Hanun

Hanun (meaning gracious or merciful) is the name of two individuals in the Old Testament. The more significant was Hanun son of Nahash, king of Ammon. When David sent ambassadors to express condolences at Nahash's death, Hanun's advisors persuaded him that the envoys were spies. He humiliated them by shaving off half their beards and cutting their garments to their hips before sending them away—a diplomatic insult that triggered a major military conflict (2 Sam. 10:1–14; 1 Chr. 19:1–19). The Ammonites and their Syrian allies were decisively defeated in two campaigns that extended Israelite dominance in Transjordan and Syria.

A second Hanun was a post-exilic figure who took part in Nehemiah's repair of the Jerusalem walls, rebuilding a section of the valley gate and part of the wall of the Pool of Shelah (Neh. 3:13, 30). The name's meaning of gracious mercy stands in ironic contrast to the actions of the Ammonite king whose diplomatic insult precipitated a war.