Title: Part II: I Kings 11:1443 Hadad, Rezon, Jeroboam, Ahijah, and Solomons Death What Really Happened
1Part II I Kings 1114-43 Hadad, Rezon,
Jeroboam, Ahijah, and Solomons Death- What
Really Happened?
2Background Information
- In the Book of Kings, Yahweh acts through
historical events - Because of Solomons sin and exploitive reign
(using fellow Israelites as slave labor), Solomon
is punished. - God raises up three adversaries (satan) meaning
negative testers Hadad, Rezon, and Jeroboam
3Part I The Bible
4Hadad Whats in a Name?
- Hadad means thunderer. The Arabic translation
is Hadda which means to crush - This is a Baalist name Baal manifests himself in
rain and thunder of winter (Gray) - First seen in Amorite chiefs in 19th century B.C.
- An example of a hypocoristicon or truncating a
theophoric name (Name bearing the name of a god)
(Gray) - In list of Edomite kings in Genesis 36, the name
Hadad is mentioned as one of the kings (vs. 35)
5Hadad of 1 Kings
- Hadad in vs. 14 is said to have been of the royal
house of Edom. - As first witnessed in Genesis and later in
extra-biblical materials, the Edomite throne was
not hereditary. - Thus, Hadad may not have been born to the King of
Edom, but he was probably of noble blood.
6Edom in the Bible
- But Edom said to him, You shall not pass
through or we will come out with the sword
against youThus Edom refused to give Israel
passage through their territory so Israel turned
away from them (Num 2018,21)
- The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord
concerning Edom We have heard a report from the
Lord and a messenger has been sent among the
nations Rise up! Let us rise against it for
battle (Ob. 11) - What we see
- Israel and Edom are enemies before and after 1
Kings. - Edomites in the bible were descended from Jacobs
brother, Esau (Gen. 361)
7The Slaughter of Edom
- Davids army under Joab slaughtered the Edomites
in a slaughter Brugzmann parallels only to Exodus - Hadad probably got away partially due to a
Bedouin tradition of sparing women and children
under a certain age all other males are killed - After assuming control of Edom, David put
garrisons in Edom throughout all Edom he put
garrisons, and all the Edomites became Davids
servants (2 Sam. 814)
Joab and his army getting down to business
8Exile in Egypt
- During this time, Hadad is taken by servants of
his father through Midian and Paran, which is
part of the Sinai Desert to Egypt. Probably some
of the palace guard would have accompanied them
(World Biblical Commentary) - Heading south would be the safest route for the
escapees - These were probably not lowly servants, but
courtiers and high court officials
9Hadad in Egypt
- When Hadad left Edom, he was a young boy
- However, when he reaches Egypt, he is given a
house, food, land, and eventually a wife. - Scholars are unsure of the relationship this wife
is to the queen either it is the sister of
Pharaoh's queen, or the queen mother, or the one
who has given birth to the heir. - She bears him a son, Genubath
- Genubath was probably raised as a page in
Pharaohs court - This is only one of two recorded times in the
bible and in history that Pharaoh gave one of the
daughters in Egypt in marriage.
10Hadads Return
- News reaches Egypt that David and Joab had both
died - Hadad requests that Pharaoh allow him to return
to Edom now that those who would kill him are
dead - Pharaoh at first refuses, probably because of
diplomatic negotiations including the marriage of
Pharaoh's daughter to Solomon - Eventually, Hadad does return, probably through
some diplomacy, for in vs. 25 Hadad is making
troubles as Hadad did
11Rezon Whats in a Name?
- Rezon means ruler
- This name, then, is speculated as being his
title Gray suggests that his real name is
Hezion, in Arabic Razuna meaning dignified - This name would be in reference to El, a senior
Canaanite god who is comparable in status to Baal - The name would thus also mean El notices
12Rezon an Upstart
- Rezon is said to have fled from his master, King
Hadadezer of Zobah - King Hadadezer of Zobah is noted for being
defeated by David, killing 20,000 troops, and
then also defeating an army from the Armeans of
Damascus, killing 22,000 troops. - This forces Damascus to surrender.
