, As the Lord liveth [or "by the life of Jehovah." Cf. "by the life of Pharaoh" (Genesis 42:15). This was the common form of oath. See, e.g., 1 Kings 2:24; Judges 8:19; Ruth 3:13; 1 Samuel 14:39; 1 Samuel 19:6; 1 Samuel 20:24; 1 Samuel 29:6; and especially Jeremiah 4:2; Jeremiah 5:2; Hosea 4:15. It is characteristic of David to introduce into the formula some such clause as the following], that hath redeemed my soul [i.e., life] out of all distress. Same expression as in 2 Samuel 4:9. Similar expressions are found in Psalm 25:22, and Psalm 34:22. The repeated deliverance out of straits and danger - "out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul" - was one of the most remarkable features of David's life, and it is no wonder that he repeatedly commemorates it, converting every adjuration into an act of thanksgiving. Similarly, Jacob (Genesis 48:16.) 1 Kings 1:29

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The king then sent for Bathsheba again, and gave her this promise on oath: "As truly as Jehovah liveth, who hath redeemed my soul out of all distress (as in 2 Samuel 4:9), yea, as I swore to thee by Jehovah, the God of Israel, saying, Solomon thy son shall be king after me, ... yea, so shall I do this day." The first and third כּי serve to give emphasis to the assertion, like imo, yea (cf. Ewald, 330, b.). The second merely serves as an introduction to the words.