Helek

Helek is a son of Gilead, named in the wilderness census of Manasseh and again in the Cisjordan land allotment under Joshua. He gives his name to a family line, the Helekites, and a clan among Manasseh's descendants.

Son of Gilead in the Census

The Manassite muster on the plains of Moab lists Gilead's sons and the families that descend from each. Helek appears immediately after Iezer: "These are the sons of Gilead: [of] Iezer, the family of the Iezerites; of Helek, the family of the Helekites" (Num 26:30). The name yields a recognized clan, the Helekites, counted among the fighting men of Manasseh.

A Clan in the Manassite Allotment

When the territory west of the Jordan is divided, Helek's line is one of the male branches of Manasseh that receives a share: "So [the lot] was for the rest of the sons of Manasseh according to their families: for the sons of Abiezer, and for the sons of Helek, and for the sons of Asriel, and for the sons of Shechem, and for the sons of Hepher, and for the sons of Shemida: these were the male sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph according to their families" (Josh 17:2). The clan persists by name into the settlement period and holds inheritance alongside the other Gileadite-descended branches.