Eliakim, son of Hilkiah

Biblical character, son of Hilkiah

Hilkiah

Eliakim (Hebrew: אֶלְיָקִים, Greek: Ελιακιμ, Latin: Eliacim) was the son of Hilkiah. He succeeded Shebna to become royal steward or prime minister for King Hezekiah of Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible.^[1]

Archaeology

Found in 1974, an unprovenanced 8th century B. C. bulla, allegedly coming from the Hebron district, was acquired on the antiquities market by the Israel Museum for its Hebrew seals section, and its legend reads "(Belonging to) Yehozarah, son of Hilqi[ya]hu, servant of Hizqiyahu". Garfinkel suggests that the biblical reference of Eliakim as "son" of Hilkiah may be more precisely understood in the sense of descendance, as sometimes happens in other biblical passages.^[2]

In 2019, archaeologist Yosef Garfinkel claimed to have discovered a reference to Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, in two bullae unearthed at Tel Lachish. He described the seal legends as reading "Eliakim, (son of) Yehozarah".^[2]

Name

In the biblical account he is driven "like a peg" or "like a nail" into a firm place,^[3] in wording suggesting either a tent peg or a nail on which utensils might be hung.^[4]

In the canon

Book of Kings 2 Kings 18:18, 18:26, 18:37 and 19:2
Book of Isaiah 22:20, 36:3, 36:11, 36:22 and 37:2

References

^ This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Eliakim". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
^ ^a ^b Garfinkel, Yosef; Klingbeil, Martin; Hasel, Michael G.; Petruk, Néstor H. (May 2019). "Four Judean Bullae from the 2014 Season at Tel Lachish". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. 381 (6): 41–56. doi:10.1086/703122. ISSN 0003-097X.
^ Isaiah 22:23
^ Barnes, A., Barnes' Notes on Isaiah 22, accessed 27 August 2023