In the Old Testament we are able to read the account of the feminine prophet, teacher, and leader Huldah who played a key role in Jewish history. This is the story …
Context
The story of Huldah is present in 2 Kings 22 after which retold with some more details in 2 Chronicle 34. The story is about within the seventh century BC before the Exile, throughout the reign of King Josiah of Judah. At this time, the tribes of Israel were split into the southern kingdom of Judah, and the northern kingdom which kept the name of Israel. King Josiah
Josiah was the great-grandson of King Hezekiah. He succeeded his murdered father King Amon, when he was only eight years old, to grow to be king of Judah (2 Kings 2:1-2) in about 640 BC. The text specifically mentions that his mother was Jedidah (2 Kings 22:1). This is important because when kings were young, the queen mother was often the actual ruler, ruling as regent within the name of her son, until he was sufficiently old to rule. In the eighth yr of his reign, when he was aged sixteen, the text says that Josiah began to hunt the God of his ancestor David (2 Chronicles 34:3). This may indicate that now he’s ruling himself.
Prophets on the time of Josiah
There were several prophets on the time of King Josiah. The book of Jeremiah starts by saying the word of the LORD got here to Jeremiah within the thirteenth yr of the reign of Josiah (Jeremiah 1:1-2), which is when King Josiah was 21 years old. The book of Zephaniah also starts by saying that the word of the LORD got here to Zephaniah throughout the reign of King Josiah (Zephaniah 1:10). Many scholars think that Habakkuk was also a recent of Jeremiah, since the book is about within the immediate pre-exilic period. As well as Jeremiah, Zephaniah and Habakkuk, there was also one other prophet, who’s less well-known, and that was Huldah, who was a female prophet. Finding a scroll
The Bible says that within the 18th yr of King Josiah’s reign, when he was 26 years old, he ordered the priests to repair the Temple, which had fallen into disrepair. He paid carpenters, builders, and masons to revive and renovate it (2 Kings 22:3-6 and a pair of Chronicles 34:8-13), which was overseen by the Levites. It was throughout the repair of the Temple that the High Priest, Hilkiah found a hidden scroll which is described because the ‘Book of the Law’. (2 Kings 22:8 and a pair of Chronicles 34:14). The king’s scribe Shafan took the newly found scroll to the king and browse it to him (2 Kings 22:8-10 and a pair of Chronicles 34:24-18). After hearing the words, King Josiah sent for his advisers (2 Kings 22:11-14 and a pair of Chronicles 34:19-22). He desired to know if the scroll was real. The story relates that it was to not the prophets Jeremiah nor Zephaniah that the High Priest deferred, but to Huldah (2 Kings 22:11-14 and a pair of Chronicles 34:23-25). Who was Huldah?
Not lots is thought about Huldah. Her name in Hebrew is ,חוּלְדָה written as ‘Huldah’ in most English-language translations, and sometimes as ‘Chuldah’ in Jewish literature. She was the wife of Shallum, who’s described as keeper of the wardrobe. It is just not clear if that was the royal wardrobe, taking care of the king’s robes, or the Temple wardrobe, answerable for priestly robes and vestments, or perhaps each. If it was the Temple wardrobe, that probably means they were each Levites. The text says that they lived in 1 / 4 of Jerusalem, so near the Temple. Huldah seems to have been educated because she could read the Scriptures. Jewish tradition has it that Huldah was a teacher of the Torah outside the gates within the southern wall of Jerusalem, and these gates, which at the moment are blocked up, are generally known as the ‘Huldah Gates’. She was recognised as an authority on Scripture, and so the scroll was taken to her. She read it and identified the scroll as Scripture. Huldah is the primary person recorded as declaring any writings to be Scripture.Huldah’s Prophecy
Huldah prayed and made an announcement starting with the customary “Thus saith the LORD” (2 Kings 34:25 and a pair of Chronicles 34:23), indicating that she was a prophet. She delivered a message regarding the fate of Judah, on account of their disobedience, predicting disaster. However, she said that because King Josiah humbled himself, disaster wouldn’t come until after he died (2 Kings 22:15-20 & 2 Chronicles 34:23-28).
Covenant service
Josiah held Huldah’s prophecy in high regard. He followed the instructions which were read out and assembled the people on the Temple in Jerusalem. Here there was a public reading of the Law from the rediscovered scroll (2 Kings 23:1-2 & 2 Chronicles 34:29-30). There was unanimous agreement from all of the people, who renewed their covenant, they usually pledged to obey the LORD and keep his commands (2 Kings 23:2 Chronicles 34:31-32). In 1755, this story inspired John Wesley to create the annual Methodist Covenant Service.Re-instating the Passover
King Josiah then put into motion a non secular reformation. He purged paganism, and destroyed idolatrous shrines, altars, and statues, and dismissed priests who had served at pagan shrines (2 Kings 23:8-20 & 2 Chronicles 34:33). King Josiah then re-instituted the rite of Passover (2 Chronicles 35:19), which had fallen out of form. He gave the order to the people to ‘have a good time the Passover to the LORD your God, because it is written on this Book of the Covenant’ (2 Kings 23:21) i.e. in keeping with Deuteronomy 16:1-8. The text says that folks got here from throughout Judah and plenty of from the northern kingdom of Israel. It was probably the most complete Passover because the time of the prophet Samuel (2 Kings 23:21-22 & 2 Chronicles 25:18), some 4 centuries before. Without Huldah, King Josiah wouldn’t have re-instituted the Passover, and maybe without the Passover there would have been no Last Supper, and no modern communion service.Which scroll was it?
At the time of King Josiah many of the books of Hebrew Scripture as we all know them had not been written yet. In the passage the scroll which was found is named ‘the Book of the Law’ which suggests the Torah, or a part of the Torah. Josiah’s actions which followed its reading reflect the contents of the book of Deuteronomy, and it’s in Deuteronomy that the Passover was defined as a festival which everyone should attend (Deuteronomy 16:1-7). It seems that the scroll was the fifth book of Moses which we call Deuteronomy, so without Huldah we’d not have had this book within the Bible. Legacy
Huldah’s story is just not well-known. Many people have simply never heard of her, and most Christians have never heard a sermon on her, and also you don’t hear of Jewish nor Christian girls being called Huldah. A really practical reason Huldah’s story is just not well-known in lots of churches is that the story doesn’t appear as a reading within the lectionary. Yet it’s a fantastic story. She is a noteworthy Old Testament female prophet, who was a teacher and a pacesetter, and who was deferred to by each the King and the High Priest, even instead of other male prophets.
We mustn’t forget Huldah’s legacy. Without Huldah we’d probably not have the book of Deuteronomy, nor the Covenant Service, nor the Lord’s Supper.
