Jeremiah’s Father, In Brief
There’s a short answer to this question. The father of the prophet Jeremiah was a man named Hilkiah (Jeremiah 1:1).
But there’s a more involved answer to the question, “Who was Jeremiah’s father?”
Jeremiah’s Father: a Priest
Since Jeremiah was a priest who lived in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin (Jeremiah 1:1), we can be sure that his father was a priest.
Jeremiah’s Father: From Benjamin, But Not a Benjamite
But we know for sure that his father wasn’t a Benjamite. How do we know? Because the priests in Israel didn’t come from Benjamin. They came from another son of Jacob — Levi.
Jeremiah’s Father Ministered Right Before His Son’s Time
So, Jeremiah’s father was a priest. Do we know of any priests in the Bible named Hilkiah around the time when Jeremiah was ministering?
Remember, Jeremiah served the Lord and his people during the reigns of…
- King Josiah
- King Shallum/Jehoahaz
- King Jehoiakim/Eliakim
- King Jehoiachin/Jeconiah/Coniah
- King Zedekiah/Mattaniah
- Governor Gedaliah (and the other few who tried to lead the people who remained of Judah after the Babylonian exile)
So, was there a priest named Hilkiah who lived and ministered somewhere around the beginning of Josiah’s reign?
There was a Hilkiah spoken of in Josiah’s day!
Hilkiah: A (High) Priest
This Hilkiah was a priest — a high priest, that is (2 Kings 22:4,8).
Hilkiah Found the Book of the Law
And he was actually the one who found the book of the Law in the Temple (2 Kings 22:8; 2 Chronicles 34:15).
Hilkiah Had a Zeal for the Lord
This man also was at Josiah’s right hand as the king made all of his righteous reforms in Judah (2 Kings 23:4; 2 Chronicles 35:8). He was at the center of the action of the religious reforms that Josiah made — the reforms that God’s word of judgement led to!
So, is this Hilkiah the high priest Jeremiah’s father? It’s possible — even likely!
Hilkiah Would Have Influenced His Children
But it makes sense. Can you imagine Jeremiah growing up in the house of a man who had found God’s word after it had been missing for so long? Can you imagine the zeal for the Law that this father must have had? Can you imagine that some of that zeal would rub off on his sons?
Jeremiah’s Father, in Summary
So, the final word is that we can’t absolutely prove that Hilkiah the high priest of Josiah’s day is the father of Jeremiah. But we can’t disprove it either. And it makes for a really intriguing backstory to the book of the prophecies of Jeremiah.
Explaining The Book 
If Jeremiah was of the priesthood living in Anathoth, he would have been of the lineage of Ithamar, one of Aaron’s sons.
The Ithamar priesthood only produced five high priests before Solomon exiled them to Anathoth. These priests were: Eli, Ahitub, Ahiab, Ahimeiech and Abiathar.
So, the Hilkiah, of King Josiah’s day was more than likely a descendant of Eleazar and not Jeremiah’s father.
You can find the lineage of Hilkiah in 1 Chronicles 6: 1 – 15.
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Thanks fir this summary of Hilkiah. I wrote a book on Jeremiah but had missed this.
One thing to note is that Hilkiah found the Law 5 years after Jeremiah started his ministry. So he wouldn’t have grown up with the Law, but still he would have had a father who bucked the trends and loved the Lord.
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Wow I see foolishness is in many and God’s word
Is not accepted as absolute truth.
The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah God said it sohow dare anyone say otherwise .
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Jeremiah 1:1-2 “The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin: To whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, the the thirteenth year of his reign.” 2Chronicles35:25
“And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel: and, behold, they are written in the lamentations.”
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