Who was Hilkiah in the Bible?

Father of Eliakim, the head of Hezekiah's household. 2 Kings 18:18, 26, 37; Isa. 22:20; Isa. 36:3, 22.

Son of Shallum, or Meshullam, and high priest in the time of Josiah king of Judah. He found a copy of the law in the temple, which caused great heart-searchings and repentance. 2 Kings 22:4-14; 2 Kings 23:4, 24; 1 Chr. 6:13; 1 Chr. 9:11; 2 Chr. 34:9-22; 2 Chr. 35:8; Ezra 7:1; Neh. 11:11.

He was the son of Hilkijah. Was his father the high priest frequently mentioned during the reign of Josiah, or was he another Hilkijah? We do not know for sure. Let us remember, however, the following points about Hilkijah the high priest. In 1 Chronicles 6:13 he is named in the list of Aaron’s descendants. Gemariah his son is often mentioned by Jeremiah (for instance, in 29:3). Ezra, the scribe, was one of his descendants.

Hilkijah is especially known for having, along with Shaphan, recovered the book of the Law. In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, five years after Jeremiah began to prophesy, Hilkijah and Shaphan had collected the money gathered by the people and brought into the house of Jehovah to pay for the work performed on the temple. On this occasion the high priest finds the book of the Law in the house of Jehovah (2 Kings 22:3-8). Josiah, very impressed after hearing the words of the book, sends Hilkijah, Shaphan, and some others to Huldah the prophetess to receive from her mouth the word of the Lord in this respect. Huldah can only confirm the chastisements announced in the book toward the people that were abandoning God. However, the king humbled himself and, as a result, the judgment was suspended during the rest of his life.

Jeremiah means "exalted of the Lord," or, "established by the Lord." He was the son of Hilkiah. Some have identified the father of Jeremiah with the high-priest Hilkiah, who was such a power in Josiah's great reformation work. This is incorrect. The high-priest Hilkiah was of the line of Eleazar, as recorded in 1 Chronicles 6:4, 13. The father of the prophet Jeremiah was, we read in the first verse of this book, of the priests that were in Anathoth; the priests who lived there were of the line of Ithamar. (See 1 Kings 2:26; 1 Chronicles 24:3, 6.) Anathoth, the home of Jeremiah, was in Benjamin, about three miles northeast of Jerusalem.

Jeremiah (exalted or established of the Lord). This is the second of the "greater prophets" — so called because of the largeness and extent of their written prophecies — the other two being Ezekiel and Daniel. Jeremiah was of priestly descent, his father being Hilkiah, one of the priests residing in the Levitical town of Anathoth, four miles north-east of Jerusalem. The name Hilkiah was a common enough one among the Jews, so we cannot say that the high priest of that name who found the copy of the law in the Temple was the father of our prophet.

Jeremiah’s father was Hilkiah (Jer. 1:1). The name of the high priest who found the book of the law was Hilkiah (2 Kings 22:8). It looks as if this must be the same person, considering all the circumstances. It is a cause for thanksgiving that we have not now, in this day, to seek a high priest. God Himself has provided One for us who “continueth ever,” who “ever lives.” There is no change in the priesthood with which we are connected. Of Jesus, our high priest, God has said, “Thou art a priest for ever.” No less a person than God’s own beloved Son is suitable now, “Such an high priest became us” (Heb. 7:26). He is become higher than the heavens.

Hil ki’ah - The portion of Jehovah

It is needful to notice a striking fact which took place doubtless under God’s gracious guidance in Jeremiah’s time. A fact which explains the deep moral tone and the frequent use made of the truth and spirit of Deuteronomy, in Jeremiah’s ministry. This fact is recorded in 2 Kings 22:8 thus: “Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” (Hilkiah is mentioned in Jeremiah 1:1. Jeremiah was therefore of priestly distinction and dignity, though fulfilling the prophetic office). Now this Book of the Covenant certainly gave character to Jeremiah’s ministry. It showed up in glaring colours the inward state of God’s people, alongside of the holy claims of God’s majesty. This would cause great pain to his tender heart. He saw the outward revival at that time, in Josiah’s reign; but he knew the lack of inward reality. He recognized, consequently, that like fruit which is fresh and blooming on the outside, but unsound at the core, speedy corruption must swiftly spread over all. And thus it came to pass, “They grow,” he says to the Lord, “yea, they bring forth fruit: Thou art near in their mouth, and far from their reins” (Jer. 12:2). Outward departure must inevitably follow this inward unreality.

Priest of Anathoth and father of the prophet Jeremiah. Jer. 1:1.

Though God had commanded in Deuteronomy 17:18-19 that the king of Israel was to write a copy of the law for himself and learn it well, Josiah did not even know that such a book existed. No doubt Manasseh and Amon had ignored God's Word completely, so that when Hilkijah the high priest found the book of the law in the house of God, it was a total surprise to him and to Josiah. Certainly the high priest should have known the law, but the faith of Josiah was required to wake up the high priest. It is true in our day too, when there is genuine concern about the house of God, the Church, this will lead us to the Word of God.

But the course that Josiah adopted arrests our attention. He sent a deputation of five leading men in his realm to consult Huldah the prophetess as to what Jehovah would have done. The leader of the deputation was Hilkiah the High Priest! The religious head of the nation sent by the King to a woman for counsel! Why was this? When priesthood was first established in Israel, Jehovah warned Aaron and his sons against the use of strong drink that they might be able to "put difference between holy and unholy and between unclean and clean." They were to "teach the children of Israel all the statutes which Jehovah had spoken to them by the hand of Moses" (Lev 10:8-11). At a much later date it was said, "The priest's lips should keep knowledge and they should seek the law at his mouth, for he is the messenger of Jehovah of Hosts" (Mal. 2:7). Here the high privileges and the spiritual distinction of the priesthood stands out clearly. Their special nearness to God should fit them to be His mouthpiece to the people. This would be particularly true of the High Priest. Yet Josiah sent the High Priest with others to learn the mind of God from a prophetess! Hezekiah did something similar in a time of national peril. The powerful Assyrian was at the door, and the King "sent Eliakim who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz" (2 Kings 19:2). Although in this instance, the elders of the priests formed the bulk of the deputation, they were not sent to the High Priest, who is not even named in connection with the matter!