Ahiman

Biblical Record

Ahiman appears three times in the Bible. Each time, his name is listed with Sheshai and Talmai.

• Numbers 13:22: When the twelve spies sent by Moses went up into the south of Canaan and came to Hebron, they found "Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak" there. The same verse adds that Hebron "was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt."
• Joshua 15:14: Caleb "drove thence the three sons of Anak, Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak" from Hebron.
• Judges 1:10: The tribe of Judah went against the Canaanites who dwelt in Hebron, "and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai." The verse also notes that Hebron was formerly called Kirjath-arba.

The Bible says nothing about Ahiman's personal life, character, words, or deeds.

Significance Within the Bible

Ahiman is one of the representative names among the descendants of Anak. The spies reported that before the sons of Anak "we were in our own sight as grasshoppers" (Numbers 13:33), and their report made the people afraid to enter Canaan. In the account of the conquest, however, these men are ultimately driven out of Hebron, and Hebron becomes Caleb's inheritance (Joshua 14:13–14). Ahiman is not mentioned in the New Testament.

Interpretation and Discussion

• Relationship between the accounts: Joshua 15:14 says that Caleb "drove" them out, while Judges 1:10 says that Judah "slew" them. Because Caleb belonged to the tribe of Judah, the two passages are commonly understood as different descriptions of the same event. Judges 1:20 likewise states that Caleb "expelled thence the three sons of Anak."
• Meaning of "sons": Some interpreters regard the three men as Anak's literal sons, while others take the names as designating three families or clans descended from Anak.
• The giant tradition: The portrayal of the descendants of Anak as people of great stature rests on the spies' report (Numbers 13:28, 33). The biblical text says nothing specific about Ahiman's own height or appearance.
• Another person of the same name: The gatekeeper Ahiman mentioned in 1 Chronicles 9:17, a figure of the Levitical line from the period after the return from exile, is a different person from the subject of this article.

In the Korean Church

In Korean churches, Ahiman is seldom treated as a subject in his own right. He is more often mentioned as one of the "descendants of Anak" in sermons and church school lessons on the passages about Caleb and the twelve spies. In such contexts, the descendants of Anak often serve as an illustration of obstacles to be overcome by faith.