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HENOTHEISM - the belief in many gods but the worship of one god.
HIEROGLYPHICS - writing in which picture signs represent either things, actions, or concepts; or consonant or vowel sounds. Hieroglyphic writing is the oldest form of writing and is most often associated with Egypt. Approximately 500 signs were typically used in Egyptian hieroglyphics. Punctuation marks were not used and the script could be written from left to right (as in English) or right to left (as in Hebrew) either horizontally or vertically. Hieroglyphics were used in Egypt from 3200 B.C.E. to 500 C.E.
Graphic from Mark Millmore's Ancient Egypt
HISTORICAL ANALYSIS - in general, the rational study of the biblical materials. Historical analysis studies the text from an historical standpoint comparing the events discussed to events recorded in other cultures as well as to possible explanations from natural phenomena. Historical analysis has been criticized for not allowing a place for the action of God in history, for unique events in history, and for content other than objective.
HYKSOS - a group of non-Egyptian people who ruled parts of Lower Egypt during the 15th Dynasty (first half of the 2nd millennium B.C.E.). The term "Hyksos" is a Greek form of an Egyptian word that means "ruler(s) of foreign land(s)" or "foreign chief(s)." It had been assumed that the Hyksos invaded the Nile delta region in Egypt but current thinking suggests Asiatic peoples gradually immigrated to Egypt, perhaps to avoid famine as did Abraham (Gen. 12:10-20), and created their own city-states. Eventually they were able to unite and create a kingdom over which a pharaoh of their own people ruled. The kingdom was never a world empire but was influential. From 1786-1540 B.C.E. the Hyksos ruled northern Egypt. Eventually the last two pharaohs of the 17th dynasty headquartered in Thebes were able to conquer the Hyksos and restore all of Egypt to rule by native Egyptian pharaoh. Many scholars have assumed that Joseph came to power in northern Egypt during the time of the Hyksos. As people of Asiatic background they would have been more open to promoting an outsider to great power than would the native Egyptians.
HYMN - a type of psalm which praises God in general often for His being Lord of creation and Ruler of all history (e.g., Pss. 8, 19, 117). Rather than singling out God's specific action in the life of an individual or Israel, a hymn praises God on a universal level. The general form of a hymn is: