Solomon had cheated his brother Adonijah out of the throne to which the latter was entitled by birth, and Adonijah thought that he should at least be allowed to have Abishag, the sixteen-year-old beauty that they had put in bed with the dying King David to save his life. And he induced Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, to make the request of the king. When Solomon had heard the petition of Bathsheba he said: “And why dost thou ask Abishag for Adonijah, ask for him the kingdom also.” Abishag is the only jewel in the Jewish crown, the most priceless legacy that King David left. A perfect beauty is more to be desired than the riches of a kingdom. I will not give her up. All the good things in Israel are reserved for the king. Then Solomon swore by the Lord saying: “God do so to me and more also if Adonijah hath not spoken this word against his own life. Now therefore as the Lord liveth Adonijah shall be put to death this day.” What ho! guards, summon Benaiah, Commander of the Knights of the Mystic Shrine of Asherah. When Benaiah appeared, he bowed low before the throne, and, raising his right hand, made the occult sign of the Witches’ Sabbath. Then Solomon said: “Rise, O beloved of the king, favorite of the gods of the groves and the gardens. The king hath weighty matters to communicate to thee. It is reported that Adonijah, our brother, hath taken refuge at the shrine of that second-rate God Jehovah and doth cling to the horns of the altar. And behold all of Adonijah’s followers are devotees of Jehovah, while all of our partisans and all of you whom the king hath deigned to grace with official rank are devotees of Baal and Asherah. Now the king commandeth that you seek out all of those Jehovah worshippers who have stood by Adonijah and eliminate them from the problem of life. Go in and out among them and slay each one your father and your mother, your sister and your brother, if so be that they be among the rebels. Relieve them of life’s burdens. Do not be harsh with them, show them our royal mercy, shove them gently through the gates of Hell, cutting them with saws and with harrows of iron and with axes, emulating the clemency of our royal father, the bandit chief. As for Adonijah, fall upon him and slay him as he clings to the horns of the altar. It is true that the altar of a god is sacred ground and a refuge as a general proposition, but general propositions do not apply to the king, the king is above the law. What do I care for these imaginary gods, they are all right to scare children with, but they cut no ice with your Solomon.”