Nahash

Nahash (meaning serpent) is the name of two Ammonite kings. (1.) The king of Ammon who besieged Jabesh-gilead and threatened to gouge out the right eye of every man in the city — an act of cruelty that provoked Saul's first great military action and contributed to his popular acceptance as king (1 Sam. 11:1–11). His defeat at Jabesh-gilead was one of Saul's defining early victories. (2.) A later king of Ammon, father of Hanun, who had shown kindness to David. When Hanun humiliated David's emissaries sent to mourn his father's death, it triggered the Ammonite-Syrian war (2 Sam. 10:1–5).