Genubath

Biblical Account

Genubath appears only once, in 1 Kings 11:20. According to the surrounding passage (1 Kings 11:14–22), when Joab struck down the males of Edom in the time of David, Hadad, a member of the Edomite royal family, fled to Egypt as a young boy. Pharaoh showed Hadad great favor and gave him the sister of his queen, Tahpenes, as his wife, and from this union Genubath was born. Tahpenes weaned the child in Pharaoh's house. Thereafter, the text records, Genubath lived in Pharaoh's household among the sons of Pharaoh. Scripture does not say what Genubath did or whether he accompanied his father when Hadad returned to Edom.

Significance Within Scripture

Genubath is not the central figure of the narrative. He appears as evidence of how closely Hadad had become bound to the Egyptian royal house through marriage. The passage is set in the context of God raising up adversaries against Solomon after Solomon followed his foreign wives into idolatry (1 Kings 11:14). It thus serves to show that Hadad had the kind of background that could make him an adversary of Solomon. Genubath is not mentioned in the New Testament.

Interpretation and Issues

The meaning of the name is uncertain. The text also does not identify the Pharaoh who raised Genubath. Scholars generally place this Pharaoh around the time of Egypt's Twenty-first Dynasty, but the identification is not certain. Any account of Genubath's later life goes beyond the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

Genubath is rarely treated on his own in sermons or Sunday school. He is usually mentioned in passing when Solomon's late-reign adversaries, Hadad and Rezon, are discussed.