1 Kings 11:15

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

¹⁴Then the LORD raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom. ¹⁵Earlier, when David was in Edom, Joab the commander of the army had gone to bury the dead and had struck down every male in Edom.¹⁶For Joab and all Israel had stayed there six months, until he had killed every male in Edom. ¹⁷But Hadad, still just a young boy, had fled to Egypt, along with some Edomites who were servants of his father. ¹⁸Hadad and his men set out from Midian and went to Paran. They took men from Paran with them and went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house and land and provided him with food. ¹⁹There Hadad found such great favor in the sight of Pharaoh that he gave to him in marriage the sister of Queen Tahpenes, his own wife. ²⁰And the sister of Tahpenes bore Hadad a son named Genubath. Tahpenes herself weaned him in Pharaoh's palace, and Genubath lived there among the sons of Pharaoh. ²¹When Hadad heard in Egypt that David had rested with his fathers and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead, he said to Pharaoh, "Let me go, so I may return to my own country." ²²But Pharaoh asked him, "What have you lacked here with me that you suddenly want to go back to your own country?" "Nothing," Hadad replied, "but please let me go." ²³And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

when David: 2 Samuel 8:14, 1 Chronicles 18:12, 1 Chronicles 18:13, Psalms 60:1, *title Psalms 108:10

after he had: Genesis 25:23, Genesis 27:40, Numbers 24:18, Numbers 24:19, Deuteronomy 20:13, Malachi 1:2, Malachi 1:3

every male: Numbers 31:17

Reciprocal: Genesis 27:29 - be lord Numbers 31:7 - all

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For it came to pass, when David was in Edom,.... Fighting with the Edomites, and subduing them, and putting garrisons in the land, 2 Samuel 8:14

and Joab the captain of the host was gone up to bury the slain: the Israelites that fell in battle, or whom the Edomites afterwards, through stratagem and surprise, fell upon in their garrisons and destroyed, and which caused Joab to go thither to bury them, and take vengeance on the Edomites for it; or these were the Edomites slain by David and Joab; and it has been always reckoned a piece of humanity to bury the dead of an enemy, and is to the honour of the conqueror, see

Ezekiel 39:12 or to suffer the enemy to bury them themselves: it is said o, that Hercules was the first that brought up this practice, and that before they were left on the field, to be devoured by dogs; so they were in the times of the Trojan war, as appears by the writings of Homer; but burying them, in later times, was used by the Romans p and Greeks; and Josephus q delivers it as a law of Moses to bury enemies, and not suffer any dead to lie without partaking of the earth, nor to pass by or overlook any unburied; but from whence he took it, or grounds it upon, is not very evident; this is the first mention of it; though the Targum is,

"to strip the slain:''

after he had smitten every male in Edom; as he thought, intending to root out the name of them; being enraged at their falling upon the garrisons, if that was the case.

o Aelian. Var. Hist. l. 12. c. 27. p Liv. Hist. l. 39. c. 21. Vid. Kirchman. Append. ad. lib. de Funer. Roman. c. 3, 4, & 5. q Antiqu. l. 4. c. 8. sect. 24. contr. Apion. l. 2. c. 29.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The verse gives certain additional particulars of David’s conquest of Edom (marginal references). Joab was left, or sent, to complete the subjugation of the country, with orders to exterminate all the grown male inhabitants. It was not very often that David acted with any extreme severity in his wars; but he may have considered himself justified by policy, as he certainly was by the letter of the Law Deuteronomy 20:13, in adopting this fierce course against Edom.

Was in Edom - Or, according to another reading, “smote” Edom.

The slain - Probably the Israelites who had fallen in the strnggle. Translate, “when ... Joab was gone up to bury the slain, and had smitten every male,” etc.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 11:15. Was gone up to bury the slain — The slain Edomites; for Joab had in the course of six months exterminated all the males, except Hadad and his servants, who escaped to Egypt. Instead of bury the slain, the Targum has to take the spoils of the slain.