Hilkiah

Who is Hilkiah?

Hilkiah was a Hebrew Priest at the time of King Josiah. His name is mentioned in 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. His preaching may have helped spur Josiah to return Judah to the worship of Yahweh, God of Israel.

Hilkiah in extra-biblical sources is attested by the clay bulla naming a Hilkiah as the father of an Azariah, and by the seal reading "Hanan son of Hilkiah the priest".

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.