Hadlai

Hadlai (meaning loitering or hindering) was an Ephraimite, the father of Amasa, who is mentioned in a single passage recounting the aftermath of Pekah's raid on Judah. When the Israelite army under Pekah brought 200,000 Judahite captives to Samaria, a prophet named Oded met them and condemned the action. Amasa son of Hadlai was among the leading men of Ephraim who responded to the prophet's rebuke by refusing to allow the captives to be brought in and insisting they be clothed, fed, and returned to their kinsmen in Judah (2 Chr. 28:12).

This episode—a rare instance of northern Israelites acting with compassion toward Judahite prisoners—illustrates the continuing fraternal bond between the divided kingdoms even in a period of deep political hostility. Hadlai himself is mentioned only as the father of Amasa and has no independent narrative role beyond his patronymic.