- David puts a garrison inside Damascus and
received tribute from Damascus (2 Samuel 8 5-8)
13Rezon, an Upstart
- After Rezon fled, He gathered followers around
him and became leader of a marauding band, after
the slaughter by David they went to Damascus,
settled there, and made him king in Damascus. He
was an adversary of Israel (1 Kgs. 1124-25)
- Rezon was not only an adversary to Israel, but
the word used to describe this emotion is hadra,
meaning loathe- the same word used by the
Egyptians concerning Israel in Exodus (Ex. 112)
14Damascus
- Damascus is an important northern Arabian oasis
- Israel was greatly affected by the capture, and
its inability to recapture the city was
indicative of its decline (Cambridge)
15Jeroboam Whats in a Name
- Jeroboam comes from the Arabic Yarobam, which
contains a divine element meaning Let Baal
uphold his own case - Roboam means a numerous great people, or may the
people be great - Of the leading northern tribe, Ephraim
- His background is impugned by the comment about
his mother
16Jeroboams Rise in Power
- Jeroboam is identified as a youth as a man of
valor - Solomon realized this and put him in charge over
his house Joseph - Jeroboam is thought to have been in charge of
forced labor camps for the house of Joseph, and
disagrees with Solomon on this policy. - It is generally thought that Jeroboam rebelled
against Solomon, which forced him into exile. - He is not identified as a satan
- Bruegemann states that Jeroboam can be looked
upon as a new David who is displacing one
dynasty for another
17Ahijah
- Ahijah is a prophet from Shiloh where the Ark of
the Covenant was first kept - Ahijah and the cult at Shiloh could have disliked
the monarchy strong indicators that he saw the
tribal confederacy still in effect - Prophets have authority though to speak out on
any issue - Ahijah, due to his stance, must use the weapons
of the weak such as speech (Wilson)
18Ahijah and Jeroboam Meet
- Ahijah and Jeroboam meet by chance (masa- to
light upon by chance) on the road alone (Gray) - Ahijah tears a new garment (for the new kingdom)
into 12 pieces and gives Jeroboam 10 - Echoing Gods words to Solomon, he conditionally
promises a kingdom to Jeroboam and then leaves
19Yahweh through Ahijah
- See, I am about to tear the kingdom from the
hand of Solomon, and will give you ten tribes.
One tribe will remain his, for the sake of my
servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem the
city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of
Israel (1 Kgs. 11 31-32)
- This is an example of a prophetic oracle- a
succession oracle narrative - Yahweh chooses the next king, not men
- The one tribe left would be Benjamin (Cambridge)
20Yahweh through Ahijah Math Problem
- There are 12 tribes of Israel
- Jeroboam is told he will be given 10 and the
House of David will be given 1 - Where is this lost house?
- The tribe of Benjamin had long been absorbed, or
considered part of Judah. - Thus, Ahijah is prophesying the coming divided
Kingdom Israel in the north and Judah in the
south.
21Jeroboams Future Reign
- Nevertheless I will not take the whole kingdom
away from him but will make him ruler all the
days of his life (1 Kgs. 1134). - This use of ruler in the Massoretic text is the
word nasi instead of melek - Nasi is used to describe the leadership of the
tribal confederacy (cf. Num 72) rather than
malak for the king (Gray)
Ahijah and the future tribal leader. All hail!
22The Nature of Jeroboams Future Reign
- Ahijah does not anoint Jeroboam
- Ahijah uses words like tear
- A lack of anointing and the word tear in vs. 31
points to Jeroboams rise and reign to be violent - Along with the choice of words, he is probably
not to be a king, either.
23Oath to Jeroboam
- When your David days are fulfilled and you lie
down with your ancestors, I will raise up your
offspring after you, who shall come forth from
your body and I will establish my kingdom (2 Sam.
