Hanani

Hanani (meaning my grace or my mercy) is the name of several individuals in the Old Testament. The most notable is Hanani the seer (or prophet), the father of the prophet Jehu son of Hanani (1 Kings 16:7; 2 Chr. 19:2). This Hanani rebuked King Asa of Judah for relying on the king of Syria rather than on God in his conflict with Israel, and was imprisoned by the king for this prophetic rebuke—an early example of a prophet suffering for his message (2 Chr. 16:7–10).

A second Hanani was Nehemiah's brother, who came from Jerusalem to Susa with news of the broken walls of Jerusalem, triggering Nehemiah's grief, prayer, and eventual mission to rebuild them (Neh. 1:2). He later served as a ruler of Jerusalem in the post-exilic community (Neh. 7:2). Among the musicians, Hanani son of Heman was one of David's appointed Levitical singers (1 Chr. 25:4, 25). Several others bearing the name appear in post-exilic lists and in the priestly families of the period of Nehemiah (Neh. 12:36).