"The king also said to them, 'Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon.'" — David's command is theatrical and symbolic: Solomon will ride *David's mule* (*ha-pirdah asher li*), the royal animal that signifies the king's person and authority. The verb *hir'kiv* (cause him to ride) is causative—David is actively placing Solomon in the position of the king's deputy. The destination is *Gihon* (the spring east of Jerusalem), a site associated with earlier royal activity and distinct from Adonijah's venue at En-rogel. The choice of venue is geographically and symbolically meaningful—Gihon is where David himself may have been anointed, and it will be the site of Solomon's coronation. The injunction to bring *servants* (plural) suggests a formal procession, public and witnessed.

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