Hadad The Edomite (1 Kings 11:14-22).
The first adversary was Hadad, the Edomite. He was of the royal family of Edom and had escaped the retaliatory massacre that necessarily followed an Edomite raid on Israel that had produced many dead. Joab had, in retaliation, carried out an extermination campaign in which he had attempted to kill every male capable of fighting in Edom. To be fair to him it was the only way of preventing further raids from the mountains of Edom, and making southernmost ‘Israel' safe.
Hadad, a young teenager of the royal family, was smuggled out of the country into the land of Midian, with the aim, once it was feasible, of fleeing for refuge to Egypt. From Midian they eventually moved on to Paran in the Sinai wilderness, and then, with the assistance of the men of Paran, escaped into Egypt, where Hadad was received by the Pharaoh as royalty, and given a house, food fit for royalty and land. Indeed he gained such favour with the Pharaoh that he was allowed to marry the Pharaoh's wife's sister. This marriage resulted in the birth of a son named Genubath who was weaned and grew up in the Pharaoh's household among his own sons. Solomon's enemies were also gaining favour with Egypt.
Once, however, news reached Egypt that David and Joab were dead, Hadad presumably saw an opportunity of gaining back his throne (he was not aware of Solomon's calibre) and asked to be allowed to return to Edom. The Pharaoh tried to dissuade him, but in the end gave him permission to go. Once safely hidden in the mountains of Edom he rallied the men who remained (some would have escaped the massacre either by hiding in remote places, or fleeing to surrounding countries), and began to cause Solomon a great deal of ‘mischief' (1 Kings 11:25). In other words, from his mountain hide-out he was a constant thorn in Solomon's side. Such ‘brigand' or ‘patriotic' (depending on your viewpoint) bands are difficult to search out in mountainous country which is well known to the ‘brigands', and were of course a nuisance rather than dangerous to the empire, for Solomon was still able to work the mines in Edom and trade through the port of Ezion-geber. But it was unquestionably a blot on the peaceful empire of Solomon, especially as Hadad's claims had some validity. The whole account was possibly extracted at some stage from Edomite annals.
Analysis.
a And YHWH raised up an adversary to Solomon, Hadad the Edomite. He was of the king's seed in Edom (1 Kings 11:14).
b For it came about, when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the host was gone up to bury the slain, and had smitten every male in Edom, (for Joab and all Israel remained there six months, until he had cut off every male in Edom), that 'Adad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him, to go into Egypt, Hadad being yet a young teenager (1 Kings 11:15-17).'
c And they arose out of Midian, and came to Paran, and they took men with them out of Paran, and they came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him land (1 Kings 11:18).
d And Hadad found great favour in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him to wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen (1 Kings 11:19).
c And the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house, and Genubath was in Pharaoh's house among the sons of Pharaoh (1 Kings 11:20).
b And when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the host was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, Let me depart, that I may go to my own country (1 Kings 11:21).
a Then Pharaoh said to him, “But what have you lacked with me, that, behold, you seek to go to your own country?” And he answered, “Nothing. However that may be only let me depart” (1 Kings 11:22).
Note that in ‘a' YHWH raises up an adversary to Solomon, and in the parallel he insists on returning to his own country in order to be an adversary. In ‘b' David and Joab had carried out the slaughter of the Edomites, and in the parallel it is because of the deaths of David and Joab that Hadad returns to Edom. In ‘c' Hadad is well looked after by the Pharaoh, and in the parallel his son is well looked after in Pharaoh's household. Centrally in ‘d' Hadad finds favour with the Pharaoh and marries the sister of Pharaoh's wife.
‘ And YHWH raised up an adversary to Solomon, Hadad the Edomite. He was of the king's seed in Edom.'
The first adversary raised up by YHWH against Solomon was Hadad the Edomite, who was descended from the royal house of Edom. The author has no doubt that YHWH had all history in His hands, and knew and shaped what was to come. Thus the ‘raising up' began as early as the time of David when the young prince of Edom escaped the massacre of his countrymen, and was finally able to make his way to Egypt where he was treated with honour.
‘ For it came about, when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the host was gone up to bury the slain, and had smitten every male in Edom, (for Joab and all Israel remained there six months, until he had cut off every male in Edom, that 'Adad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him, to go into Egypt, Hadad being yet a young teenager.'
