1 Kings 11:14–25

Solomon’s Enemies

¹⁴So the Lord caused Hadad, of the royal family of Edom, to turn against Solomon. ^15–16Long before this, when David had conquered Edom, Joab the commander of his army had gone there to bury the dead. He and his men remained in Edom six months, and during that time they killed every male in Edom ¹⁷except Hadad and some of his father’s Edomite servants, who escaped to Egypt. (At that time Hadad was just a child.) ¹⁸They left Midian and went to Paran, where some other men joined them. Then they travelled to Egypt and went to the king, who gave Hadad some land and a house and provided him with food. ¹⁹Hadad won the friendship of the king, and the king gave his sister-in-law, the sister of Queen Tahpenes, to Hadad in marriage. ²⁰She bore him a son, Genubath, who was brought up by the queen in the palace, where he lived with the king’s sons.

²¹When the news reached Hadad in Egypt that David had died and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to the king, “Let me go back to my own country.”

²²“Why?” the king asked. “Have I failed to give you something? Is that why you want to go back home?”

“Just let me go,” Hadad answered the king. And he went back to his country.^k

As king of Edom, Hadad was an evil, bitter enemy of Israel.^l

²³God also caused Rezon son of Eliada to turn against Solomon. Rezon had fled from his master, King Hadadezer of Zobah, ²⁴and had become the leader of a gang of outlaws. (This happened after David had defeated Hadadezer and had slaughtered his Syrian allies.) Rezon and his men went and lived in Damascus, where his men made him king of Syria. ²⁵He was an enemy of Israel during the lifetime of Solomon.