Talmai

Biblical Record

Two men named Talmai appear in the Bible. They are distinct individuals.

Talmai, Descendant of Anak

• He first appears in Numbers 13:22. When the twelve spies sent by Moses reached Hebron, "Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were" there. The descendants of Anak are described as men of great stature, and the spies said that before them "we were in our own sight as grasshoppers" (Numbers 13:33).
• Joshua 15:14 records that Caleb drove out of Hebron the three sons of Anak: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.
• Judges 1:10 records that the tribe of Judah attacked the Canaanites in Hebron and slew Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

Talmai, King of Geshur

• He was king of Geshur, a small kingdom northeast of the Sea of Galilee. 2 Samuel 15:8 calls this kingdom "Geshur in Syria" (that is, Aramean Geshur; see Aram).
• According to 2 Samuel 3:3 and 1 Chronicles 3:2, his daughter Maacah became the wife of David and bore him his third son, Absalom, in Hebron.
• According to 2 Samuel 13:37–38, after Absalom killed his half brother Amnon, he fled "to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur," and remained there three years.

Significance Within Scripture

Talmai the descendant of Anak represents the powerful inhabitants of Canaan whom Israel feared. Some forty years after the spies reported on them with fear, Caleb and the tribe of Judah drove these same people out; read within this narrative arc, Talmai serves as a figure who shows the fulfillment of God's promise. Talmai king of Geshur appears in connection with the marriage ties of David's royal house and forms part of the background to the story of Absalom. The New Testament does not directly mention either man.

Interpretation and Debates

• The name and Bartholomew: The name of Bartholomew, one of the twelve disciples, is commonly explained as meaning "son of Talmai (Tolmai)" in Aramaic. This, however, explains only how the name is formed. There is no evidence of any family relationship between either Old Testament Talmai and Bartholomew. The meaning of the name Talmai itself is uncertain.
• The identity of the three sons of Anak: Because these three names appear from the time of Moses into the early period of the Judges, some scholars regard them not as the names of individuals but as the names of three clans within the descendants of Anak. As for the relationship between the account of their being driven out (Joshua) and the account of their being slain (Judges), some view the two as records of the same event from different perspectives, while others hold that the conquest took place in several stages.
• The marriage of David and Maacah: The interpretation of this marriage as a political alliance with Geshur is widely known, but the text does not directly state its purpose.

In the Korean Church

Sermons centered on Talmai are rare. The name is mentioned mainly in sermons and Bible studies on other passages, most typically sermons on Caleb based on Joshua 14 ("give me this mountain") and sermons on Absalom's rebellion. In Sunday school, the "children of Anak" are introduced when the story of the twelve spies is taught.