Who Was Huldah The Prophetess In The Bible?

The Bible mentions the names of hundreds of people, many of whom are integral to a lot of important stories within the religious text. These names often come up in relation to a major or significant tale. Such people at the center of these stories were prophets, or in this particular case, a prophetess. They played a role in spreading God's word and being a messenger.

A woman named Huldah was one of a handful of prophetesses named in the Bible. Apparently, she is the woman credited with today's Torah — the Hebrew Bible — and teaching it, per My Jewish Learning. She is also the main person who confirmed that Israel was going to face the wrath of God due to the man above's disappointment in them disobeying his wills and worshiping other Gods before him. It was through the finding of an old Torah by King Josiah's men that led them to seek out Huldah for answers on this apparent forthcoming judgment awaiting Israel. She was a known prophetess to many at the time.

Huldah the prophetess confirms doom

So some of the king's men went to Huldah the prophetess to ensure the validity of the claims they read in the book, which basically stated that disaster was in store for Israel in their failure to follow God. Huldah would then reiterate to them that what was discovered in the old Torah was indeed true, and tragedy was set for Israel. The story is told in the Old Testament, in 2 Kings chapter 22, verses 14 to 20 (via Bible Gateway). After learning of this daunting news, they returned to King Josiah.

Huldah is mostly discussed in this section of the Bible. She lived in the New Quarter area of Jerusalem and was married to a man named Shallum, who's grandfather worked under King Josiah as the keeper of wardrobe. Huldah is one of just seven prophetesses mentioned in the Bible, and one of the three mentioned in the Old Testament, per Douglas Jacoby.