1 Kings 11:14–25

SOLOMON’S ENEMIES

¹⁴So the Lord raised up^e Hadad the Edomite as an enemy against Solomon. He was of the royal family in Edom. ¹⁵Earlier, when David was in Edom, Joab, the commander of the army, had gone to bury the dead and had struck down every male in Edom. ¹⁶For Joab and all Israel had remained there six months, until he had killed every male in Edom.^{f 17}Hadad fled to Egypt, along with some Edomites from his father’s servants. At the time Hadad was a small boy. ¹⁸Hadad and his men set out from Midian and went to Paran.^g They took men with them from Paran and went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt,^h who gave Hadad a house, ordered that he be given food, and gave him land. ¹⁹Pharaoh liked Hadad so much^D that he gave him a wife, the sister of his own wife, Queen Tahpenes. ²⁰Tahpenes’s sister gave birth to Hadad’s son Genubath. Tahpenes herself weaned him in Pharaoh’s palace, and Genubath lived there along with Pharaoh’s sons.

²¹When Hadad heard in Egypt that David rested with his ancestors and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me leave, so I may go to my own country.”

²²But Pharaoh asked him, “What do you lack here with me for you to want to go back to your own country?”

“Nothing,” he replied, “but please let me leave.”

²³God raised up Rezon son of Eliada as an enemyⁱ against Solomon. Rezon had fled from his master King Hadadezer of Zobah^{j 24}and gathered men to himself. He became leader of a raiding party when David killed the Zobaites. He^A went to Damascus,^k lived there, and became king in Damascus. ²⁵Rezon was Israel’s enemy throughout Solomon’s reign, adding to the trouble Hadad had caused. He reigned over Aram^Bl and loathed Israel.