14 So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the second quarter); and they talked with her.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
Went unto Huldah - It might have been expected that the royal commissioners would have gone to Jeremiah, on whom the prophetic spirit had descended in Josiah's 13th year Jeremiah 1:2, or five years previous to the finding of the Law. Perhaps he was at some distance from Jerusalem at the time; or his office may not yet have been fully recognized.
The prophetess - Compare the cases of Miriam Exodus 15:20; Numbers 12:2 and Deborah Judges 4:4.
Keeper of the wardrobe - literally, "of the robes." Shallum had the superintendence, either of the vestments of the priests who served in the temple, or of the royal robe-room in which dresses of honor were stored, in case of their being needed for presents (see 2-Kings 5:5 note).
In the college - The marginal translation "in the second part" is preferable; and probably refers to the new or outer city - that which had been enclosed by the wall of Manasseh, to the north of the old city 2-Chronicles 33:14.
Went unto Huldah the prophetess - This is a most singular circumstance: At this time Jeremiah was certainly a prophet in Israel, but it is likely he now dwelt at Anathoth and could not be readily consulted; Zephaniah also prophesied under this reign, but probably he had not yet begun; Hilkiah was high priest, and the priest's lips should retain knowledge. Shaphan was scribe, and must have been conversant in sacred affairs to have been at all fit for his office; and yet Huldah, a prophetess, of whom we know nothing but by this circumstance, is consulted on the meaning of the book of the law; for the secret of the Lord was neither with Hilkiah the high priest, Shaphan the scribe, nor any other of the servants of the king, or ministers of the temple! We find from this, and we have many facts in all ages to corroborate it, that a pontiff, a pope, a bishop, or a priest, may, in some cases, not possess the true knowledge of God; and that a simple woman, possessing the life of God in her soul, may have more knowledge of the Divine testimonies than many of those whose office it is to explain and enforce them.
On this subject Dr. Priestley in his note makes the following very judicious remark: -
"It pleased God to distinguish several women with the spirit of prophecy, as well as other great attainments, to show that in his sight, and especially in things of a spiritual nature, there is no essential pre-eminence in the male sex, though in some things the female be subject to the male."
So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the (g) college;) and they communed with her.
(g) Or the house of doctrine, which was near the temple, and where the learned assembled to search the scriptures and the doctrine of the prophets.
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 (n), was a Chaldean or a Persian; and some say an Hebrew; and Pausanias expressly says (o), 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 (p) 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 (q), 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.
(n) In voce (o) Phocica, sive, l. 10. p. 631. (p) Var. Hist. l. 12. c. 35. (q) Misn. Middot, c. 1. sect. 3.
Achbor--or Abdon (2-Chronicles 34:20), a man of influence at court (Jeremiah 26:22). The occasion was urgent, and therefore they were sent--not to Zephaniah (Zephaniah 1:1), who was perhaps young--nor to Jeremiah, who was probably absent at his house in Anathoth, but to one who was at hand and known for her prophetic gifts--to Huldah, who was probably at this time a widow. Her husband Shallum was grandson of one Harhas, "keeper of the wardrobe." If this means the priestly wardrobe, [Harhas] must have been a Levite. But it probably refers to the royal wardrobe.
she dwelt . . . in the college--rather, "in the Misnah," taking the original word as a proper name, not a school or college, but a particular suburb of Jerusalem. She was held in such veneration that Jewish writers say she and Jehoiada the priest were the only persons not of the house of David (2-Chronicles 24:15-16) who were ever buried in Jerusalem.
Nothing further is known of the prophetess Huldah than what is mentioned here. All that we can infer from the fact that the king sent to her is, that she was highly distinguished on account of her prophetical gifts, and that none of the prophets of renown, such as Jeremiah and Zephaniah, were at that time in Jerusalem. Her father Shallum was keeper of the clothes, i.e., superintendent over either the priests' dresses that were kept in the temple (according to the Rabbins and Wits. de proph. in his Miscell. ss. i. p. 356, ed. 3), or the king's wardrobe. The names of his ancestors תּקוה and הרחס are written תּוקהת and חסרה in the Chronicles. Huldah lived at Jerusalem בּמּשׁנה, "in the second part" or district of the city, i.e., in the lower city, upon the hill Ἄκρα (Rob. Pal. i. p. 391), which is called המּשׁנה in Zephaniah 1:10, and משׁנה העיר in Nehemiah 11:9, and ἄλλη πόλις in Joseph. Ant. xv. 11, 5.
Huldah - The king's earnest affection required great haste; and she was in Jerusalem, which is therefore noted in the following part of the verse, when Jeremiah might at this time be at Anathoth, or in some more remote part of the kingdom; and the like may be said of Zephaniah, who also might not be a prophet at this time, though he was afterward, in the days of Josiah. College - Where the sons of the prophets, or others, who devoted themselves to the study of God's word, used to meet and discourse of the things of God, and receive the instructions of their teachers.
*More commentary available at chapter level.