The "Other" Giving of the Torah: Hulda the Prophetess

(1) Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. (2) He did what was pleasing to the LORD and he followed all the ways of his ancestor David; he did not deviate to the right or to the left. (3) In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent the scribe Shaphan son of Azaliah son of Meshullam to the House of the LORD, saying, (4) “Go to the high priest Hilkiah and let him weigh the silver that has been deposited in the House of the LORD, which the guards of the threshold have collected from the people. (5) And let it be delivered to the overseers of the work who are in charge at the House of the LORD, that they in turn may pay it out to the workmen that are in the House of the LORD, for the repair of the House: (6) to the carpenters, the laborers, and the masons, and for the purchase of wood and quarried stones for repairing the House. (7) However, no check is to be kept on them for the silver that is delivered to them, for they deal honestly.” (8) Then the high priest Hilkiah said to the scribe Shaphan, “I have found a scroll of the Teaching in the House of the LORD.” And Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan, who read it. (9) The scribe Shaphan then went to the king and reported to the king: “Your servants have melted down the silver that was deposited in the House, and they have delivered it to the overseers of the work who are in charge at the House of the LORD.” (10) The scribe Shaphan also told the king, “The high priest Hilkiah has given me a scroll”; and Shaphan read it to the king. (11) When the king heard the words of the scroll of the Teaching, he rent his clothes. (12) And the king gave orders to the priest Hilkiah, and to Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Michaiah, the scribe Shaphan, and Asaiah the king’s minister: (13) “Go, inquire of the LORD on my behalf, and on behalf of the people, and on behalf of all Judah, concerning the words of this scroll that has been found. For great indeed must be the wrath of the LORD that has been kindled against us, because our fathers did not obey the words of this scroll to do all that has been prescribed for us.” (14) So the priest Hilkiah, and Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to the prophetess Huldah—the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah son of Harhas, the keeper of the wardrobe—who was living in Jerusalem in the Mishneh, and they spoke to her. (15) She responded: “Thus said the LORD, the God of Israel: Say to the man who sent you to me: (16) Thus said the LORD: I am going to bring disaster upon this place and its inhabitants, in accordance with all the words of the scroll which the king of Judah has read. (17) Because they have forsaken Me and have made offerings to other gods and vexed Me with all their deeds, My wrath is kindled against this place and it shall not be quenched. (18) But say this to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD: Thus said the LORD, the God of Israel: As for the words which you have heard— (19) because your heart was softened and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I decreed against this place and its inhabitants—that it will become a desolation and a curse—and because you rent your clothes and wept before Me, I for My part have listened—declares the LORD. (20) Assuredly, I will gather you to your fathers and you will be laid in your tomb in peace. Your eyes shall not see all the disaster which I will bring upon this place.” So they brought back the reply to the king.

(1) At the king’s summons, all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem assembled before him. (2) The king went up to the House of the LORD, together with all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests and prophets—all the people, young and old. And he read to them the entire text of the covenant scroll which had been found in the House of the LORD. (3) The king stood by the pillar^-a and solemnized the covenant before the LORD: that they would follow the LORD and observe His commandments, His injunctions, and His laws with all their heart and soul; that they would fulfill all the terms of this covenant as inscribed upon the scroll. And all the people entered into^-b the covenant.

(25) There was no king like him before who turned back to the LORD with all his heart and soul and might, in full accord with the Teaching of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him.

There were five gates to the Temple Mount: The two Huldah gates on the south were used both for entrance and exit; The Kiponus gate on the west was used both for entrance and exit. The Taddi gate on the north was not used at all. The Eastern gate over which was a representation of the palace of Shushan and through which the high priest who burned the red heifer and all who assisted with it would go out to the Mount of Olives.

§ The Gemara asks with regard to the prophetesses recorded in the baraita: Who were the seven prophetesses? The Gemara answers: Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah, and Esther.

