Eliadah is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Eliadah was the father of Rezon, an adversary whom God stirred up against King Solomon. He is named only once in Scripture, in 1 Kings 11:23, and only in connection with his son: “And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah.” Beyond this single mention, the Bible records nothing else about Eliadah himself—his tribe, his home, or the events of his life are not given. He appears in the text as a father whose son became part of a larger story of opposition to Solomon’s reign.
The setting is the later years of Solomon’s kingdom, after the king had turned from wholehearted devotion to the Lord and the Lord had begun to raise up adversaries against him. Rezon is described as having fled from his lord Hadadezer, king of Zobah—a detail that places Eliadah’s family in the orbit of the Aramean conflicts that followed David’s campaigns in that region. Rezon, having fled, later became an adversary to Israel, and the text presents this as God’s doing.
What Scripture says of Eliadah is thus indirect. He did not act, speak, or rebel himself in the recorded account; his significance lies in being the father of the man who did. The source note summarizes him as one of the leaders who revolted against King Solomon, though the verse itself attaches the revolt to Rezon. In the biblical record, Eliadah is a name preserved because of his son, a reminder that the text often remembers people through the generations that follow them.
The Name
The name Eliadah appears to be a Hebrew compound name, and its meaning is often understood along the lines of “God knows” or “whom God has known,” built from elements relating to God (‘El) and knowledge or knowing (yada’). Some reference works render it “God has known” or “known of God.” The meaning is reasonably well established from the Hebrew components, though the exact nuance and vocalization are debated among scholars, and the name may also be compared with similar biblical names such as Eliada. Because the name is attested only here, certainty about its precise sense is limited, but a meaning connected with God’s knowledge is the most commonly proposed and is not merely invented for convenience.
A Closing Thought
Eliadah never speaks a word in Scripture and never performs a recorded deed; he is remembered only as the father of an adversary. Yet his brief appearance is a quiet reminder that our lives are bound to those who come after us, and that God’s purposes unfold through ordinary people whose names we might otherwise pass over. His son stood against Solomon, and even that opposition served the Lord’s plan. There is comfort here: no one named in God’s book is forgotten, and no life—however small its mention—is outside His knowing.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- 1 Kings 11:23 — And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah: