So Benaiah came to the tent of the LORD and said to him, “The king commands, ‘Come out.’” But he said, “No, I will die here.” Then Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, “Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.”
Abiathar and Joab were both aiding and abetting in Adonijah's rebellious attempt, and it is probable were at the bottom of this new motion made of Adonijah for Abishag, and it should seem Solomon knew it, Kg1 2:22. This was, in both, an intolerable affront both to God and to the government, and the worse because of their high station and the great influence their examples might have upon many.
Commenting on 1 Kings 2:26-34
And the king said unto him, do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him,.... Let him die where he is, slay him upon the spot, and then bury him; not by the altar, but in his own sepulchre, as later related, that in, give orders to bury him there; for Benaiah being a priest, could not be concerned in the burial...
JOAB SLAIN. (1Ki. 2:28-45) Then tidings came to Joab--The execution of these sentences respectively on Adonijah and Abiathar prepared Joab for his fate. Death, due to his great crimes (Num 35:33), would long ago have been inflicted, had not his power and popularity with the army been too formidable for the old king.
Commenting on 1 Kings 2:28-45