c. 950 b.c.
Though Solomon held a firm grip on his kingdom throughout his lifetime, there were still those who worked to subvert his rule. Hadad was a member of the royal family of Edom who fled to Egypt to escape David’s purge of all Edomite males. He would later return to Edom to oppose Solomon. Rezon was originally an outlaw in Zobah who gathered a bandit army and established himself as king in Damascus. Jeroboam originally oversaw one of Solomon’s forced labor units, but Ahijah’s prophecy foretelling Jeroboam’s eventual rule over 10 Israelite tribes caused Solomon to seek to kill him, so he fled to Egypt.
