Chimham

Biblical Record

Chimham appears in 2 Samuel 19:31–40. While David stayed at Mahanaim after fleeing the rebellion of his son Absalom, Barzillai the Gileadite supplied food to the king and his company (2 Samuel 17:27–29). After the rebellion ended, David, on his way back to Jerusalem, invited Barzillai to come with him and live under his care.

Barzillai, who was eighty years old, declined the offer, saying that he wished to die in his own city beside the grave of his father and mother. Instead, he asked the king to take "thy servant Chimham" with him and do for him whatever seemed good to the king (2 Samuel 19:37). David promised to take Chimham and to do for him whatever Barzillai desired (19:38). Chimham crossed the Jordan River with the king and went on to Gilgal (19:40). Scripture does not record what became of Chimham afterward.

Significance Within Scripture

The account of Chimham forms part of the narrative in which David repays those who showed him kindness in his time of need. Before his death, David charged Solomon to show kindness to the sons of Barzillai (1 Kings 2:7). Chimham's name, however, does not appear in that verse. The New Testament makes no mention of Chimham.

Interpretation and Points of Discussion

• Relationship to Barzillai: The text refers to Chimham only as a "servant." The term may be understood as Barzillai's self-effacing way of referring to a member of his own household before the king. On the basis of 1 Kings 2:7, many commentators regard Chimham as Barzillai's son, although the text does not say so.
• Geruth Chimham: Jeremiah 41:17 mentions a place near Bethlehem called Geruth Chimham ("the habitation of Chimham" in the KJV), where the remnant of the people stopped on their way down to Egypt after the fall of Jerusalem. The name is sometimes understood to mean "the lodging place of Chimham." For this reason, some interpreters connect the site with land David may have given to Chimham, but this is conjecture and not something the text states directly.

In the Korean Church

Chimham is rarely the subject of a sermon in his own right. He is mentioned mainly in sermons on the story of Barzillai, where the episode is sometimes presented as Barzillai stepping aside and sending the next generation to the king.