Huldah the prophetess

Huldah the prophetess                                         July 22, 2017 

Several godly, gifted women are referred to in Scripture as prophetesses:  

The prophetess: Miriam (Ex 15:20,21); Deborah (Judg 4:3-5); Isaiah’s wife (Isa 8:3); Huldah (2 Kgs 22:14-20); Anna (Lk 2:36); ); the four daughters of Philip (Acts 21:8,9).   

We are going to look at one today.  Not much said about her. 

Huldah:  The Prophetess. around 7^th century BC, The king, high priest, counselors, etc., appealed to her rather than to the priests, Levites, or Jeremiah; her word was accepted by all as the Word of the Lord.  

1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 

Let’s do a little background on what brought her to the forefront.  

2 Kings 22:1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath.  

Josiah was one of Judah’s best kings. Peace, prosperity, and reform was his reign. Josiah was only a lad of eight when he was crowned king, and reigned over Judah 31 years.   

2 Kings 22:2  And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.  

He did not deviate from God at any time during his reign. Josiah began to seek after the Lord when he was 16 and he began his religious reforms when he was 20.  

2 Kings 22:3  Now it came to pass, in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan the scribe, the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the house of the LORD, saying: 

The temple had fallen into disrepair and had been desecrated by Manasseh who had built pagan altars and images in it. In Josiah’s 18th year as king, at age 26, he began to repair the temple and restore it to its former condition.   

The king sent his secretary (scribe) , Shaphan along with other high government officials  to begin the temple repairs.   

It would be Shaphan’s son, Ahikam, who would be sent to Huldah the Prophetess and who would protect Jeremiah from being condemned to death.   

It would be Shaphan’s grandson, Gedaliah, who would be appointed governor of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar and was murdered a few months later so they could start an uprising against Babylonians. 

Ahikam: belonged to one of the most prominent and influential noble families in the kingdom of Judah. The members of the family, known for their policy of moderation and submission to Babylon 

Achbor – Father of Elnathan, an officer of King Jehoiakim sent to Egypt to seize the prophet Uriah, an official in the court of King Josiah 

Hilkiah the priest, the High Priest in the time of King Josiah, he found a “book of the law”  during the repairs to the Temple.   He was among those who donated lambs, goats and bulls to the priest for the Passover sacrifices.  The first person mentioned in a different list of those who consulted with Huldah was Hilkiah the High Priest. 

Jeremiah 1:1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, (Jeremiah could be the High Priest someday) 

We find him mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah, in other words, one of the very men who sought God’s word from Huldah was the father of Jeremiah, the prophet. 

2 Kings 22:4  "Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money which has been brought into the house of the LORD, which the doorkeepers have gathered from the people.  (5)  And let them deliver it into the hand of those doing the work, who are the overseers in the house of the LORD; let them give it to those who are in the house of the LORD doing the work, to repair the damages of the house— (6)  to carpenters and builders and masons—and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house.  (7)  However there need be no accounting made with them of the money delivered into their hand, because they deal faithfully."   

2 Kings 22:8 Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, "I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD." And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. 

In the process of repairing the temple a copy of the Book of the Law (the Torah, the first five books of the Bible) was found. Copies had been destroyed so that the discovery of this one was an important find. 

2 Kings 22:9 So Shaphan the scribe went to the king, bringing the king word, saying, "Your servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of those who do the work, who oversee the house of the LORD."  (10)  Then Shaphan the scribe showed the king, saying, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read it before the king.  (11)  Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes.   

2 Kings 22:12 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Achbor the son of Michaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, 

(13)  "Go, inquire of the LORD for me, for the people and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is the wrath of the LORD that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us."  

Josiah feared the anger of the Lord and wanted to turn it away from all the people of Judah, not just himself.  His shock at the contents of the Law reveals that Judah hadn’t consulted the Law for a long time. 

This is where the prophetess comes in. Why did Josiah consulted with Huldah, the prophetess.   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.  

