translators have emended 1 Chronicles 2:24 to correspond more to the readings of the Septuagint and the Vulgate. The Jerusalem Bible renders this text: “After Hezron’s death, Caleb married Ephrathah, wife of Hezron his father, who bore him Ashhur, father of Takoa.” The translation by J. B. Rotherham reads: “And after the death of Hezron Caleb entered Ephrathah, and the wife of Hezron was Abiah who bore him Ashhur father of Tekoa.” So, according to these alterations, “Ashhur” is either the “son” of Hezron by Abiah (Abijah) or the “son” of Caleb by Ephrathah.

3. A city on the southern border of Judah situated between Kadesh-barnea and Addar. (Josh. 15:1-3) However, the parallel account at Numbers 34:4 does not list Hezron and Addar separately but reads “Hazar-addar,” implying that Hezron (or Hazar) likely was near Addar, if not actually the same place.—See ADDAR No. 2.

HEZRONITES

(Hezʹron·ites).

This designation is applied both to the family descended from Reuben’s son Hezron (Gen. 46:9; Num. 26:4-6) and to the one descended from Judah’s grandson Hezron.—Gen. 46:12; Num. 26:21.

HHEHTH

or, as commonly anglicized, heth [ח]. The eighth letter in the Hebrew alphabet, later, outside the Hebrew Scriptures, used also to denote the number eight.

This letter is the harshest of the guttural sounds and is similar to the sound of “ch,” as in the Scottish word loch or the German ach. In the Hebrew, in the eighth section of Psalm 119 (verses 57-64) every verse begins with this letter.—See ALPHABET.

In this work it is transliterated as a double h (hh) to denote strong aspiration.

HIDDAI

(Hidʹdai) [possibly, splendor, majesty].

One of the mighty men in David’s army. Hiddai was from the torrent valleys of Gaash in the mountainous region of Ephraim. (2 Sam. 23:8, 30; Josh. 24:30) His name is given as Hurai at 1 Chronicles 11:32.

HIDDEKEL

(Hidʹde·kel).

One of the four rivers branching off from the river issuing out of Eden. (Gen. 2:10-14) The Hiddekel was known in the Akkadian (Assyro-Babylonian) language as the Idiqlat and in Old Persian as the Tigra, from which latter form comes the Greek name for the Tigris River. In modern Arabic it is known as the Dijlah. It is called by some the “twin river” of the Euphrates and, together with this river, it waters the plains of Mesopotamia. It was on the banks of the Tigris (Hiddekel) River that Daniel received the vision concerning the power struggle to be waged by the “king of the north” and the “king of the south.”—Dan. 10:4, 5; 11:5, 6.

The Tigris has its sources in central Armenia (the eastern part of modern Turkey). Of the Tigris’ headstreams, the western is the more distant, rising on the southern slopes of the Anti-Taurus mountains about fifteen miles (24 kilometers) SE of the city of Elazig and just a few miles from the source of the Euphrates River. It is thus evident that these two rivers could easily have had a single source before the global Flood produced topographical changes in the earth’s surface. For the first 150 miles (241 kilometers) the western source flows E-SE and is joined by two shorter eastern sources. Then, at a point S of the western end of Lake Van, the river takes a more southerly course. It passes through a deep gorge before finally emerging from the mountains onto the upper part of the Mesopotamian plain. From there to its junction with the Euphrates River, the Tigris is fed from the E by four tributary streams: the Great and Little Zab, the Adheim, and the Diyala Rivers.

It is generally believed that, anciently, the Tigris and Euphrates had separate entrances into the sea, but that over the centuries the accumulation of silt has filled in the head of the gulf so that now the rivers unite. After their junction they form the wide stream called the Shatt-al-Arab, which flows some 100 miles (161 kilometers) before emptying into the Persian Gulf.

The full length of the Tigris covers some 1,150 miles (1,850 kilometers). It is a wide stream, at some points having a width of 400 yards (366 meters), but is generally shallow, and above Baghdad is navigable only by boats of shallow draught. Rafts, made additionally buoyant by inflated sheep or goats’ skins, are used in the river’s upper courses. A much swifter river than the Euphrates, the Tigris is only about two-thirds the length of its “twin” and of lesser importance commercially.