Huldah was a prophetess, as it is written: “So Hilkiah the priest and Ahikam and Achbor and Shaphan and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess” (II Kings 22:14) as emissaries of King Josiah. The Gemara asks: But if Jeremiah was found there, how could she prophesy? Out of respect for Jeremiah, who was her superior, it would have been fitting that she not prophesy in his presence. The Sages of the school of Rav say in the name of Rav: Huldah was a close relative of Jeremiah, and he did not object to her prophesying in his presence. The Gemara asks: But how could Josiah himself ignore Jeremiah and send emissaries to Huldah? The Sages of the school of Rabbi Sheila say: Because women are more compassionate, and he hoped that what she would tell them would not be overly harsh. Rabbi Yoḥanan said a different answer: Jeremiah was not there at the time, because he went to bring back the ten tribes from their exile.

Hilkiah and those whom the king [had ordered] went to the prophetess Huldah, wife of Shallum son of Tokhath son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe, who was living in Jerusalem in the Mishneh, and spoke to her accordingly.

“to Huldah” – Our sages explained, it was because women are merciful that they went to her, so that she would pray on their behalf. Or because the other prophets were out of town then.

"in the Mishneh" -- between the two walls, that doubly-enclosed the city.

"in the Mishneh" -- in the Beit Midrash. Similarly, "copying the Torah" (Devarim 17:18), i.e. learning the Torah.

Our sages explained [cf. Pesikta Rabbati 26:1-2], that three prophets were working in the days of [King] Yoshiahu. They were Yirmiyahu, Tzafaniyahu, Huldah. [Why three?] Because Yirmiyahu worked in the public square, Tzafania in the synagogues, and Huldah [taught to everyone, even] to the women.

Hilkiah and those whom the king [had ordered] went to the prophetess Huldah, wife of Shallum son of Tokhath son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe, who was living in Jerusalem in the Beit Ulpana, and spoke to her accordingly.

In the study house. [Targum Yonatan rendered,] in the study house. There is a gate in the Temple courtyard, named "the Gate of Hulda" [as stated] in Maseches Midos. Others interpret "במשנה" as "outside the wall/' [i.e.,] between the two walls, which are double [around] the city. (במשנה [i.e.,] she was teaching the Oral Law to the elders of the generation, i.e., the Mishnah. An annotation of Rabbi Akiva.) In the study house. (From, "These are the words," until "before the eyes of all Yisroel," i.e., the Book of Devarim, also known as Misheh Torah, and likewise all the things that are repeated in the Torah, she expounded on in public, and she revealed the punishments and the exiles which were doubled for those who transgress the secrets and the allusions of the Torah. The Secret of Righteousness.)

(25) There was no king like him before who turned back to the LORD with all his heart and soul and might, in full accord with the Teaching of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him. (26) However, the LORD did not turn away from His awesome wrath which had blazed up against Judah because of all the things Manasseh did to vex Him. (27) The LORD said, “I will also banish Judah from My presence as I banished Israel; and I will reject the city of Jerusalem which I chose and the House where I said My name would abide.” (28) The other events of Josiah’s reign, and all his actions, are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Judah. (29) In his days, Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, marched against the king of Assyria to the River Euphrates; King Josiah marched toward him, but when he confronted him at Megiddo, [Pharaoh Neco] slew him. (30) His servants conveyed his body in a chariot from Megiddo to Jerusalem, and they buried him in his tomb. Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz; they anointed him and made him king in place of his father.

[A house in] Jerusalem cannot contract ritual impurity of leprous marks. Nor can it be judged as a condemned city. Nor can one build ledges, balconies, or water channels in public spaces, because they create an enclosure for (death and) impurity. Nor may a corpse be left there overnight. Nor may human bones be carried through the city. Nor may a stranger be given permanent residence there. Nor may graves be placed there, except for the graves of members of the House of David or the prophetess Hulda, which have been there from the days of the first prophets. (And when they removed all the graves from the city, why were these not removed?) They say there was a grotto there that would take all the impurities out into the Kedron River.

