Bible Strands
1 Kings 11:22
But 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.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Pharaoh questions Hadad about his sudden request to depart Egypt after hearing that David and Joab are dead. Hadad answers the king’s inquiry by stating he lacks nothing but urgently asks to be released.
The words — חָסֵר (cha.Ser) translates literally as “lacking” or “wanting,” capturing Pharaoh’s precise question about what material or personal need remains unfulfilled in Egyptian service.
The thread — The rhetorical structure of royal inquiry and humble refusal parallels Jesus’ question in Luke 22:35 and the persistent requests in 2 Samuel 18:22, while the theme of restrained anger in Psalms 37:8 frames the political tension.
Why it lands — The text shows that political asylum rests on royal permission rather than personal worth, requiring a reader to acknowledge that human plans advance only when earthly powers permit or when divine sovereignty redirects them.
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
Then Pharaoh said unto him, But what hast thou lacked with me, that, behold, thou seekest to go to thine own country? And he answered, Nothing: howbeit let me go in any wise.
Cross-references
- Luke 22:35 Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you out without purse or bag or sandals, did you lack anything?” “Nothing,” they answered.
- 2 Samuel 18:22 Ahimaaz son of Zadok, however, persisted and said to Joab, “No matter what, please let me also run behind the Cushite!” “My son,” Joab replied, “why do you want to run, since you will not receive a reward?”
- Psalms 37:8 Refrain from anger and abandon wrath; do not fret—it can only bring harm.
- Jeremiah 2:31 You people of this generation, consider the word of the LORD: “Have I been a wilderness to Israel or a land of dense darkness? Why do My people say, ‘We are free to roam; we will come to You no more’?
- Mark 14:31 But Peter kept insisting, “Even if I have to die with You, I will never deny You.” And all the others said the same thing.