Ahikam - brother of support = helper, one of the five whom Josiah sent to
consult the prophetess Huldah in connection with the discovery
of the book of the law (2 Kings 22:12-14; 2 Chr. 34:20). He was
the son of Shaphan, the royal secretary, and the father of
Gedaliah, governor of Judea after the destruction of Jerusalem
by the Babylonians (2 Kings 25:22; Jer. 40:5-16; 43:6). On one
occasion he protected Jeremiah against the fury of Jehoiakim
(Jer. 26:24). It was in the chamber of another son (Germariah)
of Shaphan that Baruch read in the ears of all the people
Jeremiah's roll.
