Eliel
“God is my God, or my God is strength”
Summary
A name meaning 'God is my God' or 'my God is strength,' borne by at least nine men in Scripture including warriors, tribal chiefs, Levites, and an ancestor of Samuel.
☩Ancestor of Samuel
One Eliel was a Kohathite Levite, son of Toah and father of Jeroham, in the ancestry of Heman the singer and his kinsman Samuel the prophet. He appears to be the same person called Eliab in 1 Chronicles 6:27 and Elihu in 1 Samuel 1:1—variations that reflect different forms or transmissions of the name.
☩Military and Tribal Leaders
A chief of Manasseh east of the Jordan bore this name. Two Benjamite family heads in Jerusalem were named Eliel. At least two of David's distinguished warriors were called Eliel—one identified as 'the Mahavite' and another separately listed. A Gadite hero who joined David in his wilderness stronghold also bore this name.
☩Levites Named Eliel
One Eliel was chief of the eighty Hebronite Levites whom David assembled to assist in bringing the ark from Obed-edom's house to Jerusalem. Another served under Hezekiah as one of the overseers of the offerings brought into the Temple.
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Eliel," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. III (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Eliel," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).
- 3.James Orr (ed.), "Eliel," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. II (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).