Hebrew word · H293

אֲחִינֹ֫עַם

'achino'am

Ahinoam

'My brother is delight / pleasantness'. No'am means pleasantness or favor (Ps 90:17), and 'brother' probably names God as kinsman.

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A woman living at the time of United Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Sa.25.43; married to David (H1732);

mother of: Amnon (H0550)

§ Ahinoam = "my brother is delight"

1) wife of Saul, daughter of Ahimaaz

2) wife of David, mother of Amnon, a Jezreelitess

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 1 Samuel 14:50

Range of meaning

'My brother is delight / pleasantness'. No'am means pleasantness or favor (Ps 90:17), and 'brother' probably names God as kinsman.

Against the English

Transliterated as 'Ahinoam' in every version.

Used elsewhere in the period

Only two women in the Hebrew Bible bear the name: this wife of Saul, and David's wife 'Ahinoam of Jezreel' (1 Sam 25:43; 27:3; 2 Sam 3:2), mother of Amnon.

From the study of 1 Samuel 25:43

Range of meaning

A personal name made of ʾaḥ 'brother' + noʿam 'pleasantness, delight.' It means roughly 'my brother is delight.' In names like this 'brother' can refer to a god as a kinsman.

Against the English

Transliterated in every English version.

Used elsewhere in the period

Borne by only two women in the Hebrew Bible: Saul's wife, daughter of Ahimaaz (1 Sam 14:50), and David's wife from Jezreel (here; 27:3; 30:5; 2 Sam 2:2; 3:2; 1 Chr 3:1).

Where it appears

1 Samuel · 4

  1. 1 Samuel 14:50 אֲחִינֹ֖עַם [was] Ahinoam

    His wife’s name was Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of the commander of his army was Abner, the son of Saul’s uncle Ner.

    Here: A woman's name, probably meaning 'my brother is delight'. Here 'brother' most likely refers to God as the family's divine kinsman. She is named nowhere else as Saul's wife. Presumably she is the mother of the children just listed.

  2. 1 Samuel 25:43 אֲחִינֹ֛עַם Ahinoam

    David had also married Ahinoam of Jezreel. So she and Abigail were both his wives.

    Here: A woman's name, roughly 'my brother is delight' or '(the divine) Brother is pleasantness.' The only other Ahinoam in the Bible is Saul's wife (1 Sam 14:50), and that has led to a scholarly debate (see debates).

  3. 1 Samuel 27:3 אֲחִינֹ֙עַם֙ Ahinoam

    David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal.

  4. 1 Samuel 30:5 אֲחִינֹ֙עַם֙ Ahinoam

    David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel, had been taken captive.

2 Samuel · 2

  1. 2 Samuel 2:2 אֲחִינֹ֙עַם֙ Ahinoam

    So David went there with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel.

  2. 2 Samuel 3:2 לַאֲחִינֹ֖עַם of Ahinoam

    And sons were born to David in Hebron: His firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam of Jezreel;

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 3:1 לַאֲחִינֹ֙עַם֙ to Ahinoam

    These were the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: The firstborn was Amnon by Ahinoam of Jezreel; the second was Daniel by Abigail of Carmel;

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.