Aiah

Biblical Record

Aiah appears four times in 2 Samuel. Each occurrence is in the phrase "Rizpah the daughter of Aiah," and his name serves only to identify his daughter.

• 2 Samuel 3:7: Rizpah, the concubine of Saul, is introduced as "the daughter of Aiah." The scene takes place after Saul's death, when Ish-bosheth confronts his army commander Abner, demanding to know why he had gone in to his father's concubine.
• 2 Samuel 21:8–11: These events take place in the time of David. Rizpah's two sons by Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth, are handed over to the Gibeonites and put to death. Rizpah spread sackcloth upon a rock and, from the beginning of the harvest until the rain fell, guarded her sons' bodies from the birds and the wild beasts.

Scripture says nothing about Aiah's tribe, occupation, or life.

Significance in Scripture

Aiah appears only as a name identifying his daughter. The recording of his name shows that Rizpah was not an anonymous woman but a person of known lineage. Aiah is not mentioned in the New Testament.

Interpretation and Discussion

• Distinction from others of the same name: Genesis 36:24 and 1 Chronicles 1:40 mention an Aiah ("Ajah" in the KJV of Genesis), son of Zibeon the Horite. He belongs to the genealogy of the clans of the land of Edom and is regarded as a different person from Rizpah's father. The "Aija" of Nehemiah 11:31 is a place where descendants of Benjamin lived.
• Meaning of the name: The Hebrew name Aiah is understood to be identical to the word for a bird of prey (a kind of hawk or kite) listed among the unclean birds in the Law.
• Claims about Aiah's social status or tribe have no basis in the text.

In the Korean Church

Sermons or Sunday school lessons devoted specifically to Aiah are rare. He is usually mentioned only in passing, through the phrase "the daughter of Aiah," when preachers treat the story of Rizpah in 2 Samuel 21.