(El·haʹnan) [God Has Shown Favor; God Has Been Gracious].

1. The son of Jair who, in war with the Philistines, struck down Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite. (1Ch 20:5) In 2 Samuel 21:19 Elhanan is identified as “the son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite,” and it is said that he struck down Goliath. However, many scholars think that the original reading of 2 Samuel 21:19 corresponded to 1 Chronicles 20:5, the differences in the two texts having arisen through scribal error.​—See JAARE-OREGIM; LAHMI.

2. Son of Dodo of Bethlehem; one of David’s mighty men.​—2Sa 23:24; 1Ch 11:26.