Hanani was a seer and prophet who served in the divided kingdom. He is best known for rebuking King Asa of Judah for forming an alliance with Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, instead of trusting in the Lord. He is also the father of the well-known prophet Jehu son of Hanani.
Hanani came to King Asa of Judah and rebuked him for relying on the king of Aram instead of on the Lord his God. He reminded Asa that the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.
7At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, "Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped your hand.
8Were not the Cushites and the Libyans a mighty army with vast numbers of chariots and horsemen? But when you relied on the LORD, he gave them into your hand.
9For the eyes of the LORD range through the whole earth to strengthen those whose hearts are wholly his. In this you have acted foolishly, and from now on you will have wars."
King Asa became so furious at Hanani's prophetic message that he had the seer thrown into prison. This shows the price the prophet paid for his faithfulness to God's word.
10Asa was angry with the seer and put him in the stocks, for he was enraged at him over this. At that same time Asa also cruelly oppressed some of the people.
Hanani's Rebuke Regarding Asa's Alliance with Aram
Hanani pointed out that because Asa had trusted in the king of Aram instead of the Lord, the Aramean army had escaped. From now on, Asa would experience wars.
7At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, "Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped your hand.
8Were not the Cushites and the Libyans a mighty army with vast numbers of chariots and horsemen? But when you relied on the LORD, he gave them into your hand.
9For the eyes of the LORD range through the whole earth to strengthen those whose hearts are wholly his. In this you have acted foolishly, and from now on you will have wars."
10Asa was angry with the seer and put him in the stocks, for he was enraged at him over this. At that same time Asa also cruelly oppressed some of the people.
Jehu son of Hanani followed in his father's footsteps as a prophet and spoke God's word to several kings, including Baasha of Israel and Jehoshaphat of Judah. In this way, Hanani established a prophetic family.
7Moreover, through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani the word of the LORD had come against Baasha and his house, both because of all the evil he had done in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger by the work of his hands and becoming like the house of Jeroboam, and because he had struck down Jeroboam's house.
2Jehu son of Hanani, the seer, went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, "Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Because of this, wrath rests upon you from the LORD.
A man named Hanani, brother of Nehemiah, brought news from Jerusalem about the condition of the wall. Although this is likely a different Hanani, the name shows the significance of tradition.
2Hanani, one of my brothers, came with some men from Judah, and I questioned them about the Jews who had survived, those left from the exile, and about Jerusalem.
2I put my brother Hanani, together with Hananiah the commander of the citadel, in charge of Jerusalem, for he was a trustworthy man who feared God more than most.