2 Kings 22:15

2Ki 22:15 And she said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell the man that sent you to me,

Ver. 15. Tell the man.] Kings had need to be told that they are but men. Remember that thou art but a man, said the boy to king Philip: and Agnosco me esse mortalem, I acknowledge myself a mortal, said Charles V, emperor. Huldah here speaketh from God, with whom there is no respect of persons.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Ki 22:15-16. Tell the man that sent you — She uses no compliments. Even kings, though gods to us, are men to God, and shall be so dealt with: for with him there is no respect of persons. Thus saith the Lord, I will bring evil upon this place, &c. — She lets him know, both what judgments God had in store for Judah and Jerusalem, and what mercy was laid up for him. Even all the words — According to all the words, of the book — All the plagues threatened in Deuteronomy 28., and in other places. The Scriptures must be fulfilled. They that will not be bound by the precept, shall be bound by the penalty. And God will be found no less terrible to the ungodly, than his word makes him to be. Take warning in time, O impenitent sinner! whosoever thou art.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The reply of Huldah the prophetess. - Huldah confirmed the fear expressed by Josiah, that the wrath of the Lord was kindled against Jerusalem and its inhabitants on account of their idolatry, and proclaimed first of all (Kg2 22:16, Kg2 22:17), that the Lord would bring upon Jerusalem and its inhabitants all the punishments with which the rebellious and idolaters are threatened in the book of the law; and secondly (Kg2 22:18-20), to the king himself, that on account of his sincere repentance and humiliation in the sight of God, he would not live to see the predicted calamities, but would be gathered to his fathers in peace. The first part of her announcement applies "to the man who has sent you to me" (Kg2 22:15), the second "to the king of Judah, who has sent to inquire of the Lord" (Kg2 22:18). "The man" who had sent to her was indeed also the king; but Huldah intentionally made use of the general expression "the man," etc., to indicate that the word announced to him applied not merely to the king, but to every one who would hearken to the word, whereas the second portion of her reply had reference to the king alone. הזּה המּקום, in Kg2 22:16, Kg2 22:19, and Kg2 22:20, is Jerusalem as the capital of the kingdom. In Kg2 22:16, הסּפר כּל־דּברי is an explanatory apposition to רעה. Kg2 22:17. "With all the work of their hands," i.e., with the idols which they have made for themselves (cf. Kg1 16:7). The last clause in Kg2 22:18, "the words which thou hast heard," is not to be connected with the preceding one, "thus saith the Lord," and על or ל to be supplied; but it belongs to the following sentence, and is placed at the head absolutely: as for the words, which thou hast heart - because thy heart has become soft, i.e., in despair at the punishment with which the sinners are threatened (cf. Deu 20:3; Isa 7:4), and thou hast humbled thyself, when thou didst hear, etc.; therefore, behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, etc. לשׁמּה להיות, "that they (the city and inhabitants) may become a desolation and curse." These words, which are often used by the prophets, but which are not found connected like this except in Jer 44:22, rest upon Lev 26 and Deut 28, and show that these passages had been read to the king out of the book of the law.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

22:15-17 The Lord . . . has spoken! Like Miriam (Exod 15:20) and Deborah (Judg 4:4), Huldah had the privilege of proclaiming God’s will to the people. Huldah confirmed Josiah’s fears that God would bring disaster on Jerusalem because of the people’s unfaithfulness and many sins.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

she said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Tell the man that sent you to me--On being consulted, she delivered an oracular response in which judgment was blended with mercy; for it announced the impending calamities that at no distant period were to overtake the city and its inhabitants. But at the same time the king was consoled with an assurance that this season of punishment and sorrow should not be during his lifetime, on account of the faith, penitence, and pious zeal for the divine glory and worship which, in his public capacity and with his royal influence, he had displayed.

Next: 2 Kings Chapter 23

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

15. Tell [R.V. adds ye] the man that sent you to [R.V. unto] me] At first she places king and people all on one level and denounces the woes that shall surely come upon the nation for their sins, on all alike.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And she said unto them,.... The king's messengers:

thus saith the Lord God of Israel; being immediately inspired by him, she spake in his name, as prophets did:

tell the man that sent you to me; which may seem somewhat rude and unmannerly to say of a king; but when it is considered she spake not of herself, but representing the King of kings and Lord of lords, it will be seen and judged of in another light.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

15. Tell the man that sent you — 2Ki_22:16-17 contain a prophecy of which every Israelite should be informed, and are communicated to the king as the representative of every man of his kingdom; 2Ki_22:18-20 are particularly for the king alone.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 15-20. The prophecy of Huldah. The word of the Lord comes to Huldah with the arrival of the messengers, or perhaps previous to it, and she is at once ready with her reply. It divides itself into two parts. In vers. 15-17 the inquiry made is answered answered affirmatively, "Yes, the fiat is gone forth; it is too late to avert the sentence; the anger of the Lord is kindled, and shall not be quenched." After this, in vers. 18-20, a special message is sent to the king, granting him an arrest of judgment, on account of his self-humiliation and abasement. "Because his heart was tender, and he had humbled himself before Jehovah, the evil should not happen in his day.

And she said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel. Huldah is the only example of a prophetess in Israel, who seems to rank on the same footing with the prophets. Miriam, (Exo_15:20) Deborah, (Jud_1:4:4) Isaiah s wife, (Isa_8:2) and Anna (Luk_2:36) are called "prophetesses," but in a secondary sense, as holy women, having a certain gift of song or prediction from God. Huldah has the full prophetic afflatus, and delivers God"s oracles, just as Isaiah and Jeremiah do. The case is a remarkable exception to the general rule that women should "keel) silence in the Churches." Tell the man that sent you to me. The contrast between this unceremonious phrase and that used in ver. 18 is best explained by Thenius, who says, "In the first part Huldah has only the subject-matter in mind, while in ver. 18, in the quieter flow of her words, she takes notice