Hilkiah

1. Father of Eliakim, an overseer in King Hezekiah’s household (2 Kgs 18:18, 26; Is 22:20; 36:3, 22).

2. High priest and Shallum’s son in the reign of King Josiah who, during the repair of the temple, found the Book of the Law (2 Kgs 22:3–14; 1 Chr 6:13; 9:11; 2 Chr 34:14–22). According to Ezra 7:1 (cf. 1 Esd 8:1), he was also an ancestor of Ezra. He is an important figure in the events surrounding Josiah’s religious reform, not only because he found the Book of the Law, but also because he led the king’s messengers to consult Huldah the prophetess regarding God’s Word (2 Kgs 22:14) and later presided over the purification of the temple (23:4).

3. Merarite Levite, the son of Amzi and Amaziah’s father (1 Chr 6:45).

4. Merarite Levite and Hosah’s son, who was appointed as a gatekeeper in the temple by David (1 Chr 26:11).

5. Companion of Ezra at the public reading of the law (Neh 8:4). Scholars disagree as to whether he was a layman or a priest.

6. Priest among the returned exiles (Neh 12:7).

7. Anathoth priest who was the father of Jeremiah (Jer 1:1).

8. Father of Gemariah whom King Zedekiah sent to Babylon with a letter of assurance from Jeremiah (Jer 29:3).