The village was established in 1953 by former residents of Jerusalem and ma'abarot who wanted to combine a Haredi and agricultural lifestyle. It is named after Hilkia, the father of the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:1).[2][3][4]
In 2015, a salvage excavation brought to light a prehistoric site near Beit Hilkia and the Revivim quarry, with findings from the Pottery Neolithic (Yarmukian), Late Chalcolithic, and the Middle Bronze Age IIA–IIB.[6] Somewhat surprising was the discovery of a typical Yarmukian-style fired clay figurine of a fertility goddess, the southernmost such finding.[6] Of 163 found up to that date, the vast majority had been discovered in the main area known for its Yarmukian settlements, in and around the northern type-site of Sha'ar HaGolan, with just two exceptions further to the south.[6] This new finding led to speculations that much of the Southern Levant might have been inhabited by a contiguous civilization during the time (c. 6400–6000 BCE), with differences in pottery types being more significant to today's archaeologists than to people living back then.[6]
