2609. Chanes

Lexical Summary

Chanes: Chanes

Original Word: חָנֵס
Part of Speech: Proper Name Location
Transliteration: Chanec
Pronunciation: khaw-NAYS
Phonetic Spelling: (khaw-nace')
KJV: Hanes
NASB: Hanes
Word Origin: [of Egyptian derivation]

1. Chanes, a place in Egypt

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

Hanes

Of Egyptian derivation; Chanes, a place in Egypt -- Hanes.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
of foreign origin
Definition
a place in Eg.
NASB Translation
Hanes (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

חָנֵס proper name, of a location Isaiah 30:4 in Lower Egypt, on island in Nile, south of Memphis ("" צֹּעַן) = Egyptian Hnnstn [*–néns®], Assyrian –ininši; Herodot^{ii. 137} Ἄνυσις, afterward Heracleopolis magna, now Ahnâs; see Steind^{BAS i. 602}.

Topical Lexicon

Name and Identification

Hanes (Hebrew Ḥānēs, Strong’s 2609) is the name of an Egyptian city noted in Isaiah 30:4. The city is generally identified with ancient Heracleopolis Magna, called Hnes in late Egyptian and modern Ihnasiyyah el-Medina, situated in Middle Egypt on the west bank of the Nile.

Biblical Reference

Isaiah 30:4 records Judah’s envoys in both Zoan and Hanes: “Although their princes are at Zoan, and their envoys have arrived in Hanes” (Berean Standard Bible). The single appearance of the name serves a theological purpose within Isaiah’s oracle against reliance on Egypt.

Historical Background

During the reign of King Hezekiah, Judah faced rising pressure from Assyria. Some leaders sought military aid from Egypt, hoping Pharaoh’s chariots would offset the Assyrian threat (Isaiah 30:1–2; 36:6). Isaiah denounced this policy. By naming two Egyptian cities—Zoan in the Delta and Hanes farther south—the prophet pictures Judah’s delegation traversing the length of Egypt, emphasizing the futility of their costly diplomacy. Contemporary Egyptian rulers likely belonged to the Twenty-third or early Twenty-fifth Dynasty, periods marked by political fragmentation despite outward show of power.

Geographical Setting

Hanes lay near the entrance to the Fayum, controlling agricultural canals and trade routes linking Lower and Upper Egypt. Its strategic location and temple complex made it a regional power center. References in Egyptian texts to Hnes as a cult site of the ram-god Heryshef illuminate the idolatrous environment Judah’s ambassadors would have encountered, underscoring Isaiah’s later denunciation of Egypt’s “worthless and empty” help (Isaiah 30:7).

Theological Significance

1. Trust versus Covenant Faithfulness: Isaiah contrasts Judah’s embassy to Hanes with the Lord’s everlasting covenant. Seeking security in Egypt betrayed the nation’s calling to rely on God alone (Exodus 20:2–3; Deuteronomy 17:16).
2. Prophetic Irony: Hanes, whose name may echo the Hebrew root for “favor” or “grace,” becomes a symbol of false hope. True grace resides in repentance and rest (Isaiah 30:15).
3. Judgment and Mercy: The oracle (Isaiah 30:1–17) foretells that Egypt’s aid will “bring neither help nor advantage” (Isaiah 30:5), yet the chapter ends with a vision of future salvation (Isaiah 30:18–26). The mention of Hanes thus belongs to a broader pattern in which God exposes misplaced trust to guide His people back to Himself.

Prophetic Message

Hanes exemplifies how geopolitical alliances can become spiritual snares. Isaiah declares:

“‘Woe to the rebellious children,’ declares the Lord, ‘who carry out a plan, but not Mine… who set out to go down to Egypt without consulting My Spirit’” (Isaiah 30:1–2).

The solitary reference to Hanes heightens the prophetic rebuke: vast journeys and rich tribute cannot secure deliverance when the covenant Lord is ignored.

Connections in Scripture

• Earlier parallels: King Asa relied on Aram instead of the Lord (2 Chronicles 16:1–9).
• Later fulfillment: Hezekiah ultimately trusted God, and the Angel of the Lord struck the Assyrian army (Isaiah 37:36). The defeat validated Isaiah’s warning at Hanes.
• New Testament resonance: Believers are admonished to “put no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3) and to avoid worldly alliances that compromise faithfulness (James 4:4).

Archaeology and Extra-Biblical Witness

Excavations at Ihnasiyyah have uncovered massive mud-brick walls, temple remains, and inscriptions bearing the city’s Egyptian name Hnes. Greek sources call it Heracleopolis. Though direct biblical artifacts have not been found, the site’s prosperity in the eighth–seventh centuries B.C. corroborates Isaiah’s portrait of a politically active city capable of receiving foreign embassies.

Lessons for Today

• Political prudence must never supplant spiritual dependence.
• Extensive effort and expense, symbolized by journeys to Zoan and Hanes, are wasted when divorced from obedience to God’s Word.
• The inclusion of a single, otherwise obscure city in Scripture reminds readers that every detail serves divine revelation, calling the Church to careful study and wholehearted trust.

Further Study

Compare Isaiah 30 with Isaiah 31; explore the motif of Egypt as a false refuge in Jeremiah 42–44 and Ezekiel 29–32; consult archaeological reports on Heracleopolis Magna for historical context.

Forms and Transliterations

חָנֵ֥ס חנס chaNes ḥā·nês ḥānês

Englishman's Concordance

Isaiah 30:4
HEB: שָׂרָ֑יו וּמַלְאָכָ֖יו חָנֵ֥ס יַגִּֽיעוּ׃
NAS: And their ambassadors arrive at Hanes.
KJV: and his ambassadors came to Hanes.
INT: their princes and their ambassadors Hanes arrive

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 2609
1 Occurrence

ḥā·nês — 1 Occ.