Rezon רְזוֹן
Son of Eliada, adversary of Solomon
Biography
Rezon, the son of Eliada, was an adversary of Solomon, king of Israel (1Ki.11.23). He had fled from his master, Hadadezer, king of Zobah, when David defeated Hadadezer's army (1Ki.11.23-24; 2Sa.8.3-8). Rezon gathered a band of men and became their leader, eventually establishing himself as king in Damascus, the capital of Aram (Syria) (1Ki.11.24). Throughout Solomon's reign, Rezon was an adversary to Israel, causing trouble alongside another of Solomon's adversaries, Hadad the Edomite (1Ki.11.25). The hostility between Rezon and Solomon was likely due to Solomon's control over the trade routes and his expanding influence in the region. The rise of Rezon as king of Aram and his opposition to Israel set the stage for the ongoing conflicts between the two kingdoms in the following centuries, as seen in the accounts of later kings of Israel and Judah.
Family
In Scripture
1 biblical book1 Kings 1 verse
- 1 Kings 11:23
"God raised up an adversary to him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah."
Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script | Strong's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Named | Hebrew | רְזוֹן | H7331 |
Encyclopedia Article
ISBE 1915 (Public Domain) Rezon
15:18; see HEZION), where he is the father of Tabrimmon, whose son Ben-hadad I is known through his leaaue with Asa, king of Judah. When David conquered Zobah, Rezon renounced his allegiance to Hadadezer and became powerful as an independent chief, capturing Damascus and setting up as king. Along with Hadad, the noted Edomite patriot, he became a thorn in the side of Solomon, the one making himself obnoxious in the South, the other in the North, of the kingdom of Israel, both being animated with a bitter hatred of the common foe. It is said of Rezon that he "reigned over Syria" (1Ki 11:25), and if the surmise adopted by many scholars is correct that he is the same as Hezion (1Ki 15:18), then he was really the founder of the dynasty of Syrian kings so well known in the history of this period of Israel; and the line would run: Rezon, Tabrimmon, Ben-hadad I, and Ben-hadad II.
Literature
Burney on 1Ki 11:23 and 15:18 in Notes on Hebrew Text of Books of Kings; Winckler, Alttest. Untersuchunaen, 60 ff.
T. Nicol.
re-ji-um: This city (@Rhegion] (Ac 28:13), the modern Reggio di Calabria) was a town situated on the east side of the Sicilian Straits, about 6 miles South of a point opposite Mes