The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Kings — Section 231

but it he.s been connected with the beautiful Let me depart [Heb. send me away], that TT'iid11 Feira11, near Monnt Serbo.l, in the I may go to mine own country, [Hawlin- Sinai tic range, wruch would agree fairly well son cites Herod. iii. 132-137; v. 25, 35, with ournan·ative]: a.nd they took men with 106, 107, to show that refugees e.t Oriental them out of Pa.ra.n [as guides through the courts must obtain permission to leave desert, e.nd possibly as a protection alsoJ, them.] a.nd ea.me to Egypt [The direct route from Ver. 22.-Then Pharaoh said unto him, Edom to Egypt would be ncross the desert But what hast thou lacked with me, that, of Et Tih-prnctico.lly the route of the cara- behold, thou seekest to go to thine own van of 11ilgrims from Mecca. But this does country? [The natural inquiry of Eastern not settle the position of Pa.ran, as the text courtesy.] And he answered, Nothing: seems to hint that the fugitives did not howbeit let me go 1n a.ny wise. [Heb. thou proc@ed direct from Edom. They may have shalt surely send me away. Rawlinson says, taken refuge in t.he first instance amongst " There is e. remarkable abruptness in this the tribes of Midian ; or they may have termination." But we must remember bow diverged fro::n the straight course through unfinished, to our eyes, Scripture narratives fear], unto Pharaoh king of Egypt [This constantly seem. There is no need, conse- cannot have been the Pharaoh who was quently, to suspect any accidental omission Solomon's father-in-law, for in the first from the Hebrew text. The LXX., it is pin.cc, the flight was in the time of David, true, adds, "and Ader departed," &c., but aud secondly, n prince who had aided o.nd this may be inferred from vers. 14, 25. And abetted these fugiti,es would ho.rdly be likely He.dad's persistent desire to depart, for to form an alliance wlth their great enemy. which he assigns no reason, is suggestive It may have been Psusennes II.]; whlch gave of the thoughts which were stirring in bis hi.!n an house, a.nd appointed h1m victuals soul. "The keen remembrance of bis [i.e., certain cities or officers were cbo.rged native land, his lost kingdom, and the with his ma.intena.nce, though, as his rela- slaughter of all bis house, gathered strength tions with the royal family were so extremely within him ; and all the ease and princely intimate (vers.19-22), he may have been fed honour which he enjoyed in Egypt availed from the roya.1 table], a.nd gave him land. not against the claims of ambition, ven- Ver. 19.-And Hadad found great favour geance, and patriotism" (Kitto).] 1n the 6l.ght of Pharaoh, so that he gave Ver. 23.-And God stirred h1m up another h1m to Wife the Bister of his own Wife, the adversary [almost identical with ver. 14], sister of Ta.hpenes [LXX. 0EJCEµiva. "No Rezon the son of Elladah [Often identified name that has any near resemblance to with the Hezion of eh. xv. 18, but on insuf. either Tahpencs or Thekemina has yet been ficient grounds. Whether he was a usurper, found among those of the period " (Poole, who had dethroned Hadad (see Joe., Ant., Diet. Bib. iii. 1431). Rawlinson adds that vi. 5. 2), or an officer of Hadadezer's, who the monuments of that age are extremely escaped either before or after the battle of 11canty] the queen. [Heb. i1i1JJ the word 2 Sam. viii. 3-5, is uncertain. The follow- generally used of the queen •.,;,ther (as in ing words agree equally well with either sup- eh. xv. 13). Here, and in 2 Kings x. 13, position], which 1led from h1B lord Hadad• however, it is used of the queen consort. J ezer king of Zobah. Ver. 20.-And the sister of Ta.hpenes bare Ver. 24.-Andhe gathered men unto him, h1m Genubath his son [otherwise unknown], a.nd became captain over a ba.nd [either of whom Tahpenes weaned 1n Pharaoh's house rebels before or of fugitives after the defeat], [A significant token of his adoption into the when David slew them of Zobah [Of Zobah, royal family. The weo.ning, which generally not in Heb. "Them" must mean the Syrian t.ook place in the 110COnd, sometimes third, army] : and they went to Damascus, a.nd (2 Ma{;C. vii. 27) year, was clearly a much more dwelt therein [As David put gfLITisons in rnarhed occasion in the anci~nt East than Syria of Damascus (2 Sam. viii. 6), this must it is among ourselves (Gen. xxi. 8; 1 Sam. have been some time after the defeat of the i. 24)]: a.nd Genubath was 1n Pharaoh'& Syrians. But Keil argues that it cannot household among the sons of Pharaoh. [i.e. have been in the middle or later part of Solo- he was brought up in the Egyptian harem.] mon's reign, inasmuch as Solomon must Ver. 21.-Alld when Hadad heard in Egypt have been lord of Dnmascue, or he could not that David slept with h1B fa.there, a.nd that have built Palmyra. But it is not so incon- Joab the captain of the host was dead [It trovertibly settled that Solomon did build comes out very significautly here what a Palmyra (see on eh. ix. 18) a.a to make this name of terror Joab's had been in Edom, argument of much weight. And even if it and how deep was the impression which bis were, we might still fix the reign of Rezon a, bloody vengeance of a quarter of a century an earlier period of Solomon's swa.y. See before had made! Ba.dad lla.14 to Phan.oh, below] ,and reigned. [i.e., the band or troop OH. XI, 14-43.] THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS. 235