Ahuzam

Ahuzam appears in 1 Chronicles 4:5–6, within a genealogical register of the tribe of Judah.[3] The passage states that Ashhur — described as the father of Tekoa — had two wives, Helah and Naarah.[2] From Naarah, Ashhur had four sons: Ahuzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Ahashtari. The verse concludes by explicitly designating these four as "the sons of Naarah."[1] Helah’s sons are listed as Zereth and Ethnan, with the middle name rendered Zohar by Sefaria and Jezoar by the Jewish Virtual Library.[3][4]

The name appears in variant spellings across traditional sources. Biblical dictionaries record the form Ahuzzam alongside Ahuzam, and similarly render the father's name as Ashur rather than Ashhur.[5][6] One biblical dictionary glosses the name as meaning "possessor," though the biblical text itself offers no explanation of the name's meaning.[5]

The midrashic work Shemot Rabbah offers a reading of the Chronicles genealogy that connects Ahuzam to the prophetess Miriam. It identifies Naarah — the mother named in 1 Chronicles 4:6 — with Miriam herself, explaining that Miriam was called Naarah because she recovered from illness and was restored to youth. The midrash then interprets the phrase "Naarah bore him" as a reference to that recovery and subsequent childbirth, naming Ahuzam and Hepher among the sons she bore.[7]

This identification is a rabbinic midrashic reading rather than a claim made by the biblical passage itself, which does not connect Naarah with Miriam in any way.[7]

Several minor textual variations surround Ahuzam’s genealogy. Sefaria renders the name as Ahuzam and the father’s name as Ashhur, while biblical dictionaries use Ahuzzam and Ashur.[5][6] In verse 7, Sefaria gives Zohar among Helah’s sons, whereas the Jewish Virtual Library gives Jezoar.[3][4] The identification of Naarah with Miriam in Shemot Rabbah is a midrashic interpretation, not an identification made by the biblical genealogy.[7]