Jehiel

Jehiel is borne in the UPDV by a series of distinct men, all clustered in Chronicles and Ezra, and almost all attached in some way to the house of Yahweh — as singer, doorkeeper, treasurer, royal tutor, prince, overseer, or Passover-giver. The same name reappears across the post-exilic return as fathers of named men and as members of priestly families that had married foreign women. The figures share the name and, broadly, the orbit of temple and royal service; the UPDV does not collapse them, and one of them is in fact spelled differently.

Jehiel among the Levitical singers and doorkeepers

In the procession that brought the ark to Jerusalem, Jehiel stands among the second-order Levites appointed for music and for the doors: "and with them their brothers of the second degree, Zechariah, son, and Jaaziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, the doorkeepers" (1Ch 15:18). He is one name in a roster organized for guarding and accompanying the ark. (See Obed-Edom for the parallel listing of doorkeepers.)

Jehiel the Gershonite head and treasurer

A second Jehiel heads the Ladanite branch of the Gershonite Levites under David's organization: "The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, and Zetham, and Joel, three" (1Ch 23:8). The same Gershonite Jehiel appears later as treasurer of the freewill gifts collected for the temple: "And they with whom [precious] stones were found gave them to the treasure of the house of Yahweh, under the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite" (1Ch 29:8). The two notices fit together — clan head, then custodian of the offerings.

Jehiel the son of Hachmoni

Among David's officers Jehiel is named as the man set over the king's sons: "Also Jonathan, David's uncle, was a counselor, a man of understanding, and a scribe: and Jehiel the son of Hachmoni was with the king's sons:" (1Ch 27:32). His role is close-court, bound to the royal household rather than to the sanctuary.

Jehiel son of Jehoshaphat

In Judah's royal line, Jehiel is one of the brothers given by King Jehoshaphat to his sons: "And he had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel" (2Ch 21:2). The verse is brought up only to introduce the brothers Jehoram will later kill.

Jehuel, son of Heman

In Hezekiah's cleansing of the temple, the UPDV reads "Jehuel" — not "Jehiel" — for the son of Heman: "and of the sons of Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel" (2Ch 29:14). This man is sometimes grouped under the umbrella name, but the UPDV preserves the variant spelling at the verse itself.

Jehiel among Hezekiah's temple overseers

A Jehiel — distinct from the singer above — is named first among the overseers of the contributions Hezekiah ordered stored in the chambers of the house of God: "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" (2Ch 31:13). The framework is administrative: layered authority — Conaniah and Shimei over the named overseers, Azariah over the house of God, Hezekiah over all.

Jehiel at Josiah's Passover

In Josiah's great Passover, Jehiel is one of the chief priests who give from their own holdings for the Passover offerings: "And his princes gave for a freewill-offering to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, the leaders of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover-offerings two thousand and six hundred [small cattle], and three hundred oxen" (2Ch 35:8). The notice ranks him beside Hilkiah and Zechariah as a leader of the temple.

Jehiels of the return

Three or four men named Jehiel surface across the Ezra-period material. He appears as the father of a man returning with Ezra: "Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel; and with him two hundred and eighteen males" (Ezr 8:9). He is also named as the father of Shecaniah, the man who first proposes the covenant to put away foreign wives: "And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have married foreign women of the peoples of the land: yet now there is hope for Israel concerning this thing" (Ezr 10:2). (See Ezra for the larger covenant proceeding.)

Two further Jehiels stand in the list of those who themselves had married foreign women — one of the sons of Harim, the other of the sons of Elam: "And of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah" (Ezr 10:21); "And of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Elijah" (Ezr 10:26). The Elamite line that supplied Shecaniah's voice of confession also yielded a Jehiel among those needing to put away their wives.