Bible Dictionaries
El-Hanan
Holman Bible Dictionary
(ehl-hay' nan) Personal name meaning, “God is gracious.” The Bethlehemite who slew the brother of Goliath (2 Samuel 21:19 ). The Hebrew text, however, does not contain the words “the brother of.” It states that El-hanan killed Goliath. 1 Chronicles 20:5 does indicate that El-hanan killed Lahmi, the brother of Goliath. A further variation in the texts from 2Samuel and 1Chronicles lies in the name of El-hanan's father: in 2 Samuel 21:19 it is Jaare-oregim; in 1 Chronicles 20:5 , Jair. The proper reconciliation of these two passages, along with their relationship to 1 Samuel 17:1 (according to which Goliath was slain by David), constitutes one of the Old Testament's more baffling puzzles. See David .
Copyright Statement
These dictionary topics are from the Holman Bible Dictionary, published by Broadman & Holman, 1991. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Broadman & Holman.
Bibliography Information
Butler, Trent C. Editor. Entry for 'El-Hanan'. Holman Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hbd/e/el-hanan.html. 1991.