Hanun חָנוּן
An Ammonite king who mistreated David's envoys.
Biography
Hanun was the king of the Ammonites during the reign of King David of Israel. He is mentioned in 2 Samuel 10 and 1 Chronicles 19. After the death of Hanun's father, Nahash, who had shown kindness to David, David sent envoys to express his sympathy to Hanun (2Sa.10.1-2; 1Ch.19.1-2). However, Hanun's advisors convinced him that David's envoys were spies, so Hanun humiliated them by shaving off half of their beards and cutting their garments short (2Sa.10.3-4; 1Ch.19.3-4). This act was a grave insult and a violation of diplomatic protocol. When David heard about this, he was outraged and prepared for war against the Ammonites (2Sa.10.5-7; 1Ch.19.6-7). Hanun, realizing his mistake, hired Syrian mercenaries to help him fight against Israel (2Sa.10.6; 1Ch.19.6-7). However, the Israelite army, led by Joab and Abishai, defeated the Ammonites and their Syrian allies (2Sa.10.8-14; 1Ch.19.8-15). The conflict continued, and David himself later joined the battle, capturing the Ammonite capital, Rabbah (2Sa.12.26-31; 1Ch.20.1-3). Hanun's mistreatment of David's envoys and the resulting war highlight the importance of diplomatic relations and the consequences of disrespecting allies in the ancient Near East.
Family
In Scripture
2 biblical books2 Samuel 4 verses
- 2 Samuel 10:1
"After this, the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place."
- 2 Samuel 10:2
"David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent by his servants to comfort him concerning his father. David’s servants came into the land of the children of Ammon."
- 2 Samuel 10:3
"But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think that David honors your father, in that he has sent comforters to you? Hasn’t David sent his servants to you to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?”"
- 2 Samuel 10:4
"So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away."
1 Chronicles 4 verses
- 1 Chronicles 19:2
"David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. David’s servants came into the land of the children of Ammon to Hanun, to comfort him."
- 1 Chronicles 19:3
"But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, “Do you think that David honors your father, in that he has sent comforters to you? Haven’t his servants come to you to search, to overthrow, and to spy out the land?”"
- 1 Chronicles 19:4
"So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved them, and cut off their garments in the middle at their buttocks, and sent them away."
- 1 Chronicles 19:6
"When the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the children of Ammon sent one thousand talents of silver to hire chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia, out of Aram-maacah, and out of Zobah."
Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script | Strong's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Named | Hebrew | חָנוּן | H2586G |
Hanun
nored. Because of this indignity, David waged a war against him, which caused the Ammonites to lose their independence (2Sa 10:1 ff; 1Ch 19:1).
(2) One of the six sons of Zalaph who assisted in repairing the East wall of Jerusalem (Ne 3:30).
(3) One of the inhabitants of Zanoah who repaired the Valley Gate in the wall of Jerusalem (Ne 3:13).
Byron H. Dement
Hap (a Saxon word for "luck, chance") is the translation of miqreh, "a fortuitous chance," "a lot" (Ru 2:3, the King James Version "Her h