After entering the Mesopotamian plain the Tigris passes by the sites of many ancient cities. Opposite modern Mosul the ruins of ancient Nineveh lie on the river’s E bank. On the same side, farther S, is the site of Calah-Nimrud, and below it, on the W bank, is found ancient Asshur. A short distance below Baghdad, on the W bank, are the ruins of Seleucia, ancient capital of the Seleucid Dynasty of rulers; and on the opposite side of the river stood Ctesiphon, suggested by some to be the “Casiphia” mentioned at Ezra 8:17-20.

HIEL

(Hiʹel) [God lives].

A Bethelite who rebuilt Jericho during Ahab’s reign in the tenth century B.C.E. In fulfillment of the oath Joshua had pronounced at the destruction of Jericho over five hundred years earlier, Hiel laid the foundation of the city at the forfeit of Abiram his firstborn and put up its doors at the forfeit of Segub his youngest child.—Josh. 6:26; 1 Ki. 16:33, 34.

HIERAPOLIS

(Hi·e·rapʹo·lis) [the holy city].

A city in the province of Asia. Among its pagan residents lived a group of first-century Christians in whose behalf Epaphras ‘put himself to great effort.’ (Col. 4:12, 13) It was located on the northern edge of the Lycus valley of Asia Minor, about six miles (9.7 kilometers) N of Laodicea. Although the apostle Paul apparently never visited Hierapolis, the effects of his long work at Ephesus (from the winter of 52/53 C.E. until after Pentecost in 55 C.E. [1 Cor. 16:8]) radiated over ‘all Asia.’ (Acts 19:1, 10) Christianity appears to have reached Hierapolis through the ‘efforts’ of Epaphras. Tradition also credits the apostles John and Philip with laboring there. While the city lacked political importance, it became prosperous in the peaceful Roman period as a center of devotion to Cybele. Her worship there was enhanced by two natural phenomena, mineral springs and the Ploutonium, or so-called ‘Entrance to Hades,’ a deep, narrow chasm that emitted deadly fumes.

HIGGAION

(Hig·ga·ion).

A transliteration of the Hebrew expression hig·ga·yohnʹ, understood by lexicographers to denote a technical term of musical direction. (Ps. 9:16) On the basis of the context in its appearances in the Hebrew text, it has been variously rendered as “soft utterance,” “meditation,” “thoughts,” “melody,” “sweet music,” “resounding music,” “muttering(s)” and “whispering.” (Ps. 19:14; 92:3; Lam. 3:62, AT, Mo, NW, Ro, RS, Yg) While many ideas have been advanced as to its precise meaning at Psalm 9:16, the most plausible suggestions are that Higgaion in this case signifies either a solemn, deep-toned harp interlude or a solemn pause conducive to meditation.

HIGH PLACES

Although the Hebrew word ba·mohthʹ, generally translated “high places,” is usually associated with worship, it can also simply refer to elevations, hills and mountains (2 Sam. 1:19, 25 [compare 1 Samuel 31:8]; Amos 4:13; Mic. 1:3), “high waves of the sea” (literally, “high places of the sea”) (Job 9:8), and heights or “high places of the clouds.” (Isa. 14:14) Evidently the expressions ‘to ride upon earth’s high places’ and ‘to tread upon the high places’ are to be understood as signifying victorious subjugation of a land, for one controlling all the high places, that is, the hills and mountains of a country, is, in effect, the lord of the land.—Deut. 32:13; 33:29.

CENTERS OF FALSE WORSHIP

High places, or the sites or shrines where idolatry was engaged in, were to be found not only on hills and mountains but also in the valleys, stream beds and cities and under the trees. (Deut. 12:2; 1 Ki. 14:23; 2 Ki. 17:29; Ezek. 6:3) They were equipped with altars for sacrifice, incense stands, sacred poles, sacred pillars and graven images. (Lev. 26:30; Num. 33:52; Deut. 12:2, 3; Ezek. 6:6) At many of the high places male and female prostitutes served. (1 Ki. 14:23, 24; Hos. 4:13, 14) Frequently the high places were the scenes of licentious rites, including ceremonial prostitution and child sacrifice.—Isa. 57:5; Jer. 7:31; 19:5.

There were also houses or sanctuaries of the high places where priests officiated and where the images of the deities were kept. (1 Ki. 12:31; 13:32; 2 Ki. 17:29, 32; 23:19, 20; Isa. 16:12) Thus, the designation ‘high place’ may sometimes refer to such a sanctuary rather than to an elevated site for worship, such as a hill, a mountain or an artificial mound. This is suggested by Ezekiel’s reference to high places of varied colors, garments having been used in making them. (Ezek. 16:16) Perhaps these high places were tentlike sanctuaries.

