Ahiman, Sheshai, Talmai
AHIMAN, SHESHAI, TALMAI
AHIMAN, SHESHAI, TALMAI , the sons of *Anak, who were said to have inhabited *Hebron when the spies sent by Moses reconnoitered Canaan (Num. 13:22). Their names have not been identified with certainty. Ahiman may be Semitic, while Kempinsky and Hess regard Sheshai and Talmai as Hurrian. The sons of Anak are described as *Nephilim (ibid. 13:33), a term probably indicating extraordinary stature and power (cf. Gen. 6:4). In Deuteronomy 2:21 (cf. Deut. 1:28) the Anakim are described as "great, numerous, and tall." Traditions about an ancient giant race were apparently current in Israel, Amon, and Moab (see *Og, *Rephaim).
According to Joshua 15:13–14, *Caleb attacked Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai and dispossessed them (cf. Judg. 1:20). Another passage credits the tribe of Judah with the victory over the three brothers (Judg. 1:10). Finally, according to Joshua 11:21–22, Joshua annihilated the Anakites. The name Ahiman occurs as well in i Chronicles 9:17 and in three epigraphs: a jug from *Elephantine, one seal from Megiddo, and another of unknown provenance. Talmai is also the name of a king of Geshur in northern Transjordan who was a contemporary of David.
bibliography:
C.F. Burney, The Book of Judges (1920), 9–10; Mazar, in: Sefer Dinaburg (1949), 321; em, 1 (1965), 218–9 (incl. bibl.). add. bibliography: A. Kempinsky, in: em, 8, 575–76; R. Hess, in: cbq, 58 (1996), 205–14; B. Levine, Numbers 1–20 (ab; 1993), 355.
[Hanna Weiner]