High Priest living at the time of Divided Monarchy
Hilkiah, the high priest during King Josiah's reign, discovered the Book of the Law in the temple, sparking a religious reform.
🗺 Places mentioned alongside Hilkiah on the map →
Hilkiah was the high priest during the reign of King Josiah of Judah (2Kings 22-23, 2Chronicles 34-35). He is most notable for his discovery of the Book of the Law in the temple, which led to a significant religious reform and renewal in Judah.
In the 18th year of Josiah's reign, Hilkiah was involved in the repair and restoration of the temple. During this process, he found the Book of the Law, which had been lost or neglected for some time (2Ki.22.8, 2 Chronicles 2Ki.34.14). Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan the scribe, who then brought it to King Josiah.
Upon hearing the words of the Law, Josiah was deeply troubled and sought to inquire of the Lord. Hilkiah, along with others, was sent to consult with the prophetess Huldah, who confirmed the authenticity of the book and prophesied about the judgment that would come upon Judah for their disobedience (2Ki.22.12-20, 2 Chronicles 2Ki.34.20-28).
Following this, Josiah initiated a comprehensive religious reform, removing idolatry, destroying pagan shrines, and restoring proper worship according to the Law. Hilkiah played a key role in this process, as he was entrusted with the task of cleansing the temple and overseeing the observance of the Passover (2Ki.23.4-24, 2 Chronicles 2Ki.35.1-19).
Hilkiah is also mentioned in the genealogies of the Levites and priests (1Ch.6.13, 9:11).
Part of: Last kings of Judah and the prophets of the exile
In Josiah's eighteenth year Hilkiah the high priest found the book of the law in the temple; Shaphan the scribe read it to the king, who tore his garments and launched a sweeping reform. Jeremiah is also associated with Josiah's reign.
Sources: 2 Kgs 22:3-13 · 2 Kgs 23:1-25 · Jer 1:2
Jeremiah is called son of Hilkiah, one of the priests in Anathoth. Some identify this Hilkiah with the high priest who found the law book under Josiah; the text never says so, and Anathoth was the town of Abiathar's exiled line.
Sources: Jer 1:1 · 2 Kgs 22:8 · 1 Kgs 2:26
More background: search Wikipedia ↗
Portion of Jehovah. (1.) 1 Chr. 6:54. (2.) 1 Chr. 26:11. (3.) The father of Eliakim (2 Kings 18:18, 26, 37). (4.) The father of Gemariah (Jer. 29:3). (5.) The father of the prophet Jeremiah (1:1). (6.) The high priest in the reign of Josiah (1 Chr. 6:13; Ezra 7:1). To him and his deputy (2 Kings 23:5), along with the ordinary priests and the Levites who had charge of the gates, was entrusted the purification of the temple in Jerusalem. While this was in progress, he discovered in some hidden corner of the building a book called the “book of the law” (2 Kings 22:8) and the “book of the covenant” (23:2). Some have supposed that this “book” was nothing else than the original autograph copy of the Pentateuch written by Moses (Deut. 31:9-26). This remarkable discovery occurred in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign (B.C. 624), a discovery which permanently affected the whole subsequent history of Israel. (See JOSIAH; SHAPHAN.) (7.) Neh. 12:7. (8.) Neh. 8:4.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
19 verses in 6 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H2518
“Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him count the money that has been brought into the house of the LORD, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people.
Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD!” And he gave it to Shaphan, who read it.
Moreover, Shaphan the scribe told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it in the presence of the king.
and commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the servant of the king:
So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went and spoke to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, the keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the Second District.
Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the priests second in rank, and the doorkeepers to remove from the temple of the LORD all the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and all the host of heaven. And he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel.
Furthermore, Josiah removed the mediums and spiritists, the household gods and idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem. He did this to carry out the words of the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had found in the house of the LORD.
Shallum was the father of Hilkiah, Hilkiah was the father of Azariah,
Azariah son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the chief official of Godʼs temple;
So they went to Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the money that had been brought into the house of God, which the Levites who guarded the doors had collected from the people of Manasseh and Ephraim, from all the remnant of Israel, from all Judah, and Benjamin, and from the people of Jerusalem.
While they were bringing out the money that had been taken into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the LORD given by Moses.
And Hilkiah said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD!” And he gave it to Shaphan.
Moreover, Shaphan the scribe told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it in the presence of the king.
and commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the servant of the king:
So Hilkiah and those the king had designated went and spoke to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, the keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the Second District.
His officials also contributed willingly to the people and priests and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the chief officials of the house of God, gave the priests 2,600 Passover offerings and 300 bulls.
Many years later, during the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,
Seraiah son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the chief official of the house of God;
The letter was entrusted to Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It stated:
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.