7 12) - The difference between these two oaths are
- 1. Jeroboams is conditional
- 2. Davids is absolute
- If you will listen to all that I command you,
walk in my ways, and do what is right in my sight
by keeping my statues and my commandments, as
David my servant did, I will be with you, and
will build you and enduring house, as I built for
David, and I will give Israel to you (I Kings
1138)
24Solomons Revenge
- Surprisingly, there is no response from Jeroboam
the conversation just ends (1 Kgs. 1139-40) - Solomon hunts for Jeroboam and tries to kill him,
but Jeroboam flees to Egypt - Scholars believe that Jeroboam incited a failed
coup and was forced into exile- it seems
plausible that there may have been prophet(s)
behind this - Solomon then dies after forty years of reigning
25Part II Historical-Critical View
26Solomon, We have a problem
- He was an adversary of Israel all the days of
Solomon, making trouble as Hadad did he despised
Israel and reigned over Aram (1 Kgs. 1125)
- This text is considered a problem text by
commentators - He is apparently referring to Rezon, and the part
about Hadad seems to have been put in the wrong
place. - Theres just one minor problem
- WHAT DID THEY DO?
27Solomon, we have a problem.
- Verse 41 states that there is a Book of the Acts
of Solomon in which there is written the rest of
Solomons deeds - This text, unfortunately, has been lost to
history - Thus, we are still left with our question
28Historical-Critical Method to the Rescue!
- Scholars have been studying this text for quite
awhile. - Unfortunately, there is no consensus about what
is really happening here. - We will now examine what contemporary scholars
have argued and archeology has found, then
reaching some conclusions.
29Solomon, what time is it?
- First, we should establish what time period we
are working in. - Iron Age I.
- The bible states that Solomon ruled for forty
years. - At first, this number is somewhat looked upon
skeptically.
King Solomon
30Solomon, what time is it?
- Green (1978) states that evidence brings us to
believe that Solomon did reign for about 40 years - He ruled somewhere between 970-931 BC or 962-922
BC - This round number of 40 looks suspicious, but it
is most likely accurate certainly he reigned for
no less than 30 years
31Solomon, what time is it?
- How we arrive at this dating is by looking at the
dating for the Egyptian dynasties, who were so
closely tied to Israel during this time. - The father-in-law of Solomon, believed to by
Siamun. - He is believed to have reigned 978-960 BC
- It is believed that Solomon took this Pharaoh's
daughter for his wife
32Solomon, what time is it?
- This would allow for his successor, Psusennes who
reigned from 961-946 to be the Pharaoh involved
with Hadad - His successor, and founder of the 22nd Dynasty,
Sheshonk I c. 946 would have taken Jeroboam in. - This dating also works out well, since Egypt
attacks Israel five years into the reign of
Rehoboam, and Sheshonk is identified as the
Pharaoh (Green)
33Egypt A tale of two dynasties
- The 21st dynasty includes Siamun and Psusennes II
- This dynasty was established at a time when
Egypts fortunes were low (Williams). - Egyptian policy at this time seems to reflect
this allying with Israel, an up and coming power
and then trying to set an adversary against them.
- The 22nd Dynasty began with Sheshonk I.
- He is identified as a Libyan, commander-in-chief
of Egyptian armies who staged a coup with the
assistance of the army - After taking power, Sheshonk seemed more
interested in restoring Egypts power and
prestige militarily (Wilkinson).
34Where are you?
- After having established the time frame of this
chapter of Kings, it would be good to establish
the existence and deeds of Hadad and Rezon - There is, however, no definitive proof that
either of these two characters ever existed. - Theories abound as to what the author and editors
of Kings are alluding to when they mention Hadad
and Rezon.
