Why was Huldah consulted regarding the words of the Book of the Law?
Why did Josiah consulted with Huldah, the prophetess. Some say it was because the Ark of the
Covenant was not in the Temple but I believe there was a deep meaning
here.
Huldah, was the major influence in Josiah life, she took care of him in his
early childhood. Under her teaching and influence Josiah developed into a God-fearing
person. He trusted her and could go to
her for council about the Word of God.
Huldah was one of the great women of the Holy Scriptures.
2Ki 22:14
NKJV So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam,
Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah
the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas,
keeper of the wardrobe. (She dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter.) And
they spoke with her.
Why not go to Jeremiah: Barnes commentary said: It might have been
expected that the royal commissioners would have gone to Jeremiah, on whom the
prophetic spirit had descended in Josiah’s 13th year Jer_1:2, or five
years previous to the finding of the Law. Perhaps he was at some distance from
Jerusalem at the time; or his office may not yet have been fully recognized.
Keeper of the
wardrobe - literally, “of the
robes.” Shallum had the superintendence, of the royal robe-room in which
dresses of honor were stored
Ahikam — a friend of Jeremiah (Jer_26:24).
Who was Huldah?
she dwelt ... in
the college — rather, “in the
Misnah,” taking the original word as a proper name, not a school or
college, but a particular suburb of Jerusalem. She was held in such veneration
that Jewish writers say she and
Jehoiada the priest were the only
persons not of the house of David who were ever buried in Jerusalem.
According to the Midrash,1 Jeremiah prophesied in the streets of Jerusalem;
Zephaniah delivered his prophecies in the synagogues; and Huldah had a school for women in
Jerusalem, whom she taught the word of God insofar as it pertained to Jewish women, mothers
and daughters.In the Talmud2 it is stated that Huldah was a relative of the prophet Jeremiah. She was a descendant of Joshua bin Nun (of the tribe of Ephraim). The prophet Jeremiah was also a descendant of Joshua—on his mother’s side. On his father’s side, Jeremiah was a kohen, the son of Hilkiah, who came from a long line of kohanim going back to Aaron (of the tribe of Levi).
Huldah’s husband, Shallum, had a prominent position in the royal court. He was the keeper of the king’s wardrobe, in charge of the king’s robes and clothes for all occasions. He was also one of the king’s instructors when Josiah was still a child. Josiah was only eight years old when he inherited the crown from his father, Amon. His father, who had turned to idolatry, was murdered in a plot by his palace servants after he had ruled for two years.
Young Josiah had eminent teachers: Hilkiah, the kohen gadol (he was the great-grandfather of Ezra the Scribe); the prophet Jeremiah; Shafan the
scribe, and his son Ahikam; as well as Shallum and his wife, Huldah,
who took care of him in his early childhood. Under their teaching and influence
Josiah developed into a God-fearing person. He did not follow in the footsteps
of his father and grandfather (King Manasseh), who worshipped idols and encouraged
idolatry in the kingdom of Judah. Rather did he follow in the footsteps of his
great-grandfather Hezekiah, who was a God-fearing, Torah-loving king.
At the age of sixteen years Josiah grasped the reins of his kingdom firmly in
his hands, and began to introduce changes in the spiritual life of his people
which brought a new era into the land. For he steered the people toward the old
spirit of fear of God and devotion to His Torah and Mitzvot.
Information from various commentaries
Hello Steve,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the study of Huldah the Prophetess. It is very informative and explains much about Josiah and his God fearing ways. It is good to learn from the "Word of God," our Bible and share the knowledge gained.
Blessings,
Debra