Person Old Testament
Hiel
Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho during the reign of King Ahab, fulfilling Joshua's curse on the city. Mentioned once in Scripture, at 1 Kings 16:34.
Why it matters. The Bethelite who rebuilt Jericho.
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Hiel
Hiel the Bethelite is mentioned in 1Ki.16.34 as the man who rebuilt the city of Jericho during the reign of King Ahab of Israel. Jericho had been destroyed and cursed by Joshua centuries earlier (Jos.6.26), with a warning that whoever rebuilt the city would do so at the cost of his firstborn and youngest sons.
Despite this curse, Hiel rebuilt Jericho, and as a result, he lost his firstborn son, Abiram, when he laid the foundation, and his youngest son, Segub, when he set up the gates. This event is recorded as a fulfillment of Joshua's prophecy and a demonstration of the power of God's word.
Hiel's actions were in direct disobedience to God's command and showed a disregard for the history and spiritual significance of Jericho. His story serves as a warning against disobedience and the consequences of ignoring God's word.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
Appears in Scripture
Named in 1 verse across 1 book. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.
1 Kings (1 verse)