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ELHANAN

(Heb. ʾelḥānān)

1. The son of Jair (or Jaare-oregim) of Bethlehem who slew a Philistine at Gob. There is a textual problem concerning the identity of Elhanan’s father and his Philistine opponent. Likely the original name Jair (1 Chr. 20:5) was corrupted by the copyist of 2 Sam. 21:19, who also inadvertently repeated the Hebrew word ʾōregîm (“weavers”) and appended it to Jaare, resulting in the name Jaare-oregim. While 2 Samuel identifies Elhanan’s Philistine adversary as Goliath, in 1 Chronicles he is designated as Lahmi, the brother of Goliath.

2. The son of Dodo of Bethlehem; listed among David’s “Thirty” mighty men (2 Sam. 23:24; 1 Chr. 11:26). Although some consider this Elhanan to be the same individual who slew the Philistine at Gob (1 above), the differing patronymics suggest otherwise. It is also unlikely that either Elhanan is to be identified with David.

Kenneth Atkinson

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

ELHANAN

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)