The background to his story is given, It looked back to a time when the Edomites had raided David's kingdom and had viciously slaughtered a good number of ‘Israelites'. Joab had then been despatched by David ‘to bury the Israelite dead,' which would include the necessity for obtaining vengeance on their behalf and ensuring that such Edomite raids never took place again. In those days there was only one way in which to ensure that, and that was by totally destroying the enemy's fighting capability. The women of Edom would not do any raiding on their own. Thus Joab set out to slaughter every male capable of fighting in Edom, a task over which he took six months.
But however savage the onslaught, clearly there would always be some who escaped into remote places or into other lands, and among them were a group of his father's ‘servants' who smuggled him away into the land of Midian (the ‘servants' may have been some of his father's courtiers and chieftains, or they may have been loyal household servants). This ‘land of Midian' may have been the perilous and mountainous land to the south of Edom often seen as being ‘the land of Midian', or it may even refer to that part of the Sinai peninsula which in Exodus 2:15 was also spoken of as ‘the land of Midian'. The Midianites roamed over wide areas, and therefore ‘the land of Midian' was not easy to define. In their view it was wherever they roamed. So it depended on the perspective of the user.
It will be noted that Hadad is only this once in the narrative called 'Adad. This may have been his more popular name as a youngster, and therefore be the sign of a personal reminiscence by someone who had known the young prince well by that name, Hadad being his ‘royal name'. The dropping of an ‘aitch' was by no means uncommon with names (compare Adoram (1 Kings 12:18) and Hadoram (2 Chronicles 10:18) for the same man).
Hadad (‘the Thunderer') was the Aramaean god of storm, the equivalent of Baal, and this may indicate that the Edomites worshipped the Aramaean pantheon, for Hadad had long been a popular name for Edomite rulers (see e.g. Gen 36:35-36; 1 Chronicles 1:46; 1 Chronicles 1:50). Interestingly we are never otherwise given any indication as to which gods the Edomites worshipped.
‘ And they arose out of Midian, and came to Paran, and they took men with them out of Paran, and they came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him land.'
We do not know how long they remained in hiding in Midian, which would not normally have been very friendly towards them, (although the Midianites did sometime harbour refugees, as they did Moses), but eventually they determined to make an attempt to reach Egypt, and made their way into the Sinai peninsula into the land of Paran. There they were seemingly befriended by peoples who assisted them on their way to Egypt. David was probably not very popular with any of these peoples, and they were probably delighted to be able to ‘get their own back' on him, even if only in so small a way.
On arrival in Egypt Hadad's identity was disclosed, and he was welcomed by the Pharaoh who provided him with a house and some land, and ensured that he was properly and royally fed.
‘ And Hadad found great favour in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him to wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen.'
Indeed Hadad grew to such favour with Pharaoh that he was given for a wife the sister of the Pharaoh's own chief wife. She was thus not of Pharaoh's own seed, but nevertheless it was a great honour. Tahpenes was probably not the name of the queen, but a title signifying ‘wife of the king' (Egyptian t.hmt.nsw). Hadad now counted for something in Egypt.
‘ And the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house, and Genubath was in Pharaoh's house among the sons of Pharaoh.'
His marriage prospered and Hadad's wife bore him a son, whom they named Genubath. This son was honoured by being weaned in Pharaoh's own household, and brought up among his sons.
‘ And when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the host was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, Let me depart, that I may go to my own country.'
But when Hadad learned that David and the dreaded Joab were both dead, and that the young Solomon had come to the throne, he saw an opportunity, and began to hanker for his own country. The period after the death of a king was often one of unrest, and here was surely the opportunity for him to establish himself on the throne of Edom and obtain independence for Edom from Israel. So he went to the Pharaoh and begged permission to return to his own country. He was, of course, aware, as Pharaoh was, that he was thereby forfeiting a life of ease and comfort for a life of hardship, but it seemed to his patriotic spirit that it was worthwhile. Indeed, he probably felt that he must do it.
‘ Then Pharaoh said to him, “But what have you lacked with me, that, behold, you seek to go to your own country?” And he answered, “Nothing. However that may be only let me depart.”
Pharaoh tried to persuade him not to leave, and pointed out the luxurious lifestyle that he enjoyed. But Hadad was determined, and while admitting how good the Pharaoh had been to him, nevertheless begged permission to depart. This permission was clearly granted for we already know that he had been raised up by YHWH to be an ‘adversary' to Solomon, and we learn in 1 Kings 11:25 that he caused ‘mischief' to Solomon. We are given no details, but this suggests that he returned to Edom, along with his retainers, where he was accepted by the remnants of the men who had escaped the Edom massacre, and the younger Edomites who were now growing to manhood, as their king and chieftain.
