Valiant Women of the Bible 🤴🏽 Day 15: Huldah

Mar 14, 2023 6:39 pm

HULDAH: PROPHET TEACHER

image


We first meet Huldah at her home in Jerusalem. She is married to the keeper of the king's wardrobe, and she is


According to Jewish tradition, "Huldah had a school for women in Jerusalem, whom she taught the word of G-d insofar as it pertained to Jewish women, mothers and daughters" (Mindel). Some say she taught publicly, others say she was a teacher and preacher to women.


HISTORICAL SETTING

This story takes place during the reign of King Josiah in the Southern Kingdom of Judah (ca. 640-609 BC). It's been 60+ years since the Assyrians conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel and carried her residents to far-off locations in the Assyrian Empire. Now, a new empire is on the rise: the Babylonian Empire, and its ruler Nebuchadnezzar has his eyes set on Judah and her Temple treasury.


Around 622 BC, when King Josiah is in his mid 20s, he hires carpenters, builders, and masons to do some repairs at the Temple. To pay for the repairs, he orders the high priest to add up all the silver collected at the threshold of the Temple for that purpose and then distribute it to the workers.


It's during this silver-counting expedition that the high priest discovers something worth way more than silver: the Book of the Law. The fact that the high priest "discovers" this lost book underscores its condition: it's been neglected and forgotten. He shares the news of his discovery with the king's secretary giving him the book—and the secretary immediately takes it to the king. When he arrives, the king asks him to read it to him.


"INQUIRE OF THE LORD"

When King Josiah hears the words of the Law, he rips his robes in an act of contrition and commands the high priest, the court secretary, and two others, "Go and inquire of the LORD for me, the people, and all Judah about the words in this book that has been found" (2 Kings 22:13).


This is a command to seek out a prophet, and their choice of prophet might surprise you. They don't seek Jeremiah or Zephaniah—who were actively prophesying in that area at the time. Instead, the king's envoys head straight for the second district in Jerusalem to find a prophet named Huldah.


"Evidently Huldah was known in the kingdom of Judah far and wide or she would never have been sought out by King Josiah...He had faith in Huldah's spiritual powers, and he wanted her to tell him whether the book was genuine or not" (Deen, p. 143).


After hearing what the men have to say, Huldah responds with four prophetic statements:


  1. "Thus says the LORD God of Israel…" (2 Kings 22:15)
  2. "This is what the LORD says…" (2 Kings 22: 16)
  3. "Thus says the LORD God of Israel…" (2 Kings 22:18)
  4. "I also have heard you says the LORD" (2 Kings 22:19)


With phrasing familiar to us from prophets such as Jeremiah, Isaiah, Zechariah, and Haggai, Huldah prophesies the destruction of Judah and a proper burial for King Josiah.


A NOTABLE CONTRIBUTION

Responding to the king's envoys, Huldah does something that no other prophet has done ever before: She bases her pronouncements on the words written in the Book of the Law thereby authenticating its genuineness and authority.


As Claudia V. Camp points out in her article "Huldah:Bible" on the Jewish Women's Archive website:


"Her validation of a text thus stands as the first recognizable act in the long process of canon formation. Huldah authenticates a document as being God's word, thereby affording it the sanctity required for establishing a text as authoritative, or canonical."


This is huge! And God used a woman to do it.


💣 Sidenote: Canon with one "n" is not a typo. It's a word used to describe the collection of sacred scriptures gathered into a Bible—Christian and Jewish. It's a boundary word because the process of canonization is as much about what is included in the Bible as it is about what's excluded. You can learn more about canonization here.


👑 MEANWHILE BACK AT THE PALACE

Huldah's prophecies are relayed to King Josiah, and he is compelled to institute sweeping reforms. He calls the together all the elders of Judah, the priests, prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.


In their presence, the king reads the Book of the Covenant, and then takes the first step toward reform and sets an example for his people:


"The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord, keeping his commandments, his decrees, and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. All the people joined in the covenant."
2 Kings 23:3 (NRSV)


The priests are empowered to remove idols and unholy vessels from the Temple and burn them outside the city. The high places dedicated to Baal and Asherah worship were torn down, and their priests were deposed. Josiah works really hard to rid his people of the abominations to the Lord. They purify the Temple and commit everything they do to the Lord.


It was a mighty effort, but as we have seen before: repentance rarely affects consequences.


Huldah's prophecies were later fulfilled just as she had spoken.


👉 You can read Huldah's prophecies in 2 Kings 22.



image

Additional Resources:



  • "Hulda: Bible" in the The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women (Online). Jewish Women’s Archive.



Photo Credits:

Photo by Nkululeko Mabena on Unsplash.


Disclosure of Material Connection:

Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”





WAS THIS EMAIL FORWARDED TO YOU? GREAT!


Click Here to Subscribe


Comments