AHIMAAZ ə hĭm’ ĭ ăz (אֲחִימָ֑עַץ my brother is wrath[?]). 1. The father of Saul’s wife, Ahinoam (1 Sam 14:50).

2. A son of Zadok, the high priest (2 Sam 15:27; 1 Chron 6:8, 53) who remained loyal to David during the rebellion of Absalom and Jonathan. Ahimaaz together with Jonathan, the son of Abiathar, were messengers for David stationed at En-rogel (2 Sam 17:17) when he fled from Absalom (15:27, 36). Ahimaaz was esp. famous for his swift running which he demonstrated at his own urgings when he raced the news to David of the victory of David’s army and of Absalom’s death (18:27), beating the Cushite messenger with the same message. At one point, the aforementioned system of espionage almost collapsed when Ahimaaz and Jonathan were detected by a lad who told Absalom of their activities. They fled for their lives to a man’s house in Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard and there they hid. A woman covered over the well’s lid and spread her ground corn over the lid and thus they escaped (17:17-19). The career of Ahimaaz in subsequent days is unknown. From the facts known, it would appear that he did not succeed Zadok as high priest, for he is not listed among Solomon’s officials (1 Kings 4:2); rather, Azariah, another son of Zadok, appears as the priest.

3. The son-in-law of Solomon who married his daughter Basemath and was one of the king’s twelve officers in charge of the food service for the royal household as financed by the eighth assigned district of Naphtali (1 Kings 4:15). Some, however, apparently still looking for a trace of Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok (see 2 above) conjecture that the name of the man who married Basemath has dropped out of the text and therefore only the name of the husband’s father has remained.