1 Kings 11:24

24 And he gathered men to him, and became captain over a band, when David slew them [of Zobah]: and they went to Damascus, and dwelt in it, and reigned in Damascus.

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 Then Pharaoh said to him, But what hast thou lacked with me, that, behold, thou seekest to go to thy own country? And he answered, Nothing: yet, in any wise let me go.

23 And God stirred him up [another] adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah, who fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah:

24 And he gathered men to him, and became captain over a band, when David slew them [of Zobah]: and they went to Damascus, and dwelt in it, and reigned in Damascus.

25 And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, besides the mischief that Hadad [did]: and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.

26 And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon's servant, whose mother's name [was] Zeruah, a widow woman, even he raised [his] hand against the king.