Bible Dictionary
Hiel
Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho during Ahab’s reign. His work fulfilled the judgment pronounced by Joshua, and the biblical account records the deaths of his sons.
Definition
Hiel was a man of Bethel who rebuilt or fortified Jericho during the reign of Ahab. His work brought upon him the judgment pronounced by Joshua against anyone who rebuilt the city.
Biblical Usage
According to 1 Kings 16:34, Hiel laid Jericho’s foundation in his firstborn son and set up its gates in his youngest son. The account presents this as the fulfillment of Joshua’s earlier imprecation.
Historical Background
The supplied material connects the event with a practice among primitive peoples in which a sacrifice was offered to secure protection or success for a building or community. It also notes that proposed explanations of the account vary.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Life of (i.e., from) God, a native of Bethel, who built (i.e., fortified) Jericho some seven hundred years after its destruction by the Israelites. There fell on him for such an act the imprecation of Joshua (6:26). He laid the foundation in his first-born, and set up the gates in his youngest son (1 Kings 16:34), i.e., during the progress of the work all his children died.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(God liveth), a native of Bethel, who rebuilt Jericho in the reign of Ahab, (1 Kings 16:34) (B.C. after 915), and in whom was fulfilled the curse pronounced by Joshua, (Joshua 6:26) five hundred years before.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>hi'-el (chi'el; Achiel): A Bethelite who according to 1Ki 16:34 rebuilt Jericho, and in fulfillment of a curse pronounced by Joshua (Jos 6:26) sacrificed his two sons. This seems to have been a custom prevalent among primitive peoples, the purpose being to ward off ill luck from the inhabitants, especially in a case where the destroyer had invoked a curse on him who presumed to rebuild. Numerous instances are brought to light in the excavations of Gezer (Macalister, Bible Side-Lights from the Mound of Gezer, chapter x). At first the very best was claimed as a gift to the deity, e.g. one's own sons; then some less valuable member of the community. When civilization prevented human sacrifice, animals were offered instead. The story of Abraham offering Isaac may be a trace of this old custom, the tenor of the story implying that at the time of the writing of the record, the custom was coming to be in disrepute. A similar instance is the offering of his eldest son by the king of Edom to appease the deity and win success in battle (2Ki 3:27; compare Mic 6:7). Various conjectures have been made as to the identity of this king. Ewald regarded him as a man of wealth and enterprise (unternehmender reicher Mann); Cheyne following Niebuhr makes it Jehu in disguise, putting 1Ki 16:34 after 2Ki 10:33; Winckler explains as folklore.</p><p>W. N. Stearns</p>