And Hadad found great favour in the sight of Pharaoh ,.... Perhaps for his comely personage, princely qualities, and good behaviour, as he grew up: so that he gave him to wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen ; it seems the kings of Egypt used to marry their favourites to great personages; see Genesis 41:45 . read more
And the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son ,.... Which signifies "stealth", and the name might be given in memory of himself being carried away by stealth from his own land: whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house : who was so fond of the child, that she took it, and weaned it for her in the king's palace: and Genubath was in Pharaoh's household among the sons of Pharaoh ; brought up among them, as if he was one of them. read more
Premonitions of Wrath. Though the full weight of the judgment of God upon the sin of Solomon was not to come upon him in his lifetime, yet did he not, in this world, go altogether without punishment. The foreknowledge of the evils to come upon his family and people was in itself a heavy affliction. But in addition to this, the evening of his days was doomed to be disturbed. To this end— I. GOD STIRRED UP ADVERSARIES AGAINST HIM . 1 . In themselves these were... read more
The Divine Chastisements. I. CHASTISEMENT IS MERCY . Though the judgment was kept back, Solomon was meanwhile made to feel the rod of correction. We may be forgiven and yet chastised—yea, chastised because we are forgiven. "Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth," etc. This, too, was mercy, for— 1 . It was fitted to lead him to seek God in truth . It is easier to feel and confess our folly and sin in adversity than when all is well with us, 2 . It revealed to... read more
And Hadad found great favour in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him to wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes [ LXX . θεκεμίνα . "No name that has any near resemblance to either Tahpenes or Thekemina has yet been found among those of the period". Rawlinson adds that the monuments of that age are extremely scanty] the queen . [Heb. גְּבִירָה the word generally used of the queen mother (as in 1 Kings 15:13 ). Here, and in 2 Kings 10:13 , however, it is... read more
And the sister of Tahpenes bare him Genubath his son [otherwise unknown], whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house [A significant token of his adoption into the royal family. The weaning, which generally took place in the second, sometimes third, (2 Macc. 7:27) year,was clearly a much more marked occasion in the ancient East than it is among ourselves ( Genesis 21:8 ; 1 Samuel 1:24 ) ]: and Genubath was in Pharaoh's household among the sons of Pharaoh. [ i.e. he was brought up in... read more
1 Kings 11:19-20. Hadad found great favour in the sight of Pharaoh God so disposing Pharaoh’s heart, that Hadad might be a scourge to Solomon for his impieties. Here Hadad married the sister of Tahpenes the queen, who bare him a son. Whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house Having as great a fondness for the child, as the king had for his father; and kept the feast generally made at the weaning of a child. In all these things the providence of God was conspicuous, thus causing Hadad and... read more
Solomon’s idolatry (11:1-43)Although some of Solomon’s marriages were for political purposes, most of his wives and concubines were probably given to him as gifts. These women usually brought their gods into Israel, and Solomon’s weakness in worshipping these gods led finally to his downfall (11:1-8). God’s judgment on Solomon and Israel was to bring the long-standing friction between northerners and southerners to a climax in the division of the kingdom. Only Solomon’s tribe Judah (which had... read more
4. Solomon’s apostasy ch. 11The writer brought Solomon’s weaknesses and sins, to which he only hinted previously, into the light in this chapter. Solomon had sown some seeds of departure from God and His Word early in his reign. They bore bitter fruit as he grew older. read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Kings 11:14-25
While Solomon kept closely to God and to his duty there was no adversary nor evil occurrent (1 Kgs. 5:4), nothing to create him any disturbance or uneasiness in the least; but here we have an account of two adversaries that appeared against him, inconsiderable, and that could not have done any thing worth taking notice of if Solomon had not first made God his enemy. What hurt could Hadad or Rezon have done to so great and powerful a king as Solomon was if he had not, by sin, made himself mean... read more