Places in the Bible Today:

Helech

Data

Translated NamesHelech, Helek
Typesregion or settlement
Geo Data KML (for Google Earth)
GeoJSON (for GIS applications)

3 Possible Identifications

  1. another name for Hilakku (ancient): 50% confidence

    1. panorama of hills in CiliciaCilicia

  2. another name for Hethlon (ancient): 15% confidence. It may be:

    1. satellite view of the region around HaitlaHaitla

    2. cityscape of LabwehLabweh

    3. cityscape of AdlunAdlun

    4. satellite view of the region around RablehRableh

    5. satellite view of the region around LabauLabau

  3. not a place (common noun for "army"): less than 10% confidence

Verses (1)

Ezek 27:11

Linked Data Identifiers

SourceIdentifier
Logos FactbookHelech
OpenBible.info (2007)Helech
OpenBible.infoab5f357 (Helech)
TIPNRHelech@Ezk.27.11

Sources

  1. Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (1992): Helech (place)
  2. Baker Illustrated Bible Dictionary (2013): Helek
  3. Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000): Helech
  4. Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (2003): Helech
  5. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1979): Helech
  6. IVP Old Testament Bible Background Commentary (2000): Ezek 27:11
  7. Lexham Bible Dictionary (2016): Helech
  8. New Interpreter’s Bible Dictionary (2009): Helech
  9. Tyndale Bible Dictionary (2001): Helech
  10. Zondervan Atlas of the Bible (2010)
  11. Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible (2010): Helech

Confidence Trends over Time

This chart indicates how confidence in the identifications is changing over time. Each dot (connected by a dotted line) reflects the confidence of an identification over the preceding ten years (e.g., the 2009 dot reflects scholarship from 2000 to 2009), and the corresponding solid line reflects a best-fit line for the identification. Confidences that cluster near or below 0% indicate low confidence. Because of the small dataset, it's best to use this chart for general trends; if one identification is trending much higher than the others (in this case, another name for Hilakku), then you can probably have higher confidence in the identification. This chart only reflects the sources I consulted (listed above), not an exhaustive review of the literature.

Thumbnail Image Credits

Volker Höhfeld, Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2019, Jaclette, AbouChahine

About

This page attempts to identify all the possible locations where this biblical place could be. The confidence levels add up to less than 100%, indicating that the modern location is uncertain. It's best to think about the confidences in relative rather than absolute terms. Often they reflect different schools of thought, each confident in their identifications.

The isobands you see on the map (gray areas with dark borders) attempt to give you confidence where a region is. Because many ancient regions aren't precisely defined, I consulted atlases to determine where the biblical region is located and used that data to build the isobands. The smaller isobands reflect more confidence that the given isoband is in the region, while the larger isobands reflect less confidence. Isobands are a kind of contour line that here indicate confidence levels.