Chuldah: A Woman of Vision, Prayer and Prophecy

Chuldah is one of the seven neviot, one of the seven prophetesses. Though her story may be lesser known, her prophecy in many ways depicts the modest greatness and historic impact of female leadership.

Chuldah lived during the reign of King Yoshiyahu and her prophecy was granted at the same time as that of Yirmiyahu and Tzefania. Rebbetzin Shira Smiles¹ compares the three righteous prophets Yirmiyahu, Tzefania and Chuldah to the three leaders who upheld the nation at its conception, namely, Moshe, Aharon and Miriam. Like Moshe, Aharon and Miriam, each of the three prophets impacted the nation in a different way. The Midrash² tells us that Yirmiyahu prophesied in the streets of Yerushalayim, Tzefania in the shuls and Chuldah in her school for women in Yerushalayim. We know that a group of three forms a chazaka, as the pasuk³ says “a three-stranded cord will not easily be broken.” Chuldah was one of the three outstanding figures of the time who upheld the nation, like a tripod held up by its three legs.

Chuldah was careful in matters of tzniut and when she taught, she sat by the gate so that it would not be considered yichud⁴. The Midrash tells us that she specifically taught women’s Torah to women. Chuldah’s husband, too, was righteous and was in charge of the king’s wardrobe in the palace. Privately, he used to provide water for those who were oleh regel to Yerushalayim and for this alone, he deserved to merit prophecy. However, as we will explore, there was a specific need for female prophecy so his wife received it in his stead⁵. Chuldah was a descendant of Yehoshua, the righteous leader of the people following Moshe. King Yoshiyahu, the king of the time, was only 16 when he was crowned and Chuldah and her husband Shallum were involved in his care in his early years. 

King Yoshiyahu was a righteous king who followed in the path of his great-grandfather, King Chizkiyahu. Unfortunately, King Chizkiyahu’s son and grandson, Kings Menashe and Amon led the people astray and they turned to idolatry. Thus, at the time of King Yoshiyahu, the nation was spiritually drowning in idolatry. King Yoshiyahu worked hard to inspire the people to return to Hashem and eventually, in his 18th year of reign, he appointed Chilkiyahu (Kohen Gadol) in charge of restoring the Beit Hamikdash. 

Physically, this work was necessary as it had been neglected for so many years. Yet, it also symbolised a general spiritual rededication and revival for the nation, in which Chuldah played a prominent role. The people were emotionally invested once more in Torah and mitzvot, generously contributing money towards repairs for the Beit Hamikdash. During the time of cleaning the Beit Hamikdash, a Torah scroll was found. Since the times of King Achaz, who had burned a Sefer Torah, the Kohanim of the time had hidden it in the safe confines of the Mikdash. It is widely held that this Torah scroll dated back to the times of Moshe Rabbeinu. 

Chuldah is a multifaceted character in Tanach. She is a soft, feminine voice, breaking harsh news in gentle tones. She is a strong anchor of an entire period of Jewish history, deeply involved in physical and spiritual matters of the kingdom. She is a lover of the Jewish people, praying desperately to spare their fate. She is a powerful leader, inspiring an entire nation to leave their sinful idolatrous ways. She has access to the hidden, leading the Aron to be buried underground, protected and preserved. She is a woman who once erred, recalled in her being named after a weasel. Yet, above all, like you and me, she is a woman who understood exile.

The scroll was brought to Shafan the scribe who read from it in front of King Yoshiyahu. In a terrifying twist, the scroll was opened to the words from Devarim containing the tochacha, the frightening words of rebuke to the Jewish people. King Yoshiyahu was thrown into a panic, hearing in these pesukim not by coincidence, but a spiritual warning to him and the Jewish people. He tore his clothing in mourning and worried deeply for the spiritual state of the people. In those days, when such a quandary arose, the King had the luxury of calling upon the most trustworthy, G-dly voice of clarity: a navi. Or, in this case, a nevia: Chuldah.

