Who was Ahiram in the Bible?

Ahiram, also called Aharah or Ehi, was a son of the patriarch Benjamin, making him a grandson of Jacob. He is noted as the founder of the Ahiramite clan within the tribe of Benjamin (Numbers 26:38; 1 Chronicles 8:1).

What is the significance of Ahiram in the Bible?

Ahiram's primary significance is genealogical, as he represents one of the original family lines that formed the tribe of Benjamin. His descendants, the Ahiramites, were counted among the clans of Israel during the census in the wilderness (Numbers 26:38).

Are there any key events in Ahiram's life?

The Bible does not record specific life events for Ahiram. His mention is primarily in genealogical lists, noting his birth as a son of Benjamin who went with Jacob's family to Egypt (Genesis 46:21) and the clan that descended from him.

Ahiram

Old TestamentEgypt & WildernessMaleSon

Ahiram, also known as Aharah or Ehi, was a son of Benjamin and the founder of the Ahiramite clan. (Num.26.38; 1Ch.8.1; Gen.46.21)

Ahiram

Biography

Ahiram was a son of Benjamin, the youngest of Jacob's twelve sons, making him a member of the second generation of Israel's patriarchal family during the sojourn in Egypt. He is listed among the seventy souls who went down to Egypt with Jacob (Gen. 46:21), though in that passage he appears under the variant name Ehi. Numbers 26:38 records him as Ahiram, the head of the Ahiramite clan, counted in the second census of Israel taken on the plains of Moab near the end of the wilderness period. A further variant, Aharah, appears in the genealogy of 1 Chronicles 8:1, where he is listed third among Benjamin's sons. These textual variations reflect either scribal transmission differences or the use of multiple names for the same individual.

Significance

Ahiram's significance is primarily genealogical: as a son of Benjamin, he stands in the ancestral chain connecting the patriarch Benjamin to the subsequent clans of that tribe. The tribe of Benjamin, though small (Num. 26:41 counts only 45,600), would produce both Saul, Israel's first king (1 Sam. 9:1–2), and Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles (Phil. 3:5). The Ahiramite clan's perpetuation across the wilderness generations demonstrates God's faithfulness in preserving each branch of the covenant community through the trials of Egypt and the desert. In the broader canonical narrative, Benjamin's survival and flourishing speak to God's protection of the entire tribal structure through which his redemptive purposes would be enacted.

Verse Appearances (3)

References

Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References (TIPNR). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]

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