1 Kings 11:18

And they arose out of Midian,.... A country which lay in their way to Egypt, and where it seems they made some stay, and then departed: and came to Paran; near to which was a wilderness of the same

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; which gave him an house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him land.

They arose out of Midian; he fled at first with an intent to go into Egypt, as is said, , but took Midian, a neighbouring country, in his way, and staid there a while, possibly till he had by some of his servants tried Pharaoh’ s mind, and prepared the way for his reception. Paran; another country in the road from Edom to Egypt, where he hired men to attend him, that making his entrance there something like a prince, he might find more favour and respect from that king and people. Appointed him victuals, and gave him land, to support himself and his train out of the profits of it.

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; which gave him an house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him land.Ver. 18. Who gave him a house, &c.] As not knowing but that himself might one day have as much need to borrow mercy, as now he had to lend it.

(18) 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 in Edom itself. If the reading of the text is correct, the reference must be either to some branch of the Midianitish 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 LXX. expressly refers here.Paran (see Genesis 21:21; 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 that 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 father-in-law to Solomon. But the same policy of alliance with the occupants of Palestine and the neighbourhood is equally exemplified in both cases, though by different methods; and 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 prompt this favourable reception of Hadad, as afterwards of Jeroboam. The marriage of Solomon with the daughter of Pharaoh, and the active co-operation of Pharaoh against Gezer (1 Kings 9:16), indicate an intervening variation of policy, without, however, any change in the general design of securing Egypt by alliances on the north-east. In this case the intermarriage of Hadad with the royal house, and the inclusion of his son Genubath among the children of Pharaoh, argue an unusual distinction, which could only have been due to a high estimate of the importance of influence over the strong country of Edom, and of the future chances of Hadad’s recovery of the throne.

Verse 18. These arose out of Midian] They at first retired to Midian, which lay to the southwest of the Dead Sea. Not supposing themselves in safety there, they went afterwards to Paran in the south of Idumea, and getting a number of persons to join them in Paran, they went straight to Egypt, where we find Hadad became a favourite with Pharaoh, who gave him his sister-in-law to wife; and incorporated him and his family with his own.

18. And they arose out of Midian] It is not easy to decide what place or district is meant by Midian. The country so called in the time of Moses (Exodus 2:15; Exodus 3:1) could not have been far away from Mt. Sinai, and the fugitives from Edom would hardly have made their way to such a distance before setting out on their journey to Egypt. If the Midianites wandered about in the desert it may be that there was some more northern district nearer to the south-west of Edom which was called after them. Of this however we have no information. The LXX. here reads ἐκτῆςπόλεωςΜαδιάμ, thus explaining the word as the name of a city. There is however a difference of reading in Judges 10:12 which may help us. There we read ‘The Zidonians and Amalek and Maon did oppress you … and I delivered you out of their hand.’ Now instead of Maon the LXX. in that passage gives Madiam. The two words appear in Hebrew as ξφεο and ξγιο respectively, very closely resembling each other. But in the book of Judges ‘Maon’ is not mentioned among the enemies of Israel, but the Midianites play a conspicuous part. It seems likely therefore that the LXX. is correct and that in Judges 10:12 ‘Midian’ should be read instead of ‘Maon’. In the present verse it would almost seem as if the contrary change should be made. We read of Maon among the cities on the south of Judah, and not far from Paran, in the story of Nabal (1 Samuel 25:2). There we read that David could send men from the wilderness of Paran up to Maon, and when they came back rudely repulsed could set forth himself to chastise Nabal. If we suppose these fugitive Edomites to have taken refuge for a brief time in the mountainous district of south Judah, where Maon was, the rest of their proceedings becomes explicable. They came from Maon to the wilderness of Paran, found some men there, either fellow fugitives or others, whom they took as guides and a convoy and thus made their way to Egypt. Paran] By this name seems to be meant that wilderness which beginning on the south of Judah and south-west of Edom is now known as El-Tih, and which was the scene of the wanderings of the Israelites. unto Pharaoh king of Egypt] This king may have been the immediate predecessor of the monarch whose daughter Solomon married. There need not have been more than 30 years, if so much, between these events in David’s life, and the marriage of Solomon. victuals] Heb. ‘bread,’ i.e. a regular sustenance for himself and those he had brought with him. In the same way ‘land’ implies a place in which they all might settle and live during their stay.

Midian - A town in the south of Judah. Paran is the desert tract immediately to the south of Judaea, the modern desert of et-Tih.

18. They arose out of Midian, and came to Paran — They first fled from Edom to Midian, and then, probably supposing themselves still insecure, they arose and went toward Egypt as far as some