Rabbi Azariah said: Know thou the efficacy of charity. Come and see from the instance of Shallum, son of Tikvah, who was one of the important men of his generation, giving charity every day. What did he do? He filled the bottle with water, and sat at the entrance of the city, and he would give water to every person who came on the way, restoring his soul to him. On account of the charity which he did, the Holy Spirit rested upon his wife, as it is said, "So Hilkiah the priest… went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, the son of Tikvah" (2 Kings 22:14). Originally his name was "the son of Sachrah"; just as thou dost say, "Merchandise is better than the circulation of money" (Prov. 3:14). One Scripture text || says, "The son of Sachrah." When her husband died, the charitable deeds of her husband ceased [cf. Yalkut Shimoni: "she lacked her husband's deeds of Tzedakah"], and all Israel went forth to show loving-kindness to Shallum, son of Tikvah. But they spied the band, and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha, and he came to life, as it is said, "And as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived" (2 Kings 13:21); and afterwards he begat Haname'el, as it is said, "Behold, Haname'el the son of Shallum your uncle shall come to you." (Jer. 32:7).

Rav Eina the Elder raised an objection from a baraita to Rav Naḥman’s teaching. The baraita indicates that Huldah was in fact a descendant of Rahab, and seemingly not of Joshua: Eight prophets, who were also priests, descended from Rahab the prostitute, and they are: Neriah; his son Baruch; Seraiah; Mahseiah; Jeremiah; his father, Hilkiah; Jeremiah’s cousin Hanamel; and Hanamel’s father, Shallum. Rabbi Yehuda said: So too, Huldah the prophetess was a descendant of Rahab the prostitute, as it is written here with regard to Huldah: “The son of Tikvah,” and it is written elsewhere in reference to Rahab’s escape from the destruction of Jericho: “This cord of [tikvat] scarlet thread” (Joshua 2:18).

“Rashi comments, that even though [this name] is called after her husband, it is written concerning her deeds. And thus one must say the same about 'ben Tikva', further on [in the Gemara]. It appears, that they derive this interpretation, because in every place that a woman's lineage is announced in the name of her husband – for example, 'Yael wife of Hever...' and 'Avigayil wife of Naval the Carmelite,' and many other similar examples as I have explained above – we do not find in these [examples, any case where] the lineage of the man is given after his fathers [i.e., previous generations]. Yet here, the lineage is, 'Hulda the Prophetess, wife of Shallum [ben...] etc. [The text comes to] announce that Shallum is her husband, as it explains there that he was the keeper of the king's wardrobe; but not (as was explained above) that his lineage extends to his fathers at all, 'Shallum ben Tikva ben Harhas.' Therefore we interpret 'Tikva' and 'Harhas' to allude to Hulda, that the text is describing her, as a descendant of Yehoshua and Rahav, as [explained] above.

It does not appear that this could be correct, that she [Hulda] being among the merciful women, would prophecy for him [Yoshiahu] to the good. Could it be that, being merciful, women would change a prophecy from bad to good?! For if he [Yoshiahu] would fear that Yirmiyahu would give him a bad prophecy, then surely she [Hulda] would say the same. Rather, one needs to say, that women are merciful, and [therefore] she will ask for mercy upon them, for [ha-Shem] to change bad into good.

The Gemara asks further: And what is different about the letter tav, that it was inscribed on the foreheads of the righteous? Rav said: Tav is the first letter of the word tiḥye, you shall live, indicating that the righteous shall live. Tav is also the first letter of the word tamut, you shall die, indicating that the wicked shall die. And Shmuel said: The letter tav is the first letter of the word tama, ceased, indicating that the merit of the Patriarchs has ceased and will not help the wicked. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The letter tav is the first letter of the word taḥon, will have mercy, indicating that due to the merit of the Patriarchs God will have mercy on the righteous.