a man's close companion: the friend attached to one particular person, whether at his wedding, in his court, or in his troubles
This word never floats free. In six of its seven appearances it is somebody's friend, marked as his by a possessive ending, and the seventh names the thirty men brought in to keep Samson company. That is what sets it apart from the far more common word for a neighbor or fellow (רֵעַ), which can also mean nothing warmer than the other party, or even just "one another." Here there are always two people and a bond between them.
Four of the seven belong to one story. When Samson arrives at Timnah for his wedding feast, thirty of these companions are brought to be with him (Judges 14:11), and when the marriage collapses his bride is handed to the one who had stood closest to him (Judges 14:20; Judges 15:2; Judges 15:6). The betrayal cuts because the man was not a bystander: he held a place in the wedding, the role the Gospel of John later calls the friend of the bridegroom (φίλος).
At the other end of the range stands Ahuzzath, who comes with Abimelech to make terms with Isaac (Genesis 26:26). He is named between the king and the commander of the army, which looks less like a private friendship than a place in the royal household, and later kings of Israel did keep such a man: Hushai is called David's friend using a closely related word (רֵעֶה).
Twice the word sits right beside "brothers." Abner protests that he has kept faith with Saul's house, with his brothers and with his friends (2 Samuel 3:8), and Proverbs observes that if even a poor man's brothers hate him, his friends keep well clear of him (Proverbs 19:7). Kin and chosen friends were the two circles a person could count on, and the proverb's sting is that poverty empties both.
Nuances
Whether Ahuzzath's title in Genesis 26:26 names an office in the king's household or simply describes a personal friend in the king's party.
- contestedIt names a court position, the same office visible later in Israel when Hushai is called the king's friend (2 Samuel 15:37; 16:16; 1 Kings 4:5), and comparable to titles known from Egyptian and other royal courts.; A. van Selms, "The Origin of the Title 'The King's Friend'," Journal of Near Eastern Studies 16 (1957): 118-123; T. N. D. Mettinger, Solomonic State Officials: A Study of the Civil Government Officials of the Israelite Monarchy (Lund: Gleerup, 1971); Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions (London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1961)
- contestedIt is a plain description: Ahuzzath is Abimelech's friend and companion in the delegation, and no formal post should be read into the word.; HALOT, s.v. מֵרֵעַ; BDB, s.v. מֵרֵעַ