1 Kings 11:14-25
The Voice
That “one tribe” promised by the Lord is Solomon’s own tribe, Judah. But by the time this is written several centuries later, Judah is the common name for the Southern Kingdom, which is ruled by Solomon’s descendants and actually composed of two tribes: Judah and Benjamin. Ironically Benjamin and Judah were historically enemies. As the tribe of Saul, Benjamin was predisposed against David when he became king, and they continued their animosity toward him by supporting Absalom during his rebellion. All of those bad feelings will change when Judah and Israel split. Benjamin will decide to follow Rehoboam along with Judah, while the other ten tribes will follow Jeroboam.
14 The Eternal brought an enemy against him—Hadad the Edomite, who was a descendant of Edom’s king.
15 While David was in Edom, Joab, the head of the army, was burying the dead after he had killed every male in Edom. 16 (Joab and all of Israel had remained in Edom for six months until Joab had killed every male in Edom.) 17 But Hadad ran away to Egypt. Some of the Edomites who guarded Hadad’s father traveled with Hadad in order to look after him because he was only a boy at the time. 18 They traveled from Midian and arrived at Paran. They gathered men from Paran to journey with them, and they arrived in Egypt. They went to Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, and he provided Hadad with a place to stay and with food. Pharaoh also gave him his own land; he treated Hadad as family. 19 Pharaoh liked Hadad so much that he offered his sister-in-law to Hadad to marry. She was the sister of the queen, Tahpenes. 20 Tahpenes’ sister gave birth to Hadad’s son, whom they called Genubath. Tahpenes weaned Genubath in Pharaoh’s house where he stayed and grew up with Pharaoh’s sons. 21 When Hadad received word in Egypt that David had left this world to sleep with his fathers and that Joab, the head of the army, was also dead, he made a special request to Pharaoh.
Hadad: Please let me go back to my native country.
Pharaoh: 22 Why would you need or want to return to your native country? Have I not provided you with all that you could ever desire? So why do you ask to return?
Hadad: What you say is true, Pharaoh. There is nothing more I could desire, but you still must allow me to return to my native country.
23 The True God brought another enemy against Solomon—Rezon (Eliada’s son) who ran away from his lord Hadadezer (Zobah’s king). 24 After David killed the people of Zobah, Rezon formed a band of thieves and acted as its leader. The band of thieves traveled to Damascus, the capital of Aram, and ruled there. 25 Rezon was Israel’s perpetual enemy during Solomon’s reign, in addition to all that Hadad did. Rezon despised Israel and ruled Aram.
Read full chapterThe Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
