2 Chronicles 34 Part 11

  • 2 Chronicles 34 Part 11

    All of this happened in lieu of the prophesy of the birth of Josiah, and the fulfillment of this prophesy. Despite all of this, Israel was still in trouble, and Josiah knew it. So what did he do? First Josiah sought out a prophetess and then he acted according to the word she gave him, fulfilling prophesy in the process; but he should have paid a bit more attention to some of the prophesies and events surrounding them, because it foreshadowed things to come based on decisions made to obey or go against the will of the Lord.

    2Ch 34:19  And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the law, that he rent his clothes.
    2Ch 34:20  And the king commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Abdon the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king’s, saying,
    2Ch 34:21  Go, enquire of the LORD for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found: for great [is] the wrath of the LORD that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do after all that is written in this book.
    2Ch 34:22  And Hilkiah, and [they] that the king [had appointed], went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college:) and they spake to her to that [effect].

    Huldah = “weasel”
    1) a prophetess in the time of Josiah whom Josiah asked for an authoritative opinion on the book of the law which Hilkiah found.

    Shallum = “retribution”

    Husband of Huldah the prophetess in the reign of king Josiah of Judah. Maybe the  uncle of Jeremiah the prophet.

    Tikvath or Tikvah = “hope”

    Father of Shallum, the husband of the prophetess Huldah in the time of king Josiah of Judah

    Hasrah = “lack”

    Grandfather of Shallum who was the husband of Huldah, the prophetess; also spelled ‘Harhas’

    You know, Huldah’s name meaning was troubling to me. I mean I had to wonder, did her parents realize…did they know they were naming her after an animal that does not have a necessarily favorable reputation?

    I mean, its a wonder these days, what people name their children. They cough up the most ludicrous names simply because they themselves are seeking an identity, but they don’t realize the identity they are sometimes subjecting their children to. There is power in a name.

    So I was quite puzzled. Why did the parents of this prophetess name her “weasel?” By today’s standards, that makes absolutely no sense, because a weasel by today’s standards often refers to a sly or underhanded person.

    Considering that I’m talking about a prophetess of God, this is somewhat disserting because we are talking about a person that is representing Him. However, in those days the reference was actually to the animal, which actually is a small carnivorous animal with a long body and tail, short legs, and brown fur that in northern species may turn white in winter. It comes from the genus Mustela.

    When I went to look up the weasel to see what scripture had to say about them, this one scripture is all I found.

    Lev 11:29    These also [shall be] unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind,

    It took me a few minutes, but suddenly it became clear to me. They were lead to a prophetess whose name represented an animal that is considered to be unclean. So they went to see “unclean,” the wife of “retribution,” the son of “lack of hope.” It was, in essence, a proclamation of the state of the nation of Israel. This is the only time we see mention of this prophetess in scripture, so apparently, she fulfilled her calling in the prophesy she gave to them.