Elhanan, son of Jaare-oregim

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Elhanan, son of Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite (Hebrew: אֶלְחָנָן בֶּן־יַעְרֵי אֹרְגִים בֵּית הַלַּחְמִי‎ ʾElḥānān ben-Yaʿrē ʾŌrəgīm Bēṯ halLaḥmī) is a character in 2 Samuel 21:19, where he is credited with killing Goliath:

"There was another battle with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam."[1]

In 1 Chronicles 20:5, he is called Elhanan, son of Jair, (אֶלְחָנָן בֶּן־יָעִיר‎ ʾElḥānān ben-Yāʿīr) indicating that "Jaare-oregim", is a garbled corruption of the name Jair and the word for "beam" used in the verse (ʾōrəgīm).[2]

The combat with Goliath was re-worked into the story of David in 1 Samuel 17,[3] but crediting Goliath's death to David instead of Elhanan created a problem.[4] The 4th century BC Book of Chronicles resolved it by describing how "Elhanan the son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite" (1 Chronicles 20:5), constructing the name Lahmi from the last portion of the word "Bethlehemite" (beit ha-lahmi),[4] the King James Bible by modifying 2 Samuel 21:18–19 to make it read as if Elhanan had slain Goliath's brother ("And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare–oregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam"), although the Hebrew makes no mention of the word "brother", and the Targum, a translation of the Hebrew scriptures into Aramaic, identified Elhanan with David as both were from Bethlehem (targum 2 Samuel 21:19), although this creates yet another problem in that Elhanan is listed as one of David's followers and the killings occur in different places.[5]

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ Selman 2015, p. 155.
  2. ^ Halpern 2003, p. 7.
  3. ^ McKenzie 2007, p. 479.
  4. ^ a b Hooker 2001, p. 84.
  5. ^ Halpern 2003, p. 7-8.

Bibliography

  • Halpern, Baruch (2003). David's Secret Demons. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802827975.
  • Hooker, Paul K. (2001). First and Second Chronicles. Westminster John Knox. ISBN 9780664255916.
  • McKenzie, Steven L. (2007). "1 Samuel". In Coogan, Michael D.; Brettler, Marc Z.; Newsom, Carol A.; Perkins, Pheme (eds.). The New Oxford Annotated Bible. Hendrickson Publishers. ISBN 9781598560329.
  • Selman, Martin (2015). 1 Chronicles. Inter-Varsity Press. ISBN 9781783592333.
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