2 Kings 22:14 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. 

Prophetess Huldah was highly regarded for her prophetic gift. 

2 Kings 22:15 Then she said to them, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'Tell the man who sent you to Me,     (The king is like any man) 

2 Kings 22:16  "Thus says the LORD: 'Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants—all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read—  

She related to them that God was going to bring His judgment on the land—all according to the curses written in the newly found scroll 

2 Kings 22:17 because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath shall be aroused against this place and shall not be quenched.' " '  

2 Kings 22:18 But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, in this manner you shall speak to him, 'Thus says the LORD God of Israel: "Concerning the words which you have heard—  

This judgment would come because they had forsaken Him and made idols and burned incense to them. God’s anger burned against His people.  

2 Kings 22:19 because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you," says the LORD.  

Josiah experienced God’s mercy personally, because he had responded to God’s Word and humbled himself before the LORD when he heard the Law 

2 Kings 22:20 Surely, therefore, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place." ' " So they brought back word to the king. 

God said that the king would die and be buried before judgment would descend on Judah.  

Josiah personally would be spared witnessing it. But why was Josiah obtaining the Word of the Lord through Huldah, the prophetess, rather than through the High Priest, Levites and/or Jeremiah. 

2 Chronicles 34:22 

2 Chronicles 34:22 So Hilkiah and those the king had appointed went to Huldah (Hold da) the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. (She dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter.) And they spoke to her to that effect.  

2 Chronicles 34:22 And Hilkiah, and they that the king had appointed, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college:) and they spake to her to that effect. 

Shallum: Keeper of the wardrobe - literally, “of the robes.” 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.  

Basically,  Shallum's job was to supervise the storage and distribution of garments worn by the priests and Levites in the course of their duties. The second quarter was probably a suburb of Jerusalem near the Fish Gate north of the city 

Huldah, who took care of Josiah 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), 

Huldah 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 esteem 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.  Jesus would have passed often by Huldah’s tomb and crossed through Huldah’s gate to enter the Temple in Jerusalem. At one time in Israel’s history, all the faithful would have known about her.  (see picture of the gate.) 

According to the Midrash, 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 

Here is this woman of God, mentoring and teaching kings, priest and placing a stamp of truth on Scripture, interpreting it and exercising authority over men. 

As a prophetess in the reign of King Josiah, she could be found sitting in the central part of the city ready to receive and counsel any who wished to inquire of God, her word was accepted by all as a divinely revealed one. 

In the Talmud 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). 

2 Chronicles 34:23 Then she answered them, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'Tell the man who sent you to Me,  (24)  "Thus says the LORD: 'Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah,  

Thus says the Lord:  indicates that Huldah’s words were a prophecy.  

She related to them that God was going to bring His judgment on the land—all according to the curses written in the newly found scroll. 

2 Chronicles 34:25 because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath will be poured out on this place, and not be quenched.' " 

She speaks in contempt of the idolaters, who contrary to reason and nature call a god that which they have made and framed with their own hands. 

King of Judah 

2 Chronicles 34:1-2 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem.  (2)  And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 

2 Chronicles 34:26 But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, in this manner you shall speak to him, 'Thus says the LORD God of Israel: "Concerning the words which you have heard—  

2 Chronicles 34:27 because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you," says the LORD.   

2 Chronicles 34:28  "Surely I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place and its inhabitants." ' " So they brought back word to the king.   

2 Chronicles 34:29 Then the king sent and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.   

2 Chronicles 34:33 Thus Josiah removed all the abominations from all the country that belonged to the children of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel diligently serve the LORD their God. All his days they did not depart from following the LORD God of their fathers. 

She was quite a woman that people respected and loved.  

HULDAH — This woman, who was a prophetess, was consulted when the lost Book of the Law was found. An indication of the esteem and honor in which Huldah was held can be seen in Josiah's action. When the Book of the Law was found, he consulted her rather than Jeremiah. Huldah prophesied Jerusalem's destruction but added that because Josiah had done what was right in God's sight, it would not happen before Josiah died.