Person Old Testament
Toi
Also known as Toi =ESV, KJV; Tou =NIV, Tou
Toi, also known as Tou, was the king of Hamath who sent his son Joram to congratulate David on his victory over Hadadezer. Mentioned in 4 verses across 2 books, first at 2 Samuel 8:9.
Why it matters. King of Hamath who sent his son to David
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Toi
Toi, also referred to as Tou, was the king of Hamath, a city-state located in present-day Syria (2Sa.8.9-10; 1Ch.18.9-10). After David defeated Hadadezer, king of Zobah, Toi sent his son Joram (called Hadoram in 1 Chronicles) to congratulate David and bring gifts of silver, gold, and bronze. Toi's gesture was motivated by his own conflict with Hadadezer, as Hadadezer had been at war with Toi. By sending his son to honor David, Toi sought to establish friendly relations with the rising power of Israel and secure an ally against their common enemy. The gifts brought by Joram were dedicated by David to the Lord, along with the silver and gold he had captured from various nations. This episode demonstrates David's growing reputation as a military leader and the diplomatic relationships he established with neighboring kingdoms.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
- Children
- Joram
Appears in Scripture
Named in 4 verses across 2 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.