🔼The name Helek: Summary
- Meaning
- Portion, Smoothness
- Etymology
- From the verb חלק (halaq), either to divide and apportion, or to be smooth.
🔼The name Helek in the Bible
There's only one man named Helek in the Bible, and he is mentioned twice. Helek was the founder of the Helekites (חלקי, Numbers 26:30), and a son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, son of Joseph, son of Jacob and Rachel. The Helekites were a sub-clan of the Gileadites, who were a sub-clan of the Machirites, but by the time of the invasion of Canaan the Helekites appear to have become dominant (Joshua 17:2).
🔼Etymology of the name Helek
The name Helek is identical to the nouns חלק (heleq), meaning portion, and חלק (heleq), meaning smoothness or seductiveness of speech:
חלק
Verb חלק (halaq I) means to divide and apportion. Noun חלק (heleq I) and חלקה (haluqqa) mean portion, tract of land, even one's mode of life. Noun חלקה (helqa I) means field. Noun מחלקת (mahaloqet) describes a division of some organization.
Verb חלק (halaq II) means to be smooth or slippery, either of items such as stones or speech and flattery. Nouns חלק (heleq II) and חלקה (halaqqa) describe smoothness or seductiveness of speech. Adjectives חלק (halaq) and חלק (halluq) mean smooth. The singular noun חלקה (helqa II) and the plural noun plural noun חלקלקות (halaqlaqqot) may describe smoothness, slipperiness, flattery, or pleasant nonsense.
🔼Helek meaning
For a meaning of the name Helek, NOBSE Study Bible Name List, Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names and even BDB Theological Dictionary read Portion.