Midrash su I Re 1:5

(I Kings 1, 5) And Adoniah the son of Chaggith exalted himself, saying, I shall te king. R. Juda said in the name of Rab: "Infer from this that he attempted to fasten [the crown on his head] but it would not fit him." (Ib) And he procured himself a chariot and horsemen, and fifty men who ran before him. What is there exceptional in this for a prince? R. Juda said in the name of Rab: "The sheen of all of them was taken out [so that it should be easy for them to run], and also the flesh of the soles of their feet was cut off."

(Fol. 44) R. Huna pointed out the following contradictions: It is written (I Chr. 14, 12) And they left their Gods there; and David gave commandments, and they were burnt with fire. And again there is a verse (II Sam. 5, 21) And David and his man took them away [and did not burn them?]. This is not difficult to explain: The former speaks prior to the arrival of Ithai, the Gethite; and the latter speaks of a time after the arrival of Ithai, the Gethite, as it is written in connection with a similar thing (II Sam. 12, 30) And he took the Crown of Malkam from off his head; and the weight thereof was a talent of gold, and in it were precious stones, and it was set on David's head. Now, how could he make use of the crown of an idol? Whereupon R. Nachman said: "It was Ithai, the Gethite, who had first provoked its idolatrous value." But see, how could David's head carry a crown of a talent? R. Juda in the name of Rab explains this figuratively to mean: The crown was worthy of adorning the head of David. However, R. Jose b. Chanina said: "The crown was kept in the air by the force of a magnet] and David was sitting beneath it, so that it looked as if he had it on]." But R. Elazar said: "David actually had the crown on his head, but it was not of a talent weight, but it consisted only of precious stones, which value amounted to that of a talent in gold." (Ps. 119, 56) This I have had, that I have kept Thy precepts. What does he mean by the word this? David said thus: "As a reward for observing Thy precepts, I have had this testimony (the crown)." What testimonial? Said R. Joshua b. Levi: "He placed it on the spot where the Tephilin are carried and it fitted him [thus proving his title to the crown]. But where did he then carry the Tephilin? Said R. Samuel b. Isaac: "There is sufficient space on the head to carry two Tephilin [hence he could carry both]." (II Kings 11, 12) And he brought forth the King's son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony. The crown is the princely diadem [but what is the meaning of] the testimony? Said R. Juda in the name of Rab: "This crown was a testimony in itself to the house of David; for it fitted only him to whom the kingdom belonged, but not one who was not fit to be king." (I Kings 1, 5) And adonyah, the son of Chaggith, exalted himself, saying, I shall be king. Said R. Juda in the name of Rab: "Adonyah imagined that the crown would fit him, but this was not the case." And he procured himself a chariot and horsemen and fifty men who ran before him. What kind of distinctive marks had the mentioned forerunners? We are taught in a Baraitha that their spleens were cut out, and the flesh was removed from their footsoles in order that they might run with greater speed.