What Does 2 Kings 22:14 Mean?
So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the garments. Now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the second quarter. And they spoke to her.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college;) and they communed with her.THE KEY
The word becomes an encounter: those carrying the question must speak with the woman whose prophetic voice can open it.
THE MEANING
When a text or question feels closed, meaning can open through a living exchange with someone able to voice what is hidden. That authority can rest in a woman: the men speak with Huldah, named as a prophetess.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Possessing the text or holding office automatically means possessing its full understanding.
THE ROOT
וַיְדַבְּרוּ
vayedabberu
GROWS FROM
דבר
Speak, utter; the related noun also means word or matter.
“spoke to her” in this verse is vayedabberu. The Hebrew says they spoke with her. English “communed” can suggest inward reflection, but this verb places understanding in an exchange. The same root holds both the act of speaking and the word being spoken.
ALSO GROWS
davar: Word, matter, thing.
דָּבָר
The word and the speaking belong to one family: what is understood becomes present in what is said.
dibber: Spoke, uttered.
דִּבֵּר
This is the verb’s speaking branch, showing that their meeting with Huldah is direct conversation.
הַנְּבִיאָה
hannevi’ah
GROWS FROM
נבא
Prophesy; speak as a prophet.
“prophetess” in this verse is hannevi’ah. The Hebrew title belongs to the same root family as the act of prophesying. Huldah is identified by a speaking vocation, so the conversation engages a living prophetic voice, not simply a title.
ALSO GROWS
navi: Prophet, one who speaks a prophetic message.
נָבִיא
This is the masculine form from the same root family; the shared seed names the prophetic role.
nibbe: Prophesied; spoke as a prophet.
נִבֵּא
The verb shows the action carried by the title: prophecy is voiced.
THE PATTERN
Scripture names women as bearers of prophetic speech.
And Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, she judged Israel in that season.This same man had four daughters, virgins, who prophesied.THE THREAD
Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,The Hebrew word davar (דָּבָר, “word” or “matter”) comes from the same root as “they spoke” in this verse. The shared root ties the spoken exchange to the word itself: revelation is voiced, not merely held.
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