Ahimaaz

Biblical Account

Ahimaaz was the son of Zadok the priest. His activities are recorded mainly in 2 Samuel 15–18.

• Left behind as a messenger: When Absalom rebelled, David left Jerusalem. David told Zadok and Abiathar to return to the city with the Ark of the Covenant and to send him word of events there through their sons, Ahimaaz and Jonathan (2 Samuel 15:27-28, 36).
• Hiding in a well: The two young men stayed at En-rogel, waiting for news. When a lad saw them, they fled to the house of a man in Bahurim and went down into a well there. The woman of the house spread a covering over the well's mouth and strewed grain on it, concealing them. The two then reported to David what Hushai had said, and David and his company crossed the Jordan River during the night (2 Samuel 17:17-22).
• Running to report Absalom's death: After Absalom died, Ahimaaz offered to carry the news to the king. Joab held him back, saying that this was the day the king's son had died, and sent a Cushite instead. When Ahimaaz pressed his request repeatedly, Joab finally allowed him to go. Ahimaaz ran by another route and arrived before the Cushite. When the watchman recognized the way he ran, David said, "He is a good man, and cometh with good tidings" (2 Samuel 18:27). Ahimaaz announced the victory, but when the king asked about Absalom's welfare, he answered that he had seen a great tumult but did not know what it was. The Cushite, arriving after him, reported Absalom's death (2 Samuel 18:19-32).
• Genealogy: The priestly genealogy in 1 Chronicles 6 records that Zadok begat Ahimaaz, and Ahimaaz begat Azariah (1 Chronicles 6:8-9, 53).

Other individuals of the same name appear in Scripture. One is the father of Ahinoam, the wife of Saul (1 Samuel 14:50). Another is an officer in the region of Naphtali who took Basmath, the daughter of Solomon, as his wife (1 Kings 4:15). Whether either of these is the same person as Zadok's son cannot be determined from the text alone.

Significance Within Scripture

Ahimaaz exemplifies the loyalty of the priestly house of Zadok, which supported the Davidic dynasty. He is also a genealogical link showing that this family held the priestly office from generation to generation. The New Testament does not mention him directly.

Interpretation and Debated Points

• His answer concerning Absalom: Ahimaaz appears to have known of Absalom's death, yet the text does not explain why he claimed not to know. Some interpreters regard this as tactful consideration for a king about to be overwhelmed by grief; others view it as an evasion that concealed the truth.
• The bearing of news: The Hebrew word rendered "to bear tidings" in 2 Samuel 18 is reported to have been translated in the Septuagint with Greek terms from the same word family as the New Testament expression "to preach the gospel." For this reason, the passage is sometimes read in connection with the proclamation of the gospel. This, however, is a later application, and it is difficult to regard it as the meaning intended by the text itself.
• The idea that Ahimaaz later became high priest does not appear in the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

In Korean Protestant preaching, Ahimaaz is introduced chiefly through the scene in 2 Samuel 18, which serves as an illustration of "a man who ran swiftly but had no essential message to deliver." It is also sometimes used to make the application that zeal alone is insufficient and that the message one proclaims must be clear.