He might, perhaps, as well have asked for the kingdom. The real burden of his heart was probably not a romantic concern for the fair Abishag, but the kingdom he hoped to acquire by possession of her. In the ancient Orient the wives of a king were taken over by his successor. So David, when he succeeded Saul, took over his wives (2 Sam. 12:8). Absalom, in accordance with the advice of Ahithophel, went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all the people, thus giving public announcement that he had assumed the rights of his father’s throne (2 Sam. 16:20-22). Abishag was doubtless looked upon as the last wife, or at least the last concubine, of David. For Adonijah now to ask for Abishag could be construed as asking for the throne itself. Yet before Bath-sheba he played the part of a devout and repentant young man, reconciled to his fate, and needing only the fair young maiden to soothe his aching heart.