3. A Mecherathite; one of David’s outstanding warriors.—1 Chron. 11:26, 36.

4. Apparently both a city and a district W of the Jordan. The king of the Canaanite city of Hepher was among those defeated by Joshua. (Josh. 12:7, 8, 17) In the time of Solomon, the district of Hepher, as well as Socoh, were under the jurisdiction of an appointed deputy. (1 Ki. 4:7, 10) The exact location of ancient Hepher is not definitely known. A commonly suggested identification is Tell Ibshar, about twenty-three miles (37 kilometers) N-NE of Tel Aviv.

HEPHERITES

(Heʹpher·ites).

A Manassite family descended from Hepher.—Num. 26:29, 30, 32.

HEPHZIBAH

(Hephʹzi·bah) [my delight is in her].

1. Wife of Hezekiah and mother of wicked King Manasseh.—2 Ki. 20:21; 21:1.

2. The name “Hephzi-bah” is applied to Jerusalem in a restoration prophecy, according to certain Bible translations. (Isa. 62:4, AS, AV, Ro) Here others use expressions such as “My pleasure in her” (Dy), “my Delight” (Mo) and “My Delight Is in Her.” (NW, AT, RS) It was foretold that Jehovah would find delight in this city as it became “a crown of beauty” in his hand.—Isa. 62:1-4.

HERALD

A court official, used to make public proclamation of royal commands and decrees. The word appears at Daniel 3:4, where a herald is mentioned as declaring Nebuchadnezzar’s decree for the people to worship the image he made. When Daniel was to become third ruler in the kingdom of Babylon according to King Belshazzar’s command, this fact was “heralded.” (Dan. 5:29) In the ancient Greek games a herald announced the name and country of each contestant and the name, country and father of a victor.

The Greek verb translated “to preach” is ke·rysʹsein. This Greek verb, which occurs many times in the Christian Greek Scriptures, means, basically, “to make proclamation as a herald; to be a herald, officiate as a herald; to be an announcer; to summon by herald; proclaim (as a conqueror).” The related noun is keʹryx and means “herald; public messenger; envoy; crier (who made proclamation and kept order in assemblies, etc.).” Another related noun is keʹryg·ma, which means “that which is cried by a herald; proclamation; announcement (of victory in games); mandate; summons.” The New English Bible, of 1961, reads, at Mark 13:10: “But before the end the Gospel must be proclaimed to all nations.” (Compare Yg; Ro; see also Mark 1:45; Revelation 5:2.) This means that the proclaimers would be acting like heralds.

Ke·rysʹsein, in general, means, therefore, “to proclaim” (good or bad news), as distinguished from eu·ag·ge·liʹzo, “to bring, or declare, good news.” Noah was a preacher (or, herald, keʹryx) to the antediluvian world, warning them. (2 Pet. 2:5) Christ preached (like a herald) to the spirits in prison, but not the good news. (1 Pet. 3:18, 19) Various texts, however, use ke·rysʹsein in conjunction with the public preaching (or, heralding) of the good news of God’s kingdom.—Matt. 24:14; Mark 14:9; Luke 8:1; 9:2; Rom. 10:14.

HERES

(Heʹres) [sun].

1. A mount (Heb., har) where Amorites kept dwelling despite Israel’s conquest of Canaan. It is associated with the territory of the tribe of Dan. (Judg. 1:34, 35) Most scholars consider it the equivalent of Ir-shemesh (which is evidently the same as Beth-shemesh on the boundary of Judah and Dan) mentioned at Joshua 19:41. They base this view on the fact that both “Heres [Hheʹres]” and “Shemesh [Sheʹmesh]” mean “sun,” while “har” (mountain) could be a scribal error for “Ir” (city).—See BETH-SHEMESH No. 1.

2. Gideon returned from warring against the Midianites by “the pass that goes up to Heres.” This place is unknown outside the Biblical reference at Judges 8:13. Some scholars therefore suggest that the Hebrew text may have originally read “before the sun [hheʹres] was up,” or “from up in the mountains,” instead of “the pass that goes up to Heres.”

HERESH

(Heʹresh) [mute, or, taciturn].

A Levite whose name appears in a list of those returning from exile in Babylon.—1 Chron. 9:1, 14, 15.

HERETH, FOREST OF

(Heʹreth).

One of David’s hiding places while pursued by Saul. (1 Sam. 22:5) The “forest of Hereth” was apparently named after a town in its locality. This may be identified with modern-day Kharas, about three and a half miles (5.6 kilometers) S-SE of the suggested site of Adullam (vs. 1) and NW of Hebron.

HERMAS

(Herʹmas).

One of the Christians in the congregation at Rome to whom Paul sent personal greetings.—Rom. 16:14.

HERMES

(Herʹmes) [perhaps, rock, cairn].

1. One of the Christians in the congregation at Rome to whom Paul sent personal greetings.—Rom. 16:14.

2. A Greek god; the son of Zeus by Maia, identified by the Romans with their god of commerce, Mercury. Hermes was regarded as the messenger of the gods. He was believed to be the discreet counselor of the heroes and was considered to be the god of commerce, skillful speech, gymnastic skill, and sleep and dreams. The lyre, shepherd’s pipe, sacrifices, letters and weights and measures are among the inventions attributed to Hermes. It was believed that this god not only guided the living but also conducted the dead to Hades.

Hermes was regarded as the giver of gain, regardless of whether acquired honestly or dishonestly. Hence, he was the patron of traders and thieves, having himself, when an infant less than a day old, stolen the cattle of Apollo, according to the mythological accounts. Besides portraying him as a skillful liar and thief, myths concerning Hermes tell of his many acts of sexual immorality. Originally, Hermes may have been a fertility god. This is indicated by representations of him in the form of a pillar (with the male organ displayed thereon) surmounted by the head of Hermes.

While the apostle Paul was at Lystra, the native people, after seeing the apostle cure a man lame from birth, identified Paul with the god Hermes, since Paul was the one ‘taking the lead in speaking.’ (Acts 14:8-13) This identification harmonizes with their conception of Hermes as a divine messenger and a god of skillful speech. That Hermes was worshiped by the people of Lystra is indicated by the following inscription found in that vicinity in 1909: “Toues Macrinus also called Abascantus and Batasis son of Bretasis having made in accordance with a vow at their own expense [a statue of] Hermes Most Great along with a sundial dedicated it to Zeus the sun-god.”

HERMOGENES

(Her·mogʹe·nes) [born of Hermes).

One of two Christians in the district of Asia specifically mentioned by name as having turned away from Paul, possibly because of the violent persecution launched by Nero against the Christians after the burning of Rome in 64 C.E.—2 Tim. 1:15.

HERMON

(Herʹmon) [sacred mountain].

Hermon has been identified with the highest mountain in the vicinity of Palestine, called Jebel el-Sheikh (“gray-haired mountain”) or Jebel el-Thalj (“mountain of the snow”) by the Arabs. These names evidently derive from the circumstance that Mount Hermon is snowcapped nearly the year around. Its snowy top might be said to resemble an old man’s crown of