Before entering the Promised Land the Israelites were commanded to destroy the sacred high places of the Canaanites and all the appendages of false worship associated therewith. (Num. 33:51, 52) But the Israelites failed to do this, and after the death of Joshua and the older generation wholesale apostasy set in.—Judg. 2:2, 8-13; Ps. 78:58.

WORSHIP AT CERTAIN HIGH PLACES NOT CENSURED BY JEHOVAH

According to Jehovah’s law, sacrifices were to be offered only at the place he designated. In the days of Joshua, the Israelites recognized that the unauthorized building of an altar for burnt offering was, in effect, rebellion against Jehovah. (Deut. 12:1-14; Josh. 22:29) However, there are indications that, after the sacred ark was removed from the tabernacle (1 Sam. 4:10, 11; 6:1, 10-14; 7:1, 2), approved sacrificing at places other than the tent of meeting was done, not only under special circumstances, but, in some cases, also on somewhat of a regular basis. (1 Sam. 7:7-9; 10:8; 11:14, 15; 16:4, 5; 1 Ki. 3:3; 1 Chron. 21:26-30) That the latter may well have been the case is suggested by the fact that on the high place at an unnamed city in the land of Zuph a structure had apparently been erected where, it seems, the communion sacrifices could be eaten. The dining hall there accommodated about thirty men, if not more. Even the girls in the city were familiar with the sacrificial procedure there. (1 Sam. 9:5, 11-13, 22-25) It may also have been a practice for families to have a yearly sacrifice, not at the tabernacle, but in their own cities.—1 Sam. 20:6, 29.

The sacrificing on high places is excused on the ground that no house had been built to the name of Jehovah. Hence, Solomon had to sacrifice on the great high place at Gibeon, where the tabernacle was located at the time.—1 Ki. 3:2-4; 1 Chron. 16:37-40, 43; 21:29; 2 Chron. 1:3, 13; see ALTAR; OFFERINGS.

DURING SOLOMON’S REIGN AND IN THE TEN-TRIBE KINGDOM

Toward the latter part of his reign, King Solomon built high places for the false gods worshiped by his foreign wives. This contributed to the Israelites’ abandoning the true worship of Jehovah and serving false gods. Therefore, Jehovah, by means of his prophet Ahijah, indicated that ten tribes would be ripped away from the son of Solomon and Jeroboam would rule over these.—1 Ki. 11:7, 8, 30-35.

Although Jeroboam had Jehovah’s assurance that his kingship would be secure if he continued serving God in faithfulness, as soon as he became king he feared that the Israelites would revolt if they continued going up to Jerusalem for worship. For this reason he instituted calf worship at Dan and Bethel and there built high places. (1 Ki. 11:38; 12:26-33) As long as the ten-tribe kingdom existed, idolatrous worship continued at high places. “The sons of Israel went searching into the things that were not right toward Jehovah their God and kept building themselves high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen clear to the fortified city.”—2 Ki. 17:9.

Under inspiration, the prophet Amos foretold that the “high places of Isaac” would become desolated. The “high places of Isaac” evidently refer to the sacred high places where the Israelites of the ten-tribe kingdom, descendants of Isaac through Jacob or Israel, practiced apostate worship. This is also indicated by the fact that the expression “high places of Isaac” runs parallel with ‘sanctuaries of Israel.’—Amos 7:9; see also Hosea 10:2-10.

After the king of Assyria took the ten-tribe kingdom into exile, the high places continued to exist for a time, since the foreign peoples who were moved into the territory of Samaria by the king of Assyria continued employing the high places in their worship. (2 Ki. 17:24, 29-32) About one hundred years after this, faithful King Josiah of Judah pulled down the altar and the high place at Bethel and desecrated the altar by burning human bones upon it. He also removed all the houses of the high places in the cities of Samaria, sacrificed (killed) all the priests of the high places and burned human bones upon the altars. (2 Ki. 23:15-20) This fulfilled a prophecy uttered over three hundred years earlier by an unnamed “man of God.”—1 Ki. 13:1, 2.

