"So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went down, and caused Solomon to ride upon the king's mule, and brought him to Gihon." — The ritual procession begins: the three institutional authorities (priest, prophet, military) execute David's command. The verb *va-yar'kivu* (and they caused to ride) again emphasizes that Solomon is *placed* upon the royal animal by these authorities, not self-advancing. The journey *to Gihon* is geographically and symbolically decisive—the journey downward (*va-yord*) suggests descent from the palace to the sacred spring, a movement from private to public, from the inner chamber to the place of coronation.

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