NAHASH, nā’ hăsh (Heb. נָחָשׁ׃֙, serpent, Akkad. nuḫšu, magnificence). 1. An Ammonite king whose harsh demands to make a treaty with the besieged men of Jabesh-gilead on condition that he might gouge out all their right eyes, and thus put disgrace upon all Israel, caused Saul to prove himself to be king of Israel in the way he rallied Israel against Nahash and defeated him (1 Sam 11:1-11; 12:12). This Nahash later dealt loyally with David (2 Sam 10:2; 1 Chron 19:1), presumably not because Saul was their mutual enemy, but because of his attitude toward the Moabites (2 Sam 8:2). Two of Nahash’s sons, Hanun (2 Sam 10:1) and Shobi (17:27), appear to have reigned in his stead. Some scholars favor the view that the Nahash in David’s time was a descendant of the one mentioned in 1 Samuel 11:1, 2 because of the length of time between the beginning of Saul’s reign and the rebellion of Absalom (2 Sam 17:25-27). This period of about forty years is, however, not too long.

2. 2 Samuel 17:25 refers to “Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister of Zeruiah.” Both women are called sisters of David. Perhaps the best explanation is that Nahash was the first husband of David’s mother, the father of the daughters: Abigail, the mother of Amasa, and Zeruiah, mother of Joab, and that these women were the half-sisters of David, the stepdaughters of Jesse (1 Chron 19:1, 2).