Huldah

HULDAH (Heb. חֻלְדָּה; "weasel"), wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the "wardrobe keeper" of the king; one of the five women in the Bible referred to as nevi'ah, "female prophet") and the only woman prophet in the book of Kings (II Kings 22:14–20). She was consulted by *Josiah when he sent to "inquire of the Lord" concerning the Book of the Law discovered during the restoration of the Temple. She prophesied God's ultimate judgment upon the nation. However, this judgment was to be postponed until after Josiah's peaceful death because of the king's acts of repentance. Inasmuch as Josiah's death was not peaceful hers may be a genuine predictive prophecy. Most of her prophecy is molded by the authors of the Book of Kings in Deuteronomistic style. It is of interest that women prophets are well-attested in roughly contemporary Neo-Assyrian sources.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.