Nahash

Biblical Account

Nahash was a king who ruled the Ammonites east of the Jordan River during the early period of the Israelite monarchy. His name is identical to the Hebrew word for "serpent."

According to 1 Samuel 11, Nahash besieged Jabesh-gilead. When the men of Jabesh offered to make a covenant with him and serve him, he demanded that he be allowed to thrust out all their right eyes in order to bring reproach upon all Israel. The elders of Jabesh obtained a respite of seven days and sent for help. When Saul heard the news, the Spirit of God came mightily upon him; he took a yoke of oxen, cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel to gather the people. Saul's army attacked the Ammonite camp at dawn and won a great victory, and the people made Saul king at Gilgal. In 1 Samuel 12:12, Samuel recalls that it was when the people saw Nahash's invasion that they demanded a king.

2 Samuel 10:1–2 and 1 Chronicles 19:1–2 record that Nahash died and was succeeded by his son Hanun. At that time David sent envoys to offer condolences, saying that he would show kindness to Hanun "as his father shewed kindness unto me." When Hanun humiliated the envoys, war broke out between Israel and Ammon. Second Samuel 17:27 records that when David reached Mahanaim while fleeing from Absalom, "Shobi the son of Nahash" of Rabbah brought him food and supplies.

Significance Within the Bible

The books of Samuel portray Nahash's invasion both as the occasion on which Saul first proved himself as king and as the background to Israel's request for a king. In David's time, by contrast, the text refers to friendly relations between David and the house of Nahash. Nahash is not mentioned in the New Testament.

Interpretations and Issues

• One person or two: Several decades separate the Nahash of Saul's accession from the Nahash who died in David's time. For this reason, some regard the two accounts as referring to the same person, while others see them as different kings bearing the same name.
• The kindness David received: Some have conjectured that Nahash, as Saul's enemy, helped David while David was being pursued by Saul. The text, however, does not say what that kindness was.
• Nahash in 2 Samuel 17:25: This verse calls Abigail, the mother of Amasa, "the daughter of Nahash," whereas 1 Chronicles 2:16 identifies her as a daughter of Jesse. Views on this Nahash differ: some identify him with the Ammonite king, others take the name as another name for Jesse, and still others attribute the discrepancy to variations in scribal transmission.
• The demand to put out right eyes: An explanation dating back to Josephus holds that the aim was to render the men unfit for battle, since a soldier fighting behind a shield had his left eye covered by it. The text itself, however, says only that the purpose was to bring reproach upon Israel.
• The Dead Sea Scrolls passage: Among the Dead Sea Scrolls, a manuscript of Samuel (4QSama) is known to contain an additional passage before chapter 11 stating that Nahash oppressed the Gadites and Reubenites and put out their right eyes. The New Korean Revised Version (Gaeyeok Gaejeong) follows the Masoretic Text and does not include this passage.

In the Korean Church

Nahash is rarely the subject of sermons in his own right; he is instead mentioned within the story of Saul in 1 Samuel 11 and the story of David and Hanun in 2 Samuel 10. First Samuel 11 serves as a preaching text for sermons on the Spirit of God coming upon Saul (11:6) and on the beginning of the monarchy, and in these sermons Nahash's threat is presented as the background to the crisis Israel faced.