I Kings 1:4

Misinterpretations often wrongly assume David consummated a sexual relationship with Abishag due to her beauty, close physical proximity, and role in his bed, overlooking the explicit biblical idiom 'knew her not' meaning no intercourse occurred; this leads to portraying David as driven by lust even in frailty or endorsing the exploitation of young women for elderly men's comfort and pleasure, whereas the text focuses on his bodily weakness and innocent caregiving arrangement amid court politics.

This passage highlights King David's physical decline in extreme old age, where despite multiple coverings he cannot get warm, prompting the search for a young, beautiful virgin like Abishag the Shunammite to cherish and minister to him by lying beside him for bodily warmth; crucially, it affirms that David did not have sexual relations with her, emphasizing his impotence and preserving clarity in the royal succession narrative without introducing a new consort claim.