1 Kings 11:15
“For when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the army had gone up to bury the slain, and had struck every male in Edom”
What does 1 Kings 11:15 mean?
This passage describes a moment when King David's military commander Joab carried out a brutal campaign in the neighboring land of Edom after a battle. The reference to burying the slain shows this happened in the aftermath of conflict, and Joab's killing of every male in the region reflects the harsh warfare practices of that ancient era. The verse appears in the context of explaining why Edom became an enemy of Israel during Solomon's later reign. Hadad, an Edomite prince who survived Joab's violence, eventually fled to Egypt and later returned to lead resistance against Solomon. This shows how the consequences of David's military actions rippled forward into the next generation, affecting both nations for years to come.