2 Kings 22:14-20

D. THE PROPHETIC WORD OF HULDAH 22:14-20

TRANSLATION

(14) And Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asahiah went onto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah the son of Harhas, the one who kept the garments (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the second city); and they spoke unto her. (15) And she said unto them, Thus says the LORD God of Israel, Say to the man who sent you unto me, (16) Thus says the LORD: Behold I am about to bring evil against this place and against its inhabitants, all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read, (17) because they have forsaken Me, and have made offerings to other gods in order to provoke Me with all the deeds of their hands. And My wrath is kindled against this place, and it shall not be extinguished. (18) But to the king of Judah who has sent you to inquire of the LORD, Thus you shall say unto him: Thus says the LORD God of Israel: With regard to the words which you have heard: (19) Because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard that which I spoke concerning this place and concerning its inhabitants, that they should be a desolation and a curse, and you have rent your garments, and wept before Me, also I will hearken (oracle of the LORD). (20) Therefore, behold I will gather you unto your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought word to the king.

COMMENTS

It is not entirely clear why the royal representatives chose to consult with Huldah the prophetess. Jeremiah and Zephaniah were the two great prophets of this time. But Jeremiah lived in Anathoth, and Zephaniah may have passed on to his reward before the eighteenth year of Josiah. In short, Huldah may have been the only person immediately available who possessed the prophetic gift. Huldah is said to have lived in the second, i.e., the lower, city of Jerusalem (2 Kings 22:14). She is the only example of a prophetess in Israel who seems to rank on an equal footing with the prophets.[645]

[645] Miriam (Exodus 15:20), Deborah (Judges 4:4), Isaiah's wife (Isaiah 8:2) and Anna (Luke 2:36) are called prophetesses, but in a secondary sense, as holy women, having a certain gift of song or prediction from God.

After examining the contents of the scroll, Huldah sent a prophetic oracle back to Josiah (2 Kings 22:15). The king's worst fears were justified. All the threats in the book would shortly befall Jerusalem and its inhabitants (2 Kings 22:16). The parallel passage in Chronicles uses the phrase all the curses that are written in the book which suggests that the particular passage which had most strongly affected the king was Deuteronomy 28 which begins with a series of curses. Such drastic punishment was justified in view of the fact that Judah had completely turned from God. They burned incense to other gods and constructed abominable images with what appeared to be a determined effort to provoke the wrath of God. The unquenchable wrath of God had been kindled by this apostasy, and that wrath was about to be poured out on Jerusalem (2 Kings 22:17).

The Lord was mindful of the piety of Josiah and the determined reformation effort which he had launched, and so God sent a message of consolation for the godly king (2 Kings 22:18). God had taken note of the inward repentance which Josiah had manifested when the scroll was read in his presence. The king had humbled himself, rent his garments and wept when God's threatening words against Judah were read before him. Since Josiah had hearkened to the word of God, the Lord had hearkened to the words of Josiah (2 Kings 22:19). Huldah was divinely authorized to assure Josiah that the national destruction threatened in the Law would not occur during his reign. Josiah would die in peace, i.e., he would not personally see the evil time (2 Kings 22:20). It was some three years after the death[646] of Josiah that the divinely appointed agents of Jerusalem's destruction made their first appearance in Judah.

[646] Josiah died in battle against Pharaoh Necho at Megiddo in 609 B.C., but he was buried in peace in Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 35:24-25). The point that Huldah was making was that Josiah would not experience the terrible fate which would befall his nation. He would not be carried off into a foreign land or have his corpse mutilated and abused. Josiah was the last king of Judah to be buried in peace in Jerusalem.