"So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. And the king rose to meet her, and bowed to her, and sat down on his throne; then he had a seat brought for the king's mother, and she sat on his right." — Bathsheba approaches Solomon with formal petition. The king's response is remarkable: *va-ya-qum hammelekh leqaratah va-yishtachav lah va-ya-shev 'al-kiso* (the king rose to meet her and bowed to her and sat down on his throne). Solomon's *rising and bowing* to his mother (*ishta hichahu*) is extraordinary—a king performing obeisance to a woman. The *seat at his right hand* (*le-yamino*) is the place of highest honor, reserved for the second-most-powerful person in the kingdom. The narrative establishes Solomon's respect for his mother; Bathsheba occupies a position of unprecedented influence and honor.

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