View source for Hilkiah

'''Hilkiah''' was a [[Hebrew people|Hebrew]] [[Priest]] at the time of [[King Josiah]]. His name is mentioned in [[Books of Kings|II Kings]]. He was the High Priest and is known for finding a lost copy of the Book of the law at the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] at the time that King Josiah commanded that the Holy Temple be refurbished ({{bibleverse|2|Kings|22:8|HE}}). His preaching may have helped spur Josiah to return Judah to the worship of [[Yahweh]], the God of Israel.

Hilkiah may have been the same Hilkiah who was the father of [[Jeremiah]] the prophet. As such he would have lived in [[Anathoth]] in the land of [[Benjamin]], and was the father of an influential family in the [[Kingdom of Judah]].<ref>It is unsure whether the Hilkiah that is the father of Jeremiah, is the same Hilkiah that is the Father of Eliakim (see {{bibleverse|2|Kings|18:18|HE}}, {{bibleverse-nb|2|Kings|18:26|HE}}, {{bibleverse-nb|2|Kings|18:37|HE}}; Isaiah 22:20, 36:3, 22)</ref>  

==The "Book of the law"==
{{offtopic}}

Some{{Who|date=March 2009}} identify the rediscovered book as the [[Book of Deuteronomy]]. Some {{Who|date=March 2009}} argue that the [[Deuteronomic Code]] differs in tone and narrative style from the preceding four books of the [[Pentateuch]] while still referring to them throughout.  Scrolls and books of later antiquity, particularly those of the Greco-Roman rule in [[Judea]], were summarily discounted by Hebrew biblical redactors.  Conversely this book, whose discovery is touted in [[Books of Kings|2 Kings]], was therefore believed to have been of an early enough authorship to validate, not only its inclusion, but the book's ultimate placement as the 5th of the "Five Books of Moses".

==References==
{{Unreferenced|date=March 2009}}
{{reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Shallum]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of High Priests of Israel|High Priest of Israel]] |years=circa [[600s BC]] }}
{{s-aft|after=[[Azariah IV]]}}
{{end}}

[[Category:High Priests of Israel]]
[[Category:Hebrew Bible people]]
[[Category:Jeremiah]]
[[Category:7th-century BC clergy]]


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