Who was Nahash in the Bible?

Hebrew name: נָחָשׁ (nachash)

Name meaning: “Snake”

An Ammonite king (1 Samuel 11:1-2; 2 Samuel 10:2, 17:25; 1 Chronicles 19:1-2)

Nahash, as mentioned in 1 Samuel 11:1, was an Ammonite king living at the time of the United Monarchy. The Ammonites were descendants of Ben-Ammi, the son of Lot and his younger daughter (Genesis 19:38). Nahash’s son was Hanun (2 Samuel 10:2). 1 Samuel 11 describes an incident that takes place during the time of King Saul’s reign over Israel. When Nahash besieged the city of Jabesh Gilead, the people of the city sought a treaty with him. Nahash demanded that the people of Jabesh Gilead surrender by having their right eyes gouged out – obviously a severe and humiliating demand. However, Saul, upon hearing about this, acted decisively and rallied the Israelites to come to the aid of Jabesh Gilead. In a swift and successful military campaign, Saul defeated Nahash and the Ammonites, delivering the people of Jabesh Gilead from their oppressors.