His rule was probably that of a chieftain of a band of patriots who had to remain hidden in the mountains like bandits, But he clearly caused Solomon some irritation, although being a thorn in his flesh rather than a danger to his kingdom. The cities of Edom probably still had to pay their tribute to Solomon, and Solomon was still able to work the mines and trade through Ezion Geber. But Hadad no doubt raided the supply trains and merchant caravans as they made their way to and from Israel. It is doubtful whether Solomon ever gave him any recognition.
The deliberate omission here of any mention of Hadad's ‘mischief-making' and its being coupled with the mischief-making of Rezon of Damascus in 1 Kings 11:25 is with the deliberate intention of linking the two incidents as part of YHWH's one overall attempt to curb Solomon's growing arrogance.
This crack in the peace of his realm should have given Solomon pause for thought. But when men are set on the downward path they rarely stop to think.
Rezon of Damascus.
The next ‘adversary' that God raised up against Solomon was Rezon of Damascus. He was an office in the army of Hadadezer, king of Zobah, at the time when David retaliated against Hadadezer for aiding the Ammonites, and brought him into subjection, slaying many men of Zobah. Rezon deserted Hadadezer, and gathered a band of marauders (as David had done before him), and eventually, probably after a considerable period of time, established himself in Damascus. From there he was a constant adversary to Solomon, seeking to cause mischief, hating Israel, and reigning over Aram (Syria). In other words he was a constant trouble-maker and thorn in the flesh.
We do not know the full details. It may well be that Damascus still paid tribute to Solomon on and off, and that it was at least nominally tributary, but that Rezon, with his men, having virtual control of Damascus, constantly caused trouble. (It is difficult to see how it could totally have resisted the power of Solomon and remained fully independent, and it is noticeable that Rezon is not said to have been king of Damascus, which had once been garrisoned by David). Again it was seen to be a thorn in the flesh rather than a major threat, and it does not appear to have greatly affected Solomon's trading arrangements. In the future, however, Damascus would grow into a greater threat to Israel than Edom could ever be. But that yet lay ahead. Rezon's ruling over Aram may well have been after Solomon's death, the account here being a brief summary of Rezon's whole life.
Analysis.
a And God raised up another adversary to him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah (1 Kings 11:23).
b And he gathered men to him, and became captain over a roving band, when David slew those of Zobah, and they went to Damascus, and dwelt in it, and ruled in Damascus (1 Kings 11:24).
a And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, besides the mischief that Hadad did, and he abhorred Israel, and ruled over Aram (Syria) (1 Kings 11:25).
Note that in ‘a' he was an adversary to Solomon and the same in the parallel. Central in ‘b' is his control of Damascus.
‘ And God raised up another adversary to him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah.'
Once more God is seen to be active in causing trouble for Solomon through historic events. This time it was a man called Rezon (which means ‘chieftain', probably the name he took when he became leader of his band. His real name was probably Hezion - see below), the son of Eliada. E(h)li-Ada is a typically Aramaean name. This man was an officer in the army of Hadadezer of Zobah, and when David invaded Zobah in retaliation for Zobah's assistance to Ammon (2 Samuel 10:1-19), Rezon at some stage deserted or fled and, taking advantage of the chaos, got together a band of marauders.
‘ And he gathered men to him, and became captain over a roving band when David slew those of Zobah, and they went to Damascus, and dwelt in it, and ruled in Damascus.'
As his band of marauders grew they were able over a considerable period of time to grow strong enough to enter Damascus, which initially had been subdued and garrisoned by David (2 Samuel 8:3-6), and take control of it. How far he was totally able to resist the influence of Solomon we do not know. It may well be that for a time they paid tribute unwillingly (he is not called king), but with belligerent reluctance, being allowed to remain because he was not seen as too great a threat.
‘ And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, besides the mischief that Hadad did, and he abhorred Israel, and ruled over Aram (Syria).'
He was never reconciled to Solomon, and like Hadad constantly sought to act against him, hating Israel with loathing and eventually taking over the rule of the whole of Aram (which may have been immediately after Solomon's death). He may well have been identical with Hezion, grandfather of Benhadad I who would later make an alliance with Asa of Judah (1 Kings 15:18).
Had Solomon taken notice of this chastising of YHWH it might have faced him up with his waning obedience, but he was far too busy on his pet projects and with his wives and their false worship to bother too much about such things. And the result was that it passed him by. His failure would have devastating consequences for his descendants.