Rehum
REHUM
REHUM (Heb. רְחֻם; probably רְחוּם, an Aramaic hypocoristic of רחמאל, cf. רחמיאל in *Murashu tablets), a popular name borne by Jews and Arameans during the Persian period. Written in the Aramaic script, it has been confused by ancient scribes (cf. Ezra 2:2 with Neh. 7:7) and modern scholars (Kraeling, The Brooklyn Museum Aramaic Papyri (1953), 10:19, 11:14, 12:34) with the graphically similar Nehum.
(1) One of the 12 leaders joining Zerubbabel in the return from Babylonia (Ezra 2:2).
(2) As chancellor of the province Samaria or the satrapy Trans-Euphrates, Rehum and the scribe Shimshai succeeded in blocking construction of the Jerusalem wall during the reign of Artaxerxes i (Ezra 4:8–23).
(3) One of the levites who aided Nehemiah in the reconstruction of the Jerusalem wall (Neh. 3:17).
(4) A lay family name affixed to the agreement to observe the Torah (Neh. 10:26).
(5) As the name of a priestly family (Neh. 12:3) it may be a scribal corruption of Harim (cf. Neh. 10:6; 12:15; i Chron. 24:8).
[Bezalel Porten]