Hiel

hı̄´el ( חיאל , ḥı̄'ēl ; Ἀχιήλ , Achiḗl ): A B ethelite who according to 1 Kings 16:34 rebuilt Jericho, and in fulfillment of a curse pronounced by Joshua ( Joshua 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 (2 Kings 3:27; compare Micah 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 1 Kings 16:34 after 2 Kings 10:33; Winckler explains as folklore.