God Raises Adversaries

¹⁴ Then the Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was of the ^[a]royal line in Edom. ¹⁵ For it came about, ^(A)when David was in Edom and Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury those killed in battle, and had ^(B)struck and killed every male in Edom ¹⁶ (for Joab and all Israel stayed there for six months, until he had eliminated every male in Edom), ¹⁷ that Hadad fled ^[b]to Egypt, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him, while Hadad was a young boy. ¹⁸ They set out from Midian and came to ^(C)Paran; and they took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house and assigned him food and gave him land. ¹⁹ Now Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him in marriage the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen. ²⁰ And the sister of Tahpenes gave birth to his son Genubath, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house; and Genubath was in Pharaoh’s house among the sons of Pharaoh. ²¹ But ^(D)when Hadad heard in Egypt that David ^[c]lay down with his fathers and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me go, so that I may go to my own country.” ²² However, Pharaoh said to him, “But what have you lacked with me that you are here, requesting to go to your own country?” And he answered, “Nothing; nevertheless you must let me go.”

^23 (E)God also raised up another adversary against him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master ^(F)Hadadezer, king of Zobah. ²⁴ And he gathered men to himself and became leader of a marauding band, ^(G)after David killed those of Zobah; and they went to Damascus and stayed ^[d]there, and reigned in Damascus. ²⁵ So he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, along with the harm that Hadad inflicted; and he felt disgust for Israel and reigned over Aram.