HILL, HILL-COUNTRY

HILL, HILL-OOUNTEY.— These terms in RV repre-sent Heb. igib'ah, har) and Greek names for either an isolated eminence, or a table-land, or amountain-range, or amountainous district. Gib' ah denotes properly 'the large rounded hills, mostly bare or nearly so, so conspicuous in parts of Palestine, especially in Judah.' Cf . ' Gibeah of Saul,' 'of Phinehas,' 'of the foreskins,' 'of Moreh,' 'of Hachilah,' 'of Ammah,' 'of Gareb,' and 'of Elohim.' har is to gib' ah as the genus is to the species, and in-cludes not merely a single mound, but also a range or a district. It is usually applied to Zion. It is especially the description of the central mountainous tract of Palestine reaching from the plain of Jezreel on the N. to the Negeb or dry country in the S.; the Shephelah or lowlands of the S.W.; the midbar or moorland, and the 'arabah or steppes of the S.E. The best-known har- or hill-country in Palestine is the 'hill-country of Ephraim,' but besides this we hear of the 'hill-country of Judah' (.e.g. in Jos 11"), the 'hill-country of Naph-taU' (20'), the 'hill-country of Ammon' (Dt 23'), and of Gilead (.3"). Among the eminences of Palestine as distinct from hill-districts are Zion, the hill of Samaria, the triple-peaked Hermon, Tabor, and Carmel.

W. F. Cobb.

HILLEL.— Father of Abdon (Jg 12"- «).

HVa. — See Weights and Measukeb.

HIND.— See Hart.

HINGE.— See House, § 6.

HINNOM, VALLEY OF (caUed also 'valley of the son [Jer 7'^] or children [2 K 23"'] of Hinnom,' and 'the valley' [2 Ch 26', Neh 2"- '' 3" and perhaps Jer 223]). — It was close to the walls of Jerusalem ' by the entry of the gate Harsith' (Jer 19^ RV), possibly the Dung-gate. Evidently the Valley-gate opened into it (Neh 2" 3"). It formed part of the boundary between Judah and Benjamin (Jos 16* 18"). The place acquired an evil repute on account of the idolatrous practices carried on there (2 K 23", 2 Ch 28* 33«), and on this account Jeremiah (7^2 19») announced that it was to receive the name 'vaUey of Slaughter." Here per-petual fires are said to have been kept burning to consume the rubbish of the city. Such associations with the Valley led afterwards to Ge-hinnom (NT Geheraui) becoming the type of hell.

The situation of the Valley of Hinnom has been much disputed. Of the three valleys of Jerusalem — the Kidron on the B., the TyropoBon in the centre, and the Wady er-RabSbi on the W. — each has in turn been identi-fied with it. In favour of the Kidron is the fact that the theological Gehinnom or Arab. Jahannum of Jewish, Christian, and early Moslem writers is located here; but this was probably a transference of name after the old geographical site was lost, for there are strong reasons (see below) against it. As the Tyropoeon was incorpo-rated within the city walls before the days of Manasseh, it is practically impossible that it could have been the scene of the sacrifice of children, which must have been outside the city bounds (2 K 23"" etc.). The chief data are found in Jos 15' 18", where the boundary of Judah and Benjamin is described. If Bir EyyUb is En-rogel, as certainly is most probable, then the Wady er-Rababi, known traditionally as Hinnom, is correctly so designated. Then this Valley of Hinnom is a gai or gorge, but the Valley of Kidron is always described as a nachal ('wady'). It is, of course, possible that the Valley of Hinnom may have included part of the open land formed by the junction of the three valleys below Siloam; andTophethmay have lain there, as is suggested by some authorities, but there is no necessity to extend the name beyond the limits of the actual gorge. The Wady er-BabSbi commences as a shallow open valley due W. of the Jaffa gate; near this gate it turns due South for about 4 of a mile, and then gradually curves to the East. It is this lower part, with its bare rocky

HITTITES

scarps, that presents the characters of a gai or gorge. Near where the valley joins the wide Kidron is the traditional site of Akeldama. E. W. G. Masterman.

HIPPOPOTAMUS.— See Behemoth.

HIRAH. — The Adullamite with whom Judah, accord-ing to the story of Gn 38 (J) , appears to have entered into a kind of partnership in the matter of flocks. After Tamar had successfully carried out her stratagem, it was by the hand of his 'friend' Hirah that Judah sent the promised kid to the supposed qedeahSh (Gn 38™2).

HIRAM. — 1, King of Tyre, son and successor of Abibaal. When David was firmly established on his throne, Hiram, we are told, sent messengers to him, and, in order to show his goodwill, gave David materials for building his palace, sending at the same time work- men to assist in the building (2 S 5", 1 Ch 140. This first mention of Hiram is somewhat abrupt, and leads to the supposition that there must have been some earlier intercourse between him and David, the details of which have not come down to us. A real friendship, however, undoubtedly existed between the two (1 K S'), and this was extended to Solomon after the death of David. A regular alhance was made when Solomon came to the throne, Hiram supplying men and materials for the building of the house of the Lord, while Solomon, in return, sent corn and oil to Hiram. Another sign of friendliness was their joint enterprise in sending ships to Ophir to procure gold (1 K 9»-28 10", 2 Ch gn. 18 910. 2i)_ A. curious episode Is recounted in 1 K g'"- ", according to which Solomon gave Hiram 'twenty cities in the land of Galilee.' Hiram was dissatisfied with the gift, though he gave Solomon 'sixscore talents of gold.' In the parallel account (2 Ch 8'- 2) it is Hiram who gives cities (the number is not specified) to Solomon.

There is altogether considerable confusion In the Biblical references to Hiram, as a study of the passages in question shows. When these are compared with extra-Biblical information which we possess In the writings of early historians, discrepancies are emphasized . While, therefore, the friendly intercourse between Hiram and Solomon (as well as with David) is unquestion-ably historical, it is not always possible to say the same of the details.

2. The name of an artificer from Tyre 'filled vrith wisdom and understanding and cunning, to work all works in brass' (see 1 K 7"-"); he is also spoken of as 'skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson ... ' (2 Ch 2")- There is a discrepancy regarding his parentage: in 1 K 7" he is said to have been the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father a man of Tyre: according to 2 Ch 2" his mother belonged to the tribe of Dan, though here, too, his father was a Tyrian.

The form of the name is usually Hiram in the Books of Samuel and Kings, but the Chronicler adheres uniformly to the form Huram, while we find also Hirom in 1 K S'"- " 7*». W. O. E. Obsterlet.

HIRE, HIRELING.— The former is used in AV along-side of its synonym 'wages,' by which it has been supplanted in mod. English as in Gn SI' RV (cf. 3018. 821. with 29« 3028 etc.). A hireling is a person 'hired' to work for a stipulated wage, such as a field-labourer (Mai 36), shepherd (Jn lO'^t), or mercenary soldier (Is 16", cf. Jer 46^1). No imputation st un-faithfulness or dishonesty is necessarily conveyed by the term, although these ideas have now become associated with it owing to our Lord's application of the word to an unfaithful shepherd in Jn lO'^- w.

A. R. S. Kennedy.

HITTITES. — A people said in the J document (Ex 3'- ") to have been one of the pre-Israehtish occupants of Palestine. The E document says they Uved in the mountains (Nu 13") . They are often included by D and

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