The Most Powerful Female Prophet Recorded In The Bible That Most People Do Not Know About

The Most Powerful Female Prophet Recorded In The Bible Who Also Had A Gate In Jerusalem Named After Her

There are lots of people who are now entitled to the title of “prophet or prophetess”. Like the Bible says, God has indeed poured out his spirit on our generation. However, there was a time when having a prophet wasn’t exactly something an entire nation could take for granted, they simply came once in a very long time and they often came in succession. For there to be a prophet or prophetess in the biblical times, there must have been the process of passing of his or her predecessor. Technically, Elisha had the mandate of a prophet but he couldn’t become one until the passing of Elijah.

It would seem that in the old world (biblical times) it was virtually impossible or a rare phenomenon to have two Prophets in the same Era. However rare this is, it is not as rare as having a female prophet. There are over 40 male great Prophets known to us but we rarely hear of female Prophets. They existed, they were perhaps as effective as the male Prophets but they were rarely spoken of. The popular ones are known to us due to the fact they influenced great events but there are some who were extremely powerful, famous and well respected but even with their fame, they were not as spoken of as the Bible speaks of male Prophets.

Some of these female Prophets are without background stories in the Bible, they are simply mentioned briefly for their participation in the events that unfolded in that particular passage. However, if one pay attention to details, it will become obvious that these women were indeed very great they just didn’t make the biblical books. Perhaps because the writers of the Bible had an idea of what should be written in the Bible. I mean we all know that there was a time when women were not even allowed to speak in the temple so it would have been counter productive to write about a woman who you have denied access to teach in the temple.

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Now, consider all these and imagine that at some point there was one particular female prophet who was allowed to teach, she was allowed to speak and counsel kings, she was respected by priests and men of great status. Wouldn’t that make her one of the most known, most powerful and most recognized prophet of the biblical Prophets. I understand that you would think that the most recognized female prophet should be one who is the most spoken of in our time but the most recognized female prophet in my opinion is one who have been given privileges that others couldn’t get.

You are probably wondering who this person is and why she is so recognized? Well, I am talking about Huldah. Though she only appeared in a couple of verses but if you properly examine these verses, you will see that she was a woman who was respected even by the king. Being respected to this extent as a female prophet was quite rare especially if you were around when a famous male prophet was also around. I mean Huldah lived at the same time Jeremiah was around and she was still able to make her mark.

Let’s talk about Huldah

Huldah was a prophet who briefly appeared in the book of 2 Kings 22:14-20 and in 2 Chronicles 34:22-28. Huldah is one of the seven Jewish prophetess and a very powerful and recognized one. Along with the likes of prophetess like Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail and Esther, Huldah was a chosen woman who knew God and heard his voice. 

Huldah’s story unfolded when the king’s men got the information that a book was discovered in the temple of Solomon whilst renovation was going on. On the order of King Josiah, men from the council of the kings went to Huldah to help determine what the Lord’s opinion on their discovery was. 

This means that Huldah was known by the king and was respected enough to have her opinion and ideas carry such weight. 

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There isnt much about the background of Huldah nor is there detail on how she became a prophet but the very few details that the Bible points to is the fact that she was the wife of Shallum, son of Tokhath, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in the second quarter or second district in Jerusalem. 

Now you must have been wondering why I refer to Huldah as the most powerful prophetess: is it because she had a gate on the mount of Jerusalem Named after her? Or because she counseled kings and had such effects on the Jewish people, even priests? Well, these are just contributing factors. What really made me call her a powerful prophet or should I say one of the most powerful is the fact that she is referred to as a principal professed woman prophet in the Nev’im, well this is according to the Rabbinic interpretation. Deborah was also referred to with the same title, she was the “honeybee” and Huldah, the “weasel”. 

“The Huldah Gates in the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount are named for her.”

Huldah’s story in the bible:

2 Kings 22 :

“He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Akbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant: “Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.”

Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan and Asaiah went to speak to the prophet Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter.

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She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people, according to everything written in the book the king of Judah has read.” (2 Kings Chapter 22)

After her encounter with the Kings men, in which she authenticated the book and prophesied a future destruction if the people and the king especially, refuse to obey the content of the book, Huldah went on to assure the king that God has heard his prayer and has rewarded his piety. She assured him that his eyes will not see all the evil which shall befall Israel. 

Of all the books in the Bible, the ones known as the book of law, it is pretty hard to determine which one was found in the temple of Solomon according to the story of Huldah but it does reminds us that Huldah is the first person to declare certain writings to be holy scripture. In my opinion, that makes her a very important figure. She was the very first to affrim that certain writing is scriptural. 

In a way, Huldah is testimony to the fact that you don’t have to appear a lot to make a difference. I mean she only appears in the Hebrew Bible in nine verses (2 kings 22:13–20 and 2 Chronicles 34:22–28). However short her appearance is, it is clear that she was indeed respected and famous among the Jewish people. Reading her story, one would see that she was accustomed to speaking the word of God directly to high priests and royal officials. High officials came to her in supplication and she was used to telling the entire nation and kings their fates. Sadly, the Bible does not give us much information on her background. We know more about her husband’s background than we know of hers. 

I am VT. Ahonsi

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