2 Kings 22:14

14 So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to the New Quarter of Jerusalem to consult with the prophet Huldah. She was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, the keeper of the Temple wardrobe.

2 Kings 22:14 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 22:14

So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan,
and Asahiah, went down to Huldah the prophetess
Such as were Miriam and Deborah; in imitation of those Satan had very early his women prophetesses, the Sibyls, so called from their being the council and oracle of God, and consulted as such on occasion, as Huldah now was; and the first of the Sibyls, according to Suidas F14, was a Chaldean or a Persian; and some say an Hebrew; and Pausanias expressly says F15, that with the Hebrews above Palestine was a woman prophetess, whose name was Sabba, whom some called the Babylonian, others the Egyptian Sibyl. Aelian relates F16 that one of them was a Jewess:

the wife of Shallum, the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of
the wardrobe;
but whether the king's wardrobe in the palace, or the priest's in the temple, is not certain; he is called Hasrah, ( 2 Chronicles 34:22 ) who is here called Harhas:

now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college;
in the college of the prophets; in the house of instruction, as the Targum; the school where the young prophets were instructed and trained up; though Jarchi observes, that some interpret this "within the two walls"; Jerusalem it seems had three walls, and within the second this woman lived; there were gates in the temple, as he also observes, called the gates of Huldah F17, but whether from her cannot be said: this place of her dwelling seems to be mentioned as a reason why these messengers went to her, because she was near, as well as well known for her prophetic spirit, prudence, and faithfulness, and not to Jeremiah, who in all probability was at Anathoth; and so also is the reason why they went not to Zephaniah, if he as yet had begun to prophesy, because he might be at a distance also: and they communed with her; upon the subject the king sent them about.


FOOTNOTES:

F14 In voce (sibulla) .
F15 Phocica, sive, l. 10. p. 631.
F16 Var. Hist. l. 12. c. 35.
F17 Misn. Middot, c. 1. sect. 3.

2 Kings 22:14 In-Context

12 Then he gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the court secretary, and Asaiah the king’s personal adviser:
13 “Go to the Temple and speak to the LORD for me and for the people and for all Judah. Inquire about the words written in this scroll that has been found. For the LORD ’s great anger is burning against us because our ancestors have not obeyed the words in this scroll. We have not been doing everything it says we must do.”
14 So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to the New Quarter of Jerusalem to consult with the prophet Huldah. She was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, the keeper of the Temple wardrobe.
15 She said to them, “The LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken! Go back and tell the man who sent you,
16 ‘This is what the LORD says: I am going to bring disaster on this city and its people. All the words written in the scroll that the king of Judah has read will come true.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Or the Second Quarter, a newer section of Jerusalem. Hebrew reads the Mishneh.
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