Misinterpretations often treat this as a standalone tale of a child's heroic escape or victimhood in war, ignoring its role in the larger narrative of God's raising adversaries against sinful Israel; others wrongly portray Joab's actions as immoral genocide detached from ancient Near Eastern warfare norms and divine mandates, or twist it to support contemporary views on refugees and borders, neglecting the theological truth of God's purposeful orchestration of opposition to covenant breach.
I Kings 11:17
King James Version (1769)
17 That Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him, to go into Egypt; Hadad being yet a little child.
This verse describes Hadad the Edomite, a young child who escaped Joab's extermination campaign against Edom's males during David's conquest, fleeing to Egypt with loyal servants; it underscores God's sovereign control in preserving enemies like Hadad to later serve as instruments of judgment against Solomon for his idolatry and unfaithfulness, illustrating how divine retribution operates through historical events and human agents.