355 Theories
- Diana V. Edelman in Solomons Adversaries of
Hadad, Rezon, and Jeroboam A Trio of Bad Guy
Characters Illustrating the Theology of Immediate
Retribution (1995) states that Hadad and Rezon
are fictitious characters inserted later to
correct Theology - 2. Hadad alone existed
- 3. A. Lemaire argues that Rezon alone existed
- 4. Josephus in his Antiquities of the Jews states
that Hadad went up to Damascus and helped Rezon
to take control of Damascus - 5. Both of these characters existed. Represents
two separate traditions.
36Theory One
- Using literary criticism, Edelman finds a pattern
common in folk literature- creating 3 bad guys,
each one more dangerous than the former - These two characters are not even that important
to the story. In 2 Chronicles, they do not even
appear. - Literary criticism seems to dismiss the existence
of these characters
37Theory One Hadad and Rezon
- Edomite sites found date to the late 8th century
B.C. which is too late for Hadad - Earlier sites are only small chiefdoms and it is
unclear if Hadad ruled over any of these - Archeological evidence shows Edom did not start
expanding till the 7th century B.C. - If Edom was a small collection of chiefdoms, how
could this maintain a stranglehold on Israel,
especially with a fleet of ships? (Cambridge)
- Rezon cannot be shown to exist with archeology,
either - This is especially difficult with Damascus
continually being rebuilt over the same site - Assyrian texts from the period do not attest to a
takeover of Damascus - The location of Zobah, Rezons homeland cannot be
firmly established -
38Theory One Conclusion
- In general then, Edelman believes that Archeology
and Literary studies cannot bear either of these
characters out to be historical - Their stories and names were simply put together
to be as plausible as possible- its all really a
folk tale - However, more recent studies and other scholars
beg to differ about Edelmans overt denials of
Hadad and/or Rezon
39Hadad New Archeological Evidence
- In 2002, a team led by Thomas Levy from the
University of California- San Diego found new
sites in the biblical land of Edom. - What they found was evidence of two large copper
ore production times, with 100 buildings,
industry, and fortifications - This area had previously been ignored due to the
difficulties of working in this area - These new discoveries push back dates that 10
years ago were in the 7th century to the 12th
through 9th centuries BC- Around the supposed
time of Hadad
Could this newest archeological discovery be
linked to Hadad?
40Hadad Objections Still Remain
- Even though there is new archeological evidence,
there is still questions surrounding Hadads rule
of Edom - If Hadad caused a great amount of trouble for
Solomon, then how was Solomon permitted to trade? - In 1 Kgs. 926-28, Solomon built a fleet of
ships at Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the
shore of the Red Sea and he traded with Ophir - However Eloth is in Edom
- Therefore, if Hadad was successful in breaking
away from Solomon, how can 1 Kgs., nor any other
sources record the destruction of his fleet due
to either a lack of port or being destroyed in
port?
41Hadad Conclusions
- Until more archeological evidence is found about
the true nature of Edoms power during this
period and any evidence of a revolt, I come to
the same conclusions as J.R. Bartlett did in 1976 - Bartlett concludes that Hadads role in the bible
has been overestimated, that Edom probably was
not freed of Israelite control during his time,
and at best he led a failed coup
42Rezon
- The case for Rezon is also hard to make
- As stated previously, the city of Damascus has
been rebuilt several times over the same site - Thus, any archeological digs are nearly
impossible to conduct today
Present-day Damascus
43Rezon
- However, scholars have been able to assemble a
great amount of details surrounding this story - A. Lemaire believes that all references to Hadad
should be to Rezon - No Edom in time of David
- Hadad is an Armean prince name
- Naval expedition problem with Eloth
- Therefore, all references to Edom are meant about
Aram, the area in which Damascus was located, and
Rezons (leader) name really was Hadad
44Problems with Theory
- Recent archeology would dispute there not being
an Edom - There are distinct characteristics between each
man - No common ancestor named which would link them
- Always treated distinctly in the bible
45Defense of Lemaire
- The idea of the name Hadad being for an Armean
prince does have some basis (in addition to an
Edomite kings name) - In 1 Kgs. 1518, King Ben-hadad made an alliance
with King Asa of Israel as Asa was being invaded - Ben-Hadad means Son of Hadad, which could be a
reference to this Rezon Hadad of Solomons time
(Easton Bible Dictionary Smiths Bible
Dictionary) - Edelman rejects this idea, saying that this is
simply a humoristic flair in the folktale,
because Rezon Hadad means Ruler, Son of God
knows (190)
46Additional Evidence for Rezon
- Wayne Pitard (1987) believes that Rezon did take
Damascus - He cites a rise in the importance of Damascus
during this time, with a new state of Aram with
Damascus as the central city-state, increasing in
power - Israel could have kept its northern trading
partners by using Biqa valley.
