Rezon

Rezon, son of Eliada, was an adversary of Solomon who reigned over Aram (Syria) in Damascus.

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.

Prince, son of Eliadah. Abandoning the service of Hadadezer, the king of Zobah, on the occasion of his being defeated by David, he became the “captain over a band” of marauders, and took Damascus, and became king of Syria (1 Kings 11:23-25; 2 Sam. 8:3-8). For centuries after this the Syrians were the foes of Israel. He “became an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon.”