Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Kings 11:18

"And they arose out of Midian, and came to Paran; and they took men with them out of Paran, and they came to Egypt, unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him land." — 1 Kings 11:18 (ASV)

They arose out of Midian. — The expression is a curious one, for we should have expected the starting point of the flight to have been described as in Edom itself. If the reading of the text is correct, the reference must be either to some branch of the Midianite tribes settled between Edom and the desert of Paran, or to a city Midian, not far from the Gulf of Elath, of which some ancient authorities speak, and to which the Septuagint expressly refers here.

Paran (Numbers 10:12; Numbers 12:16; Numbers 13:3; Numbers 13:26; 1 Samuel 25:1) is part of the Sinaitic region, adjacent to the wilderness of Zin, and north of the range now called the El-Tîh mountains. It lies to the west of the Edomite territory and was then evidently inhabited by an independent race, from which the fugitive companions of Hadad enlisted support.

Pharaoh king of Egypt. — The dynasty then reigning in Lower Egypt is called the twenty-first, or Tanite, dynasty. Chronological considerations, and perhaps internal probabilities, suggest that this Pharaoh was not the same as the king who became Solomon's father-in-law.

However, the same policy of alliance with the occupants of Palestine and the surrounding area is equally exemplified in both cases, though by different methods. This policy also accords well with the apparent decadence of Egyptian power at this time, of which very little record is preserved in the monuments. Jealousy of the growing power of Israel under David and Solomon might have prompted this favorable reception of Hadad, as it later did for Jeroboam.

Solomon's marriage to Pharaoh's daughter and Pharaoh's active cooperation against Gezer (1 Kings 9:16) indicate an intervening shift in policy. This shift, however, did not alter the general strategy of securing Egypt through alliances to its northeast.

In Hadad's case, his intermarriage with the royal house and the inclusion of his son Genubath among Pharaoh's children argue for an unusual distinction. This distinction could only have been due to a high estimate of the importance of influence over the strong country of Edom, and of Hadad's future chances of recovering the throne.