^11:14The Lord brought²⁵ against Solomon an enemy, Hadad the Edomite, a descendant of the Edomite king. ^11:15During David’s campaign against Edom,²⁶ Joab, the commander of the army, while on a mission to bury the dead, killed every male in Edom. ^11:16For six months Joab and the entire Israelite army²⁷ stayed there until they had exterminated every male in Edom.²⁸^11:17Hadad,²⁹ who was only a small boy at the time, escaped with some of his father’s Edomite servants and headed for Egypt.³⁰^11:18They went from Midian to Paran; they took some men from Paran and went to Egypt. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, supplied him with a house and food and even assigned him some land.³¹^11:19Pharaoh liked Hadad so well³² he gave him his sister-in-law (Queen Tahpenes’ sister) as a wife.³³^11:20Tahpenes’ sister gave birth to his son,³⁴ named Genubath. Tahpenes raised³⁵ him in Pharaoh’s palace; Genubath grew up in Pharaoh’s palace among Pharaoh’s sons. ^11:21While in Egypt Hadad heard that David had passed away³⁶ and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead. So Hadad asked Pharaoh, “Give me permission to leave³⁷ so I can return to my homeland.” ^11:22Pharaoh said to him, “What do you lack here that makes you want to go to your homeland?”³⁸ Hadad replied,³⁹ “Nothing, but please give me permission to leave.”⁴⁰

^11:23God also brought against Solomon⁴¹ another enemy, Rezon son of Eliada who had run away from his master, King Hadadezer of Zobah. ^11:24He gathered some men and organized a raiding band.⁴² When David tried to kill them,⁴³ they went to Damascus, where they settled down and gained control of the city. ^11:25He was Israel’s enemy throughout Solomon’s reign and, like Hadad, caused trouble. He loathed⁴⁴ Israel and ruled over Syria.

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Footnotes

25 Or “raised up.”
26 Heb “when David was [fighting (?)] with Edom.”
27 Heb “and all Israel.”
28 Heb “until he had cut off every male in Edom.”
29 The reads “Adad,” an alternate form of the name Hadad.
30 Heb “and Adad fled, he and Edomite men from the servants of his father, to go to Egypt, and Hadad was a small boy.”
31 Heb “and they arose from Midian and went to Paran and they took men with them from Paran and went to Egypt to Pharaoh king of Egypt and he gave to him a house and food and he said to him, and a land he gave to him.” Something seems to be accidentally omitted after “and he said to him.”
32 Heb “and Hadad found great favor in the eyes of Pharaoh.”
33 Heb “and he gave to him a wife, the sister of his wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen.”
34 Heb “bore him Genubath his son.”
35 The Hebrew text reads וַתִּגְמְלֵהוּ (vattigmélehu, “weaned him”) but a slight alteration of the consonantal text yields וַתִּגְדְלֵהוּ (vattigdélehu, “raised him”), which seems to make better sense.
36 Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
37 Heb “send me away.”
38 Heb “Indeed what do you lack with me, that now you are seeking to go to your land?”
39 Heb “and he said.”
40 So Hadad asked Pharaoh … This lengthy description of Hadad’s exile in Egypt explains why Hadad wanted to oppose Solomon and supports the author’s thesis that his hostility to Solomon found its ultimate source in divine providence. Though Hadad enjoyed a comfortable life in Egypt, when the Lord raised him up (apparently stirring up his desire for vengeance) he decided to leave the comforts of Egypt and return to Edom.
41 Heb “him”; the referent (Solomon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
42 Heb “and he was the officer of a raiding band.”
43 The Hebrew text reads “when David killed them.” This phrase is traditionally joined with what precedes. The ancient Greek version does not reflect the phrase and some suggest that it has been misplaced from the end of v. 23.
44 The construction (Qal of קוּץ + בְּ [quts + bet] preposition) is rare, but not without parallel (see Lev 20:23).