Eliakim was the son of Hilkiah. He succeeded Shebna to become royal steward or prime minister for King Hezekiah of Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible.

Archaeology

Found in 1974, an unprovenanced 8th century BC bulla, allegedly coming from the Hebron district, was acquired on the antiquities market by the Israel Museum for its Hebrew seals section, and its legend reads "(Belonging to) Yehozarah, son of Hilqi[ya]hu, servant of Hizqiyahu". Garfinkel suggests that the biblical reference of Eliakim as "son" of Hilkiah may be more precisely understood in the sense of descendance, as sometimes happens in other biblical passages. In 2019, archaeologist Yosef Garfinkel claimed to have discovered a reference to Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, in two bullae unearthed at Tel Lachish. He described the seal legends as reading "Eliakim, (son of) Yehozarah".

Name

In the biblical account, he is driven "like a peg" or "like a nail" into a firm place, in wording suggesting either a tent peg or a nail on which utensils might be hung.

In the canon