Huldah is a prophet in Jewish folklore, from Jerusalem. Huldah is a human prophetess in the Hebrew Bible, consulted by priests and royal officials in Jerusalem during the reign of King Josiah and credited in the biblical account with delivering an oracle concerning a rediscovered book of the Law.
The primary narrative places Huldah in Jerusalem during the reign of King Josiah when temple renovations produced a discovered "book of the Law." Hilkiah the priest and several royal officials were sent to inquire of the Lord and went to Huldah, described as the wife of Shallum and resident of the Second Quarter (ba-mišneh) of Jerusalem. In the canonical account (summarized from 2 Kings 22 and 2 Chronicles 34) she delivered an oracle pronouncing disaster on the nation for past disobedience while assuring the king personally that he would die in peace. Rabbinic traditions expand her role by depicting her as teaching publicly (Targum to 2 Kings 22:14) and as a principal female prophetic figure alongside Deborah and Miriam; later post-biblical traditions disagree about her burial site (Tosefta: buried between Jerusalem's walls; a medieval tradition: tomb in a Mount of Olives cave).
The biblical and early reference material provide no physical description of Huldah. The textual record identifies her socially and residentially: she is named as the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah and as living in Jerusalem's "second" quarter (ba-mišneh, often translated "the New Quarter" or "the college"). Secondary and rabbinic sources reiterate these social markers but do not offer bodily or facial details; thus no reliable physical appearance is attested in the provided materials.
Sources attribute to Huldah the human religious functions of delivering oracles on behalf of Yahweh, teaching publicly, and acting as an authoritative interlocutor for priests and royal envoys. In the biblical episode she proclaims God's judgment concerning the discovered book of the Law and gives a personal assurance to King Josiah. Modern scholars cited in the collected materials credit her, within the narrative, with affirming the status of the found text (William E. Phipps' claim that she was the first person recorded to declare certain writings to be Holy Scripture). Rabbinic literature highlights her direct manner with royal messengers and her role addressing women in prophetic admonition.
Aaron
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Abaddon
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Abadir
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Abadiu of Antinoe
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Abagtha
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Abanoub
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Abaskhiron the Soldier
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Abdel Messih El-Makari
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Abdiel
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Abel
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Abiathar
Abiathar (Hebrew: אֶבְיָתָר, ʾEḇyāṯār) is a named human priestly figure in the Hebrew Bible. He is presented as a survivor of the Nob massacre who fled to David with priestly regalia, served as a priest and counselor in David's court, and was later deposed and sent to Anathoth by Solomon for supporting Adonijah.
Abib and Apollo
Abib and Apollo are Christian ascetics and hagiographic saints of Akhmim (Upper Egypt) attested in Coptic sources and the Historia Monachorum. Remembered for extreme asceticism, monastic leadership, angelic encounters, and inclusion in the Coptic Synaxarion (feast day November 4).
Community Record
- [1]Huldah — Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 'Huldah' (summary of biblical and rabbinic attestations, etymology, and traditions).wiki
- [2]Huldah Gates — Wikipedia. Wikipedia article on the Huldah Gates (notes on etymology and place-name associations).wiki
- [3]Huldah - Biblical Cyclopedia. Biblical Cyclopedia entry (etymological notes and traditional material).other
- [4]The amazing name Huldah: meaning and etymology. Abarim Publications (etymological discussion of the name Huldah and lexical variants).other
- [5]Working Women of the Bible: Timeless Mentors for Modern Women (archive). Modern devotional/scholarly treatment discussing Huldah's reception and significance for female religious leadership.other
- [6]Huldah Who (Clarkson Institute article). Short essay summarizing Huldah's biblical episode and later traditions.other