They set out from Midian and came to Paran: Midian was a territory in northwestern Arabia on the east coast of the Gulf of Aqaba. It was located southeast of Palestine. Since many readers today will not know whether Midian was a city or a region, some translations add “the region of” (Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie). The text implies but does not state that Hadad and those with him had come to Midian from Edom. The implicit meaning is “having arrived in Midian from Edom, they then set out from Midian and came to Paran.”
Paran, which was west of Midian, was a wilderness area west of Edom at the southern edge of Judah. Some translations make this information explicit by adding “the desert of” (Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie). Midian and Paran were also places of importance in the life of Moses (see Exo 2.11–4.17; Num 12.16–13.33).
Took men with them from Paran: The word men here is rendered “people” in New Revised Standard Version. But in view of the military context of this passage, it may be more natural to speak of “men” in many languages. International Children’s Bible rewords this by saying “In Paran other men joined them.”
Pharaoh king of Egypt: This is redundant since Pharaoh is a title for the king of Egypt. See the comments at 1 Kgs 3.1 and 7.8.
If we could be certain which king of Egypt this was, the name could be made explicit. But it is not certain whether the reference is to Psusennes II, the last ruler of the twenty-first dynasty who ruled approximately 965–931 B.C. or to Shishak (see the comments on verse 40).
Gave him a house, assigned him an allowance of food, and gave him land: The third person singular pronoun objects of the verbs gave and assigned refer to Hadad. Although he was still relatively young when he first arrived (verse 17), it was out of respect for his position as a member of the royal family of Edom that the king of Egypt provided him and his attendants with these things.
Assigned him an allowance of food is literally “bread he said to him.” Some scholars think something has fallen out of the Hebrew text after the words “he said to him.” But more likely the Hebrew verb for “said” is used here with the sense “commanded [to provide]” or “gave orders [to provide],” and the word “bread” is the object of this verb. “Bread” is used to mean more generally “food.” The king of Egypt gave Hadad food on a regular basis and not just one time only. Some translations say that the Pharaoh gave him “a food allowance” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh).
The Hebrew noun rendered land also occurs in verses 21-22, where Revised Standard Version translates it “country.” Even though the Egyptian king had given land to Hadad, later on Hadad wanted to return to his own “land.”
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .