Hanun

Biblical Account

Hanun was the son of Nahash, king of the children of Ammon. He came to the throne after his father died (2 Samuel 10:1; 1 Chronicles 19:1). David sent envoys to console him, saying that he would show kindness to the son "as his father shewed kindness unto me." The princes of Ammon (its high officials), however, told Hanun that David had sent the men as spies to search out the city. Hanun accepted their counsel, shaved off half of each envoy's beard, cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away (2 Samuel 10:4). David told the disgraced envoys to remain at Jericho until their beards had grown and then return.

Realizing that they had made themselves odious to David, the Ammonites hired the Arameans (Syrians). Chronicles records that they paid a thousand talents of silver for this (1 Chronicles 19:6). Joab and his brother Abishai defeated the coalition, and the Arameans later submitted to Israel. The war continued until Israel besieged Rabbah, the Ammonite capital (2 Samuel 11:1), and it was during this siege that the episode involving Bathsheba and Uriah took place. Rabbah eventually fell (2 Samuel 12:26-31). Scripture does not say what became of Hanun himself afterward.

The Bible also mentions other individuals of the same name. Two men named Hanun took part in repairing the walls of Jerusalem in the time of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 3:13, 3:30). They are distinct from the Ammonite king.

Significance Within the Bible

The account of Hanun is one of the records of David's foreign wars and also forms the backdrop to the episode of David and Bathsheba. David's gesture of consolation is expressed by the Hebrew word hesed (hesed, steadfast kindness or loyalty). The contrast between this goodwill and the misunderstanding and insult with which it is repaid lies at the heart of the narrative. Hanun is not mentioned in the New Testament.

Interpretation and Issues

• The kindness of Nahash: The text does not specify what kindness Nahash had shown David. Nahash had fought against Saul (1 Samuel 11), which has led some to conjecture that David received help from him while fleeing from Saul, but Scripture does not confirm this.
• The meaning of the insult: In the ancient Near East the beard symbolized a man's dignity. Cutting the envoys' garments to expose their bodies is interpreted as resembling the shame inflicted on captives (compare Isaiah 20:4).
• Differences between the two accounts: 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles differ in places, such as in the numbers of chariots and soldiers. Some attribute these differences to variations in scribal transmission, others to different methods of counting.
• Ammon afterward: Some interpreters identify "Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah" (2 Samuel 17:27), who aided David at Mahanaim when he fled from Absalom, as Hanun's brother and suggest that David installed him after the fall of Rabbah. This, too, is not stated directly in the text.

In the Korean Church

Hanun is not a figure often treated in Sunday school or in hymns and worship songs. In preaching he is addressed mainly through the text of 2 Samuel 10, where he is mentioned in connection with themes such as the consequences of suspecting goodwill and the example of a leader who uncritically follows his officials' bad advice. On the matter of counsel, he is sometimes compared with Rehoboam.