We may question why the messengers King Yoshiyahu dispatched went to Chuldah at all. If indeed she lived at the time of the great prophet Yirmiyahu, why did they not ask him? We can explain that at the time Yirmiyahu was away. He had left to be mechazeik the spiritual exiles in the land of Ashur, the Jews of the 10 tribes who were exiled by King Shalmaneser from the Northern Kingdom. In his absence, the messengers turned to Chuldah. Yet the Gemara⁶ tells us that women are more merciful than men, and it is for this reason that Chuldah was their first choice. At the brink of spiritual destruction, they needed the compassion so characteristic of Jewish women. They needed a female not just to phrase the difficult prophecy in a palatable way in the manner of Serach who sweetly conveyed “Od Yosef Chai”– for the prophecy cannot be changed by the prophet. Rather, explained the Ben Yehoyada and the Maharsha, the nation desperately needed Chuldah to channel her feminine compassion to pray to overturn the decree. For this, they needed a nevia.

Indeed, Chuldah interpreted these events before the King and revealed that it was indeed a warning to the Jewish people who were sinning before Hashem. Yet, she reassured the King that he would not see the destruction. After hearing the dire prophecy for the nation, King Yoshiyahu reinvigorated the nation’s spirituality once more, a teshuva movement to the credit of Chuldah. Indeed, she was at the helm of their return to Torah and mitzvot and was the spiritual reviver of the nation in many ways. 

Here are Chuldah’s words:

Thus says the L‑rd G‑d of Israel: Tell the man that sent you to me, thus says the L‑rd: ‘I will bring a calamity on this place, and upon its inhabitants—all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read—because they have forsaken Me and have worshipped other gods . . . Therefore My anger shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched.⁷

But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the L‑rd, you shall say: Thus says the L‑rd G‑d of Israel regarding the word which you have heard: Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the L‑rd when you heard what I decreed against this place and against its inhabitants . . . and you rent your clothes and wept before Me—I heard you. Therefore I will gather you unto your fathers, and you will go to your grave in peace; your eyes shall not see all the misfortune which I will bring upon this place.

On a deeper level, Rebbetzin Shira Smiles comments specifically that Chuldah’s prophetic words that the King’s eyes will not witness the destruction contained a hidden instruction. To bury the Torah in a secret hiding place. Indeed, Chuldah’s words later saved the Aron from falling into the hands of the enemy. Chuldah’s name, perhaps an unusual one, means ‘weasel.’ In the words of Rebbetzin Smiles, a weasel is known to ‘ferret and dig in the earth.’ This is a perfect depiction of Chuldah who ensured that the Aron would be dug underground and protected, through her powerful prophecy. Chuldah is however criticised for calling the king ‘the man’ as it says in the pasuk “tell the man that you sent to me, so says Hashem…”⁸ It is possible that this is why her name, somewhat derogatory, means weasel, illustrating the importance of respectful terminology even in someone as great and wise as Chuldah.

We mentioned that Chuldah was a descendant of Yehoshua, the leader and judge who led the nation into the land of Eretz Yisrael. Rebbetzin Smiles expresses beautifully that it is so fitting that Yehoshua who brought the people to the holy land is the ancestor of Chuldah who continued that very same mission. Chuldah ensured that the Jewish people would always retain a ‘hidden, holy connection to the Land.’ Through the Aron, which Rebbetzin Smiles names the hidden hearbeart of the nation, and through the renewed commitment to the ways of the Torah which it contains. 

Chuldah is a multifaceted character in Tanach. She is a soft, feminine voice, breaking harsh news in gentle tones. She is a strong anchor of an entire period of Jewish history, deeply involved in physical and spiritual matters of the kingdom. She is a lover of the Jewish people, praying desperately to spare their fate. She is a powerful leader, inspiring an entire nation to leave their sinful idolatrous ways. She has access to the hidden, leading the Aron to be buried underground, protected and preserved. She is a woman who once erred, recalled in her being named after a weasel. Yet, above all, like you and me, she is a woman who understood exile. She understood the pain of galut; the physical suffering it brings and also the spiritual pain of distance from Hashem. And she understood that the way to survive galut is to hold onto Torah, closely. Let us strive to emulate this lesser-known, but incredibly life-changing woman in our history. 

1. https://mishpacha.com/chuldah-haneviah-heartbeats-of-hope/
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2. Pesikta Rabbati, ch. 26. ↩︎
3. Kohelet 4:12 ↩︎
4. Heard in class, Mrs Pearl Altschuler ↩︎
5. Nissan Mindel,  https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/112503/jewish/Who-Was-Huldah-the-Prophetess ↩︎
6. Megilla 14b ↩︎
7. II Kings 22:15–20. ↩︎
8. II Kings 22:15–20. ↩︎