Salmon
Salmon (or Sala) was the son of Nahshon and husband of Rahab - an ancestor of King David and Jesus Christ.
Biography
Salmon (also rendered Sala or Salma in various textual traditions) was the son of Nahshon, the prince of Judah during the Exodus, and became the husband of Rahab, the Canaanite woman of Jericho whose faith saved her household during Israel's conquest of the Promised Land. Their union produced Boaz, the kinsman-redeemer of Ruth, making Salmon the great-great-grandfather of King David. His name appears in the Matthean genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:4-5) and in Luke's genealogy as Sala (Luke 3:32), establishing him as a pivotal link in the royal and Messianic lineage. Salmon's era spans the period from the wilderness wandering through the early settlement of Canaan.
Significance
Salmon's marriage to Rahab constitutes one of Scripture's most vivid illustrations of redemptive grace extending across ethnic and moral boundaries. Rahab, a Canaanite and former prostitute, was incorporated into the covenant community through faith, and Salmon's union with her wove that faith into the very genealogical line of the Messiah. Matthew's genealogy deliberately highlights Rahab among the four women named (Matthew 1:5), signaling the inclusive, grace-saturated character of Christ's ancestry. Through Salmon, the line that began with Abraham's calling, passed through the Exodus generation, and was preserved by a Canaanite's scarlet cord arrived at Boaz, Ruth, David, and ultimately the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse Appearances (6)
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]