The prophetess, the wife of Shallum. Her name is the same as the Hebrew name for the world. Josiah consulted her on account of the book found in the house of the Lord. (2 Kings xx2: 14.) We cannot sufficiently admire the firmness of this woman, in the answer she returned to king Josiah. Tell the man that sent you, thus saith the Lord, "Behold, I will bring evil upon this place; but because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon thisplace." It is a blessed thing to be found faithful both to God and man!
Huldah, or rather Chuldah, wife of Shallum, a prophetess, who, in the reign of Josiah, abode in that part of Jerusalem called the Mishneh, where the book of the Law was discovered by the high-priest Hilkiah. This prophetess was consulted respecting the denunciations which it contained. She then delivered an oracular response of mingled judgment and mercy; declaring the not remote destruction of Jerusalem, but promising Josiah that he should be taken from the world before these evil days came; B.C. 623 (2Ki 22:14-20; 2Ch 34:22-28). Huldah is only known for this circumstance. She was probably at this time the widow of Shallum, a name too common to suggest any information; but he is said to have been grandson of one Harhas, ’keeper of the ward robe,’ but whether the priestly or the royal wardrobe is uncertain. If the former, he must have been a Levite, if not a priest. As to her residence, it is said to have been ’in the Mishneh,’ which the Auth. Vers. renders ’in the college.’ But there is no ground to conclude that any school or college of the prophets is to be understood. The name means ’second’ or ’double;’ and many of the Jews themselves (as Jarchi states) understood it as the name of the suburb lying between the inner and outer wall of Jerusalem. It is safest to regard it as a proper name denoting some quarter of Jerusalem about which we are not certain, and, accordingly, to translate ’in the Mishneh.’
The prophetess in the reign of Josiah, consulted respecting the denunciations in the newfound copy of the Book of the Law, 2Ki 22:14-20 2Ch 34:22-28, B. C. 623.\par
The prophetess consulted by Josiah when Hilkiah found the law.
[Hul’dah]
Wife of Shallum and a prophetess. King Josiah sent to her when a copy of the law had been found. Her message from the Lord was that God would surely bring the evils upon the people according to what the book said, because they had turned to idolatry; but Josiah having humbled himself, the Lord did not bring the evils in his day. 2Ki 22:14; 2Ch 34:22.
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By: Emil G. Hirsch, M. Seligsohn, Executive Committee of the Editorial Board., Louis Ginzberg
—Biblical Data:
Prophetess; wife of Shallum, the keeper of the wardrobe in the time of King Josiah. She dwelt in the second quarter of Jerusalem. It seems that Huldah enjoyed great consideration as a prophetess, for when Hilkiah found the scroll of the Law he, with his four companions, took it to her. On that occasion she prophesied that God would bring evil upon Jerusalem and upon its inhabitants. The king, however, was told that he would die in peace before the evil days came (II Kings xxii. 14-20; II Chron. xxxiv. 22-28).
E. G. H. M. Sel.—In Rabbinical Literature:
Huldah and Deborah were the only professed prophetesses, although other pious women had occasional prophetic revelations. Both had unattractive names, "Huldah" signifying "weasel," and "Deborah" signifying "bee" or "wasp." Huldah said to the messengers of King Josiah, "Tell the man that sent you to me," etc. (II Kings xxii. 15), indicating by her unceremonious language that for her Josiah was like any other man. The king addressed her, and not Jeremiah, because he thought that women are more easily stirred to pity than men, and that therefore the prophetess would be more likely than Jeremiah to intercede with God in his behalf (Meg. 14a, b; comp. Seder 'Olam R. xxi.). Huldah was a relative of Jeremiah, both being descendants of Rahab by her marriage with Joshua (Sifre, Num. 78; Meg. 14a, b). While Jeremiah admonished and preached repentance to the men, she did the same to the women (Pesiḳ. R. 26 [ed. Friedmann, p. 129]). Huldah was not only a prophetess, but taught publicly in the school (Targ. to II Kings xxii. 14), according to some teaching especially the oral doctrine. It is doubtful whether "the Gate of Huldah" in the Second Temple (Mid. i. 3) has any connection with the prophetess Huldah; it may have meant "Cat's Gate"; some scholars, however, associate the gate with Huldah's schoolhouse (Rashi to Kings l.c.).
HULDAH (‘weasel’; an old totem clan-name—so W. R. Smith).—‘The prophetess, wife of Shallum, keeper of the wardrobe,’ living in a part of Jerusalem called the Mishneh (‘second quarter’), whose advice Josiah sought, by a deputation of his chief ministers, on the alarming discovery of ‘the book of the law’ in the Temple, in 621 b.c. (2Ki 22:3-20 = 2Ch 34:8-28). Her response was threatening for the nation, in the strain of Jeremiah, while promising exemption to the pious king. Huldah ranks with Deborah and Hannah among the rare women-prophets of the OT.
G. G. Findlay.