Hachaliah

Hachaliah is named in scripture only as the father of Nehemiah. UPDV transliterates the name as "Hacaliah." He himself does no recorded action; the references that mention him fix Nehemiah's lineage at two pivotal moments of the book that bears his son's name.

Father of Nehemiah

The book of Nehemiah opens with the patronymic. "The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it came to pass in the month Kislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace" (Neh 1:1). The headline identifies whose memoir follows, and the date and the place — Shushan — set the scene for the report from Jerusalem that will move Nehemiah to act.

The patronymic returns at the head of the list of those who sealed the covenant. "Now those who sealed were: Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah" (Neh 10:1). At the formal moment of Israel's renewed commitment, Nehemiah's lineage is registered again — Hacaliah's son standing first as governor among the signatories.