Heman (Bible)

The name 'Heman' is a Jewish name, meaning 'Faithful'. It is found sixteen times in the New International Version of the Bible.[1]

Heman was one of 3 Levites assigned by King David to be ministers of music. He was a grandson of Samuel the prophet. [1] He went on to become King David's seer, and to have 14 sons. [2] The title of Psalm 88 ascribes it to Heman. This Psalm seems to have been written in a state of despair. According to Martin Marty, a professor of church history at the University of Chicago, Psalm 88 is “a wintry landscape of unrelieved bleakness.”

Psalm 88 ends by saying:

You have taken my companions and loved ones from me; the darkness is my closest friend. (Psalm 88:18, NIV).

Indeed, in Hebrew, the last word of the Psalm 88 is "darkness".

  1. ^ 1 Chronicles 6:33-34
  2. ^ 1 Chronicles 25:5