IN THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH

King Rehoboam followed the apostasy of his father Solomon, and his subjects continued building high places and practicing licentious rites. (1 Ki. 14:21-24) Rehoboam’s son and successor Abijam “went on walking in all the sins of his father.”—1 Ki. 15:1-3.

Asa, who succeeded Abijam to the throne, served Jehovah in faithfulness and put forth decisive efforts to rid the kingdom of all appendages of false worship. (1 Ki. 15:11-13) “He removed from all the cities of Judah the high places and the incense stands.” (2 Chron. 14:2-5) However, 1 Kings 15:14 and 2 Chronicles 15:17 apparently indicate that the high places were not removed. Hence, it may be that, although Asa removed the high places, their use persisted secretly or they cropped up again toward the end of his reign and were thereby present for his successor Jehoshaphat to destroy. (See, however, ASA No. 1.) But even during Jehoshaphat’s reign the high places did not fully disappear. (1 Ki. 22:42, 43; 2 Chron. 17:5, 6; 20:31-33) So entrenched was Judah’s worship at high places that the reforms of both Asa and Jehoshaphat could not remove all of them permanently.

King Jehoram, unlike his father Jehoshaphat, made high places on the mountains of Judah. (2 Chron. 21:1, 11) The religious state of the kingdom remained in a degraded condition throughout the reigns of Ahaziah and the usurper Athaliah the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. (2 Ki. 8:25-27; 2 Chron. 22:2-4, 10) Although definite reforms to restore true worship were undertaken at the beginning of Jehoash’s reign, apostasy set in once again after the death of High Priest Jehoiada and the high places did not disappear. (2 Ki. 12:2, 3; 2 Chron. 24:17, 18) The high places continued to exist as centers of unlawful worship throughout the reigns of Kings Amaziah, Azariah (Uzziah) and Jotham. (2 Ki. 14:1-4; 15:1-4, 32-35) The next Judean king, Ahaz, not only sacrificed and made sacrificial smoke on the high places, but even made his own son pass through the fire. (2 Ki. 16:2-4) He also made additional “high places for making sacrificial smoke to other gods.”—2 Chron. 28:25.

During the days of King Hezekiah another extensive purge was undertaken to remove the high places. (2 Ki. 18:1-4, 22; 2 Chron. 32:12) After the great Passover celebration held during his reign, the Israelites went throughout the cities of Judah and Benjamin and even in Ephraim and Manasseh breaking up the sacred pillars, cutting down the sacred poles and pulling down the high places and the altars.—2 Chron. 30:21, 23; 31:1.

This restoration of true worship was short-lived. Hezekiah’s son Manasseh rebuilt the very high places that his father had destroyed. (2 Ki. 21:1-3; 2 Chron. 33:1-3) Manasseh caused the people to act even more wickedly than the pagan Canaanites whom Jehovah had annihilated. Hence, the Almighty determined to bring calamity upon Judah and Jerusalem, (2 Ki. 21:9-12) After being taken captive by the king of Assyria and brought to Babylon, Manasseh repented and, after returning to Jerusalem, took steps to remove the appendages of false worship. But the people continued offering sacrifices upon the unauthorized high places, not to false gods, however, but to Jehovah. (2 Chron. 33:10-17) Manasseh’s successor, his son Amon, did not continue the reforms started by his father, but made guiltiness increase.—2 Chron. 33:21-24.

Josiah, who succeeded Amon, distinguished himself by doing what was right in Jehovah’s eyes and adhering to the law of Moses. The foreign-god priests, who rendered up sacrificial smoke on the high places, he put out of business. He pulled down the high places, not only throughout Judah, but also in the cities of Samaria. The sites used for false worship were desecrated so that they could not be used to offend Jehovah.—2 Ki. 23:4-20; 2 Chron. 34:1-7.

The account of Josiah’s making the high places that had been built by Solomon unfit for worship tends to confirm the conclusion that, although previous kings had torn down the high places, there was a revival of these. It seems only logical that faithful Kings Asa and Jehoshaphat tore down these high places of false worship dating from the reign of Solomon.

Although no further mention is made of high places in the Kings and Chronicles accounts after Josiah’s thorough purge of all vestiges of false worship, the last four kings of Judah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin and Zedekiah, are reported as doing what was bad in Jehovahs eyes. (2 Ki. 23:31, 32, 36, 37; 24:8, 9, 18, 19) Apostate worship at high places was resumed by the Israelites. Hence, Jehovah, through his prophet Ezekiel, warned the nation of the dire consequences to come upon them: “I am bringing upon you a sword, and I shall certainly destroy your high places. And your altars must be made desolate and your incense stands must be broken, and I will cause your slain ones to fall before your dungy idols.”—Ezek. 6:3, 4.

