Eliel

Eliel ("my God is God" in form, though the UPDV does not gloss the name) is borne by several distinct Old Testament figures, all of them confined to the Chronicler's lists. The name surfaces among the Manassite tribal heads, in the Levitical genealogies, twice within the Benjamite line, three times among David's warriors, again as a chief of Levites at the bringing-up of the ark, and finally among the temple overseers under Hezekiah. The figures share nothing but the name; the UPDV gives no narrative beyond the rosters in which it is recorded.

A Chief of Manasseh

In the genealogy of the trans-Jordan half-tribe of Manasseh, Eliel is listed among the heads of fathers' houses: "And these were the heads of their fathers' houses: even Epher, and Ishi, and Eliel, and Azriel, and Jeremiah, and Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty men of valor, famous men, heads of their fathers' houses" (1 Ch 5:24). The verse ascribes to the whole company the standing of "mighty men of valor, famous men," but offers no further detail about Eliel personally.

A Kohathite Ancestor

In the long Levitical genealogy of 1 Chronicles 6, an Eliel appears in the ascending line that runs back through the Kohathites: "the son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliel, the son of Toah" (1 Ch 6:34). He is identified only by his place in the chain — son of Toah, ancestor of Jeroham — with no narrative attached.

Two Benjamite Chiefs

The genealogy of Benjamin in 1 Chronicles 8 names two distinct men called Eliel within a few verses of each other. The first is grouped with Elienai and Zillethai: "and Elienai, and Zillethai, and Eliel," (1 Ch 8:20). The second appears in a separate cluster of Benjamite names: "and Ishpan, and Eber, and Eliel," (1 Ch 8:22). The UPDV gives only the bare names; neither figure is otherwise described.

Three of David's Heroes

The roll of David's mighty men preserves the name Eliel three times. In the closing portion of the list of the Thirty, an Eliel is identified by his clan: "Eliel the Mahavite, and Jeribai, and Joshaviah, the sons of Elnaam, and Ithmah the Moabite," (1 Ch 11:46). A second Eliel stands in the very next verse, with no further qualification: "Eliel, and Obed, and Jaasiel the Mezobaite" (1 Ch 11:47).

A third Eliel is counted among the Gadite warriors who joined David at the stronghold in the wilderness, ranked by order in the company: "Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh," (1 Ch 12:11). Each of the three is recorded as a fighting man attached to David's company; the UPDV preserves no anecdote of any of them.

A Chief of the Levites

When David prepared to bring the ark up to Jerusalem, he gathered the heads of the Levitical houses by name. From the Hebronites, Eliel stands as the leading figure: "of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, and his brothers eighty" (1 Ch 15:9). A few verses later he is summoned alongside the other Levitical leaders: "And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab," (1 Ch 15:11). The Chronicler places him squarely in the Levitical leadership of the ark procession.

A Levite Overseer Under Hezekiah

Late in the Chronicler's narrative, after Hezekiah's reform restored the regular contributions to the temple, the king appointed overseers to administer the freewill offerings stored in the chambers of the house of God. Eliel is one of those named: "And Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Ismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah, were overseers under the hand of Conaniah and Shimei his brother, by the appointment of Hezekiah the king, and Azariah the leader of the house of God" (2 Ch 31:13). The setting is administrative — supervising consecrated supplies — rather than priestly or military.