What Does I Kings 11:20 Mean?

Then the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house; and Genubath was in Pharaoh's household among the sons of Pharaoh. Hadad's son Genubath is born and raised within the Egyptian royal household—nursed by the queen herself and educated alongside Pharaoh's own sons. The child of the Edomite refugee becomes, for all practical purposes, an Egyptian prince. The name "Genubath" (meaning "theft" or "stolen one") may preserve the memory of his father's displacement.

The detail that Genubath was raised "among the sons of Pharaoh" gives the Edomite prince access to Egyptian military training, diplomatic education, and court alliances. The child who was smuggled out of Edom in the arms of servants now walks the halls of Egypt's palace as a peer of its princes. The reversal of fortune is complete: from refugee to royalty in one generation.

Moses was similarly raised in Pharaoh's household: "the daughter of Pharaoh... brought him up as her own son" (Acts 7:21). Genubath in Pharaoh's house mirrors Moses in Pharaoh's house—both are children of oppressed peoples raised within the oppressor's court. The Son of David who spent His childhood in Egypt (Matthew 2:14-15) fulfills the pattern of the child who passes through Egypt and emerges to shape Israel's destiny. The Pharaoh's household that trained Moses for Israel's liberation also trained Hadad's son for Israel's judgment.