It is noteworthy that there is no record of any worship at high places after the return from Babylonian exile. As had been foretold, the faithful Jewish remnant had profited from the bitter experience and had come to know Jehovah.—Ezek. 6:9, 10.

HIGH PRIEST

[Heb., hak-ko·henʹ, hag-ga·dhohlʹ, “the great priest”; Gr., ar·khi·e·reusʹ, “a chief priest, the high priest”].

The Bible also uses various terms to designate the high priest, namely, “the priest, the anointed one” (Lev. 4:3; “the head” (2 Chron. 24:6), or, simply, “the priest.” (2 Chron. 26:17) In the latter case the context often makes clear that the high priest is meant. In the Christian Greek Scriptures, “chief priests” is evidently used to denote the principal men of the priesthood, which might include any ex-high priests who had been deposed and possibly, in addition, the heads of the twenty-four priestly divisions.—Matt. 2:4; Mark 8:31.

In harmony with the rule, “A man takes this honor, not of his own accord, but only when he is called by God,” the appointment of Aaron, Israel’s first high priest, was from God. (Heb. 5:4) The high priesthood of Israel was inaugurated in Aaron and passed down from father to oldest son, unless that son died or was disqualified, as in the case of Aaron’s two oldest sons, who sinned against Jehovah and died. (Lev. 10:1, 2) King Solomon deposed a high priest in fulfillment of divine prophecy and put another qualified man of the line of Aaron in his place. (1 Ki. 2:26, 27, 35) Later on, when the nation was under Gentile rule, those Gentile rulers removed and appointed high priests according to their will. It seems, nonetheless, that the line of Aaron was quite well adhered to throughout the entire history of the nation down till Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 C.E., although there may have been exceptions, such as Menelaus, also called Onias (see Antiquities of the Jews, Book XII, chap. V, par. 1), whom 2 Maccabees 3:4, 5 and 4:23 calls a Benjamite.

QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR OFFICE

In harmony with the dignity of the office, the high priest’s closeness to Jehovah in representing the nation before Him, and also because of the typical significance of the office, the requirements were rigid.

A list of disqualifying physical blemishes for all priests is set forth at Leviticus 21:16-23. Additional restrictions were placed on the high priest: He was to marry none other than a virgin of Israel; he was not to marry a widow. (Lev. 21:13-15) Furthermore, he was not allowed to defile himself for the dead, that is, to touch any human corpse, even that of his father or his mother, thereby becoming unclean. Neither was he to let his hair go ungroomed or tear his garments for the dead.—Lev. 21:10-12.

The Bible does not specifically state the age of eligibility for high priest. While it gives a retirement age of fifty years for Levites, it does not mention any retirement for priests, and its record indicates that the high priest’s was a lifetime appointment. (Num. 8:24, 25) Aaron was eighty-three years old when he went with Moses before Pharaoh. His anointing as high priest apparently took place in the following year. (Ex. 7:7) He was around 120 years of age at the time of his death. During all this time he served, with no retirement. (Num. 20:28; 33:39) The provision of the cities of refuge takes note of the lifetime tenure of the high priest, in requiring that the unintentional manslayer remain in the city until the death of the high priest.—Num. 35:25.

INSTALLATION

Some indication of the office Jehovah had in mind for Aaron is seen in privileges given him soon after the exodus from Egypt. In the wilderness on the way to Sinai, Aaron was the one commanded to take a jar of manna and to deposit it before the Testimony as something to be kept. This was before the tent of meeting or the ark of the covenant was yet in existence. (Ex. 16:33, 34) Later, Aaron came to be the one in full charge of the sacred tent and its Ark. Aaron and two of his sons, with seventy of the older men of Israel, were specifically named as privileged to approach Mount Horeb, where they saw a vision of God.—Ex. 24:1-11.

But Jehovah made his first actual statement of his purpose to separate Aaron and his sons for the priesthood when giving Moses instructions for making the priestly garments. (Ex. chap. 28) After these instructions were given, God outlined to Moses the procedure for installing the priesthood and then definitely