47Additional Evidence for Rezon
- Yohanan Aharoni (1967, 1979) in The Land of the
Bible a Historical Geography cites evidence that
the northern city of Tadmor and Hamath-Zobah were
fortified during Solomons reign - It seems that Solomon would not do this if he
still held the important city of Damascus - Thus, it seems possible that Solomon could have
lost Damascus to Rezon and fortified other cities
surrounding Damascus to - Keep important trading partners in the north
- Contain Rezon
48(No Transcript)
49Rezon Conclusions
- There is circumstantial evidence to suggest that
Rezon successfully revolted against Solomon and
began building a powerful state to challenge
Solomon - However, without more definitive archeological
evidence, this will remain just a theory.
50Conclusion to theories 2 and 3 Could either of
these two have acted alone?
- This is certainly possible, given that the
accounts in 1 Kgs. 11 come from different
sources, and one may truly be a fictitious - However, without more definitive evidence,
neither one of these stories can be totally ruled
out - Therefore, at this time, we seem to have to
accept both of these stories as having some basis
in history
51Theory 4 Hadad helps Rezon take over Damascus
- Other than Josephuss writings, there seems to be
no other contemporary scholars supporting this
position - Thus, this position is discounted for now
52Theory 4a Hadad and Rezon are the same person
- Again, with the difficulties posed above with no
common ancestor and the clear distinction in the
bible, this option does not seem open to
contemporary scholars as an option right now due
to a lack of any evidence to dispute the bible on
this point - However, this could change with a archeological
find naming a Hadad also as Rezon.
53Theory 5 The Bible is Correct
- This theory would seem right now to have at least
circumstantial evidence supporting it - However, I question this fact was Israels
decline so rapid that two whole garrisons were
defeated by these two upstarts and any subsequent
attempts to reinforce by Solomon unsuccessful?
This is certainly possible, but highly unusual in
military history.
54Jeroboam and Ahijah
- While Jeroboams early career in the bible may be
fictitious, he did exist and was made king as far
as archeology can tell. - In 1905, there was a royal seal found with an
inscription of belonging to Shema, the servant
of Jeroboam, at first believed to belong to
Jeroboam II, but later was proved to be of
Jeroboam of Solomons time period - This seal does not prove Jeroboams reign, but it
strongly suggest it (Edelman)
- The story about Ahijah seems to have a historic
core to it - Whether the prophets name was actually Ahijah is
somewhat disputed, but this point is not really
important - Further, it seems likely that Jeroboam would not
begin his revolt or subsequent exile looking to
return as ruler of Israel without some sort of
prophetic/divine blessing - Thus, the Ahijah section of the story is
plausible, if not highly likely
55Conclusion
- Jeroboam would return with the support of
Sheshonk I of Egypt and rule Israel Ahijah
reappears - Rezon and Hadad never are mentioned again
- Whoever these characters are, they will continue
to invoke much speculation in years to come
56Conclusion (Cont.)
- Even though scholarship cannot affirm totally
this story, the bible is still in tact- nothing
on faith or morals is diminished - In parish ministry, this could be useful to
- Illustrate how the historical-critical method is
a useful tool to study the bible without denying
the vital content - Demonstrating the importance of listening to
Gods voice in ones life - Demonstrating the importance of finding God
working in ones life - Importance of listening to critics
- In the end, we all die
57THANK YOU!