ADARÉZER. — Aramaic king of Zobah. The Hebrew name is Hadad'ezer and Hadar'ezer; the latter form, found in the Paralipomena and the Septuagint (Ἀβασαζάς), the Vulgate, and the Syriac version, is less correct. Hadad (q.v.), the Aramaean deity, enters into the composition of the name, which is identical with Adad-idri (inscription of Shalmaneser III), the same as Ben-hadad II (q.v.), king of Aram-Damascus.
David conducted two campaigns against this warlike prince. In one (2 Sam 8:1-14; 1 Chr 18:1-13), Adarēzer was defeated near Hamath, near Mount Hermon, and David adorned the sanctuary with the “golden shields” taken from his officers; the Arameans of Damascus, who had come to his aid, were then defeated. In the second campaign, in which Adarēzer himself does not appear to have taken part (2 Sam 10:6-19; 1 Chr 19:6-19), he was defeated along with the Ammonites and their Aramean allies from Rehob, Tob, and Maacah; however, the Aramean troops, commanded by his general Shobach, hastily assembled in the eastern regions, renewed the battle and were finally defeated at Helam, in the basin of the Yarmuk, where Shobach was killed. A few scholars, including Fillion, identify the two wars.