King living at the time of United Monarchy
Hanun, the Ammonite king, mistreated David's envoys, leading to a war between the Ammonites and Israel.
🗺 Places mentioned alongside Hanun on the map →
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.
More background: search Wikipedia ↗
8 verses in 2 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H2586
Some time later, the king of the Ammonites died and was succeeded by his son Hanun.
And David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent some of his servants to console Hanun concerning his father. But when they arrived in the land of the Ammonites,
the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord, “Just because David has sent you comforters, do you really believe he is showing respect for your father? Has not David instead sent his servants to explore the city, spy it out, and overthrow it?”
So Hanun took Davidʼs servants, shaved off half of each manʼs beard, cut off their garments at the hips, and sent them away.
And David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent messengers to console Hanun concerning his father. But when Davidʼs servants arrived in the land of the Ammonites to console him,
the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun, “Just because David has sent you comforters, do you really believe he is showing respect for your father? Have not his servants come to you to explore the land, spy it out, and overthrow it?”
So Hanun took Davidʼs servants, shaved their beards, cut off their garments at the hips, and sent them away.
When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench to David, Hanun and the Ammonites sent a thousand talents of silver to hire for themselves chariots and horsemen from Aram-naharaim, Aram-maacah, and Zobah.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.