1 Kings 11:24

24 He got some men together and made himself captain of a band of outlaws; and went to Damascus and became king there.

1 Kings 11:24 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 11:24

And he gathered men unto him
Perhaps some of the scattered forces of his master:

and became captain over a band, when David slew them of Zobah;
some that escaped enlisted under this man, and lived by plunder the remainder of David's reign, and so in the reign of Solomon unto his old age, when his heart was turned away from God to idols, by his wives:

and they went to Damascus, and dwelt therein, and reigned in Damascus;
Rezon and his men went thither, not in David's time, for he put a garrison there, ( 2 Samuel 8:6 ) but towards the close of Solomon's days, and when Hadad set up in Edom, which gave him the hint to do the same at Damascus, of which he became king, and was the founder of that kingdom; after him there was a long race of kings there.

1 Kings 11:24 In-Context

22 But Pharaoh said to him, What have you been short of while you have been with me, that you are desiring to go back to your country? And he said, Nothing; but even so, send me back.

23 And God sent another trouble-maker, Rezon, the son of Eliada, who had gone in flight from his lord, Hadadezer, king of Zobah:

24 He got some men together and made himself captain of a band of outlaws; and went to Damascus and became king there.

25 He was a trouble to Israel all through the days of Solomon. And this is the damage Hadad did: he was cruel to Israel while he was ruler over Edom.

26 And there was Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother was Zeruah, a widow; and his hand was lifted up against the king.