HANANI (Hebrew: Hánánî). — 1. A prophet who reproached King Asa for lacking trust in God when, against Baasha, king of Israel (910–887 BC), he sought the aid of Ben-hadad, king of Damascus. Asa, enraged, had him imprisoned (2 Chron. 16:7–10). He was probably the father of the prophet Jehu (1 Kings 16:1–7; 2 Chron. 19:2; 20:34).
2. Four other Israelites of the Old Testament: a Levite, son of Heman, head of the 18th class of singers (1 Chron. 25:4–25); a priest, son of Immer, who sent away his foreign wife into exile (Ezra 10:20); a brother of Nehemiah, to whom Nehemiah entrusted the governorship of Jerusalem (Neh. 1:2; 7:2); and a priest who took part in the dedication of the walls of Jerusalem (Neh. 12:35).
BIBL.: E. Tobac–J. Coppens, *Les prophètes d’Israël*, I, 2nd ed., Malines 1935, p. 142; A. Vaccari, *La S. Bibbia*, III, Florence 1948, pp. 119, 125, 199 sq., 212, 225 sq.; A. Médébielle, *Edras-Néhemie* (*La Sainte Bible*, ed. L. Pirot, 4), Paris 1949, pp. 176, 327 sq., 345.