Bible Strands
1 Kings 11:14
Then the LORD raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records Yahweh's action in 1 Kings 11 immediately after the divine declaration in 11:13 to fragment Solomon's kingdom while preserving one tribe for David's sake. This occurs during Solomon's reign as God initiates judgment for covenant violations.
The words — The verb וַיָּקֶם (va.yaqem) translates literally as "he raised up," and the noun שָׂטָן (śāṭān) means "an adversary" or opponent. These terms identify Hadad as a human agent of judgment rather than a supernatural entity.
The thread — God's pattern of raising up opposition to execute judgment appears in 2 Samuel 24:1, where He stirs up David to take a census, and echoes the language of human antagonism in 1 Samuel 26:19. This creates a consistent biblical motif of sovereignly appointed conflict to accomplish divine purposes.
Why it lands — The passage requires readers to acknowledge that political ruin and personal opposition can serve as instruments of divine discipline. It demands a sober recognition of God's sovereignty over human conflict without minimizing the moral failures that triggered the judgment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the Lord stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he was of the king’s seed in Edom.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 26:19 Now please, may my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the LORD has stirred you up against me, then may He accept an offering. But if men have done it, may they be cursed in the presence of the LORD! For today they have driven me away from sharing in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’
- 2 Samuel 7:14 I will be his Father, and he will be My son. When he does wrong, I will discipline him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.
- 2 Samuel 24:1 Again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He stirred up David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”
- 1 Kings 12:15 So the king did not listen to the people, and indeed this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word He had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.
- 1 Chronicles 5:26 So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria) to take the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. And he brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan, where they remain to this day.
- Psalms 89:30 If his sons forsake My law and do not walk in My judgments,
- Isaiah 10:26 And the LORD of Hosts will brandish a whip against them, as when He struck Midian at the rock of Oreb. He will raise His staff over the sea, as He did in Egypt.
- Isaiah 13:17 Behold, I will stir up against them the Medes, who have no regard for silver and no desire for gold.
- Isaiah 10:5 Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger; the staff in their hands is My wrath.