Who are the men named…
Nahash
Hebrew: נָחָשׁ —transliteration: Nachash or Nahash —meaning: serpent or snake
This is the name of 3 biblical men, including 2 kings
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King Nahash of the Ammonites, at the time of Saul
The inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead having been exposed to great danger from Nahash, sent messengers to Gibeah to inform King Saul of their problem. He promptly responded to the call, and gathering together an army he marched against Nahash.
“And it came to pass that they which remained were scattered, so that two of them [the Ammonites] were not left together.” —1 Samuel 11:1-11 KJV excerpt
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King Nahash, father of Hanun
This king of the Ammonites is mentioned for showing kindness to David during his wanderings (2 Samuel 10:2).
On his death, David sent an embassy of sympathy to Hanun, his son and successor, at Rabbah Ammon, his capital. The grievous insult which was put upon these ambassadors led to a war against the Ammonites, who, with their allies the Syrians, were completely routed in a battle fought at “the entering in of the gate,” probably of Medeba (2 Samuel 10:6-14).
Again Hadarezer rallied the Syrian host, which was totally destroyed by the Israelite army under Joab in a decisive battle fought at Helam (2 Samuel 10:17), near to Hamath (1 Chronicles 18:3).
“So the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more.” —2 Samuel 10:19
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Nahash, father of Abigail—half-sister of David
This man if mentioned only once in 2 Samuel 17. The context is that David’s rebellious son Absalom had appointed Amasa over the army in place of Joab, because Joab stayed loyal to King David. Amasa was the son of Jether (Ithra), an Ishmaelite who had married Abigail, the daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah the mother of Joab (2 Samuel 17:25).
Amasa is David’s nephew and Joab’s cousin whom Absalom made general.
The most straightforward reading of the family data is that Abigail’s father Nahash was David’s unnamed mother’s earlier husband, before David’s father Jesse.
That means that Nahash was the 1st husband of David’s mother, but he died. After his death she married Jesse, making Abigail and Zeruiah David’s half-sisters (same mother, different fathers). This fits the wording of Chronicles, which calls them sisters of Jesse’s sons but does not explicitly call them Jesse’s daughters, and Nahash is almost always a man’s name.
Answers about Ancient Syria and its Biblical significanceMore information