In the following post: JEHOVAH BECOMES OUR BROTHER

I showed how the Hebrew Bible anticipates Jehovah God becoming mankind’s brother by taking on a human nature in order to become a human being to redeem human souls by his vicarious death and resurrection:

“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” Acts 20:28 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45

“Now while they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.’” Matthew 26:26-28

“For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.” 1 Timothy 2:5-6

With this in mind, I want to mention another theophoric name which points to God becoming our sibling, namely Hiel (Chiel):

“In his days Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho; he laid its foundations with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the LORD, which He spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.” 1 Kings 16:34 NASB

This name literally means “brother of God,” and can also refer to God being life, i.e. the living God. Note what the following lexical and Jewish source state:

Strong’s Hebrew 2419

Strong’s Concordance

Chiel: probably “brother of God,” a rebuilder of Jericho

Original Word: חִיאֵל
Part of Speech: Proper Name Masculine
Transliteration: Chiel
Phonetic Spelling: (khee-ale’)
Definition: probably “brother of God“, a rebuilder of Jericho

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
probably from ach and el
Definition
probably “brother of God,” a rebuilder of Jericho
NASB Translation
Hiel (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

חִיאֵל proper name, masculine (probably (אֲ)חִיאֵל brother of El, ᵐ5 Ἀχειηλ; compare חירם & Phoenician חמלך, etc.; see Bae^{Rel 156}) a Bethelite, rebuilder of Jericho 1 Kings 16:34.

חִיאֵל proper name, masculine (El lives (or abbreviated for יחיאל); Sabean חיאל, name of coin, after proper name of king DHM^{ZMG 1875, 613, 1883, 15}; compare also following, and Phoenician מריחי, כמשיחי) — name of the rebuilder of Jericho 1 Kings 16:34; ᵐ5 Αχ(ε)ιηλ, omitted by ᵐ5^L.

https://biblehub.com/bsoft2.htm Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance

Hiel

From chay and ‘el; living of God; Chiel, an Israelite — Hiel. (Biblehub.com)

HIEL (Heb. אֲחִיאֵל ,חִיאֵל; “the [divine] brother, or kinsman, is God“), the Bethelite (see *Beth-El), who fortified *Jericho in the reign of King *Ahab of Israel (I Kings 16:34). The Hebrew verb employed in the Bible (בנה, bnh) commonly means “to build”; but when its object is the word for “town” or the name of some town, a town wall or other fortification is meant. Since no archaeological remains of city walls of that period have been discovered at this site but a granary of that period has been, the verse may refer merely to the construction of a fortified public building. The verse goes on to say that Hiel “laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram and set up its doorleaves [see *door] at the cost of his youngest [or younger] son Segub,” and this was a fulfillment of the curse of Joshua (Josh. 6:26) upon anyone who fortified Jericho. It has been suggested that Hiel offered his sons as foundation sacrifices, but that can only have been the case with the first-born, and even that is not the natural implication of either of the two scriptural passages. Both of these imply merely that the fortifier’s two (or more?) sons perished successively, in the order of their birth, in the course of the work. Their deaths are understood by the writer as the fulfillment of Joshua’s curse on anyone who would rebuild Jericho or any part of it. (Hiel – Jewish Virtual Library)

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to the astute readers of the Hebrew Bible since the prophetic writings prophesied that the eternal God would come forth from eternity in order to enter into his creation to be born as a human Child so as to reign over David’s throne forever and ever, and would reside in Bethlehem and Galilee of the nations:

“But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish. In earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He will make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them… For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of armies will accomplish this.” Isaiah 9:1-2, 6-7 NASB

“‘Behold, the days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will live securely; And this is His name by which He will be called, “The LORD Our Righteousness.”’” Jeremiah 23:5-6 NASB

“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will come forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His times of coming forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity. Therefore He will give them up until the time When she who is in labor has given birth. Then the remainder of His kinsmen Will return to the sons of Israel. And He will arise and shepherd His flock In the strength of the Lord, In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they will remain, Because at that time He will be great To the ends of the earth.” Micah 5:2-4 NASB

The New Testament emphasizes the fact of these prophecies being fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who was born in Bethlehem to become the physical seed of David, and then grew up in and eventually ministered throughout Galilee:

“Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, since he was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had thought this over, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a Son; and you shall name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’ Now all this took place so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: ‘Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they shall name Him Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God with us.’ And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he named Him Jesus.” Matthew 1:18-25 NASB

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.’ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: “And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; For from you will come forth a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.”’” Matthew 2:1-6 NASB

“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was very perplexed at this statement, and was pondering what kind of greeting this was. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.’ But Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; for that reason also the holy Child will be called the Son of God.’” Luke 1:26-35 NASB

“Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all the people were on their way to register for the census, each to his own city.Now Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,in order to register along with Mary, who was betrothed to him, and was pregnant. While they were there, the time came for her to give birth.And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock at night.And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood near them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.And so the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army of angels praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among people with whom He is pleased.’ When the angels had departed from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem, then, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.’” Luke 2:1-15 NASB

“Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled: ‘The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light, And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, Upon them a Light dawned.’” Matthew 4:12-16 NASB

“concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, Romans 1:3-4  NASB

“who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons and daughters, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the Law, the temple service, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.” Romans 9:4-5 NASB

“Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel,” 2 Timothy 2:8 NASB

“For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses said nothing concerning priests. And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life.” Hebrews 7:14-16 NASB

“And one of the elders said to me, ‘Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to be able to open the scroll and its seven seals.’” Revelation 5:5 NASB

“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you of these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” Revelation 22:16 NASB

Hence, Jesus is the God who has become our human brother so that we who believe in him can become the children of God the Father and the siblings of God the Son by the regenerative work of God the Holy Spirit:

“For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we did in righteousness, but in accordance with His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He richly poured out upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:3-7 NASB

• Uncategorized