Hukok
Hukok is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Galilee in modern-day Israel. Known today as Tel Regev. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
Hukok is a Levitical city assigned to the clan of Gershon from within the territory of the tribe of Asher, as recorded in 1 Chronicles 6:75. In the parallel passage in Joshua 21:31, the city appears under the name Helkath, leading most scholars to conclude that Hukok and Helkath are either the same city under variant names or closely related sites within the same district. The assignment of cities to the Levites fulfilled the arrangement established by Moses whereby the priestly tribe, having no territorial allotment of its own, received designated cities scattered throughout the other tribal territories (Numbers 35:1-8). These forty-eight Levitical cities, with their surrounding pasturelands, ensured that the Levites could fulfill their religious duties while being distributed among all the tribes. Hukok's placement in the territory of Asher, along the fertile coastal plain of western Galilee, positioned its Levitical residents to serve the spiritual needs of that region. The Levitical city system demonstrated God's provision for those dedicated to His service.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Hukok has been identified with Tel Regev (also called Tell er-Reqeish by some sources), a site located in the western Jezreel Valley near the territory of Asher. The identification rests partly on the equation of Hukok with Helkath mentioned in Joshua 21:31. Tel Regev is a modest tell that has been surveyed and partially excavated, revealing occupation layers from the Bronze and Iron Ages. The site's location near the important crossroads of the Jezreel Valley would have made it a strategically useful Levitical outpost. Surface surveys have recovered pottery consistent with the periods of Israelite settlement. The surrounding region remains agriculturally productive, preserving the character of the fertile plain described in the biblical tribal allotments.
Verse Appearances (1)
1Chr
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- OpenBible.info (n.d.) Bible Geocoding. Available at: https://www.openbible.info/geo/. [CC BY 4.0]
- Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.) (n.d.) Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places. Available at: https://pleiades.stoa.org. [CC BY 3.0]
- Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
- Lawrence, D. et al. (2025) Villages to Empires: a settlement dataset for the Southern Levant. doi:10.5281/zenodo.15111732. [CC BY 4.0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]