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Who was Hanun in the Bible?

King, during the united monarchy

Hanun was the king of the Ammonites during the reign of King David of Israel. Hanun appears in 8 verses across 2 books of the Bible.

What does the Bible say about Hanun?

Hanun was the king of the Ammonites during the reign of King David of Israel. He is mentioned in 2Samuel 10 and 1Chronicles 19. After the death of Hanun's father, Nahash, who had shown kindness to David, David sent envoys to express his sympathy to Hanun (2Sa.10.1-2; 1Ch.19.1-2). However, Hanun's advisors convinced him that David's envoys were spies, so Hanun humiliated them by shaving off half of their beards and cutting their garments short (2Sa.10.3-4; 1Ch.19.3-4). This act was a grave insult and a violation of diplomatic protocol. When David heard about this, he was outraged and prepared for war against the Ammonites (2Sa.10.5-7; 1Ch.19.6-7). Hanun, realizing his mistake, hired Syrian mercenaries to help him fight against Israel (2Sa.10.6; 1Ch.19.6-7). However, the Israelite army, led by Joab and Abishai, defeated the Ammonites and their Syrian allies (2Sa.10.8-14; 1Ch.19.8-15). The conflict continued, and David himself later joined the battle, capturing the Ammonite capital, Rabbah (2Sa.12.26-31; 1Ch.20.1-3). Hanun's mistreatment of David's envoys and the resulting war highlight the importance of diplomatic relations and the consequences of disrespecting allies in the ancient Near East.

Definition text: STEPBible · Tyndale House Cambridge. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Lightly edited for length and formatting.

Compiled by Protos: the verse list on this page. Where one name belongs to more than one person or place, each of them gets a separate entry.

Where does Hanun appear in the Bible?

Hanun is referenced in 8 verses across 2 books. Every passage below is about this one, not just every verse the word turns up in.

1 Chronicles 42 Samuel 4

What else appears in these passages?

These turn up in the same passages as Hanun.

DavidAmmonitesZobahBeard

Common questions

How many times does the Bible mention Hanun?

Hanun appears in 8 verses across 2 books, most often in 1 Chronicles, which accounts for 4 of them.

Which books of the Bible mention Hanun?

1 Chronicles, 2 Samuel.

Where can I read every verse about Hanun?

This page lists 8 of them. Protos carries all 8, and opens this entry on the verse you are reading rather than in a separate tab.

Read it in context

Read 1 Chronicles with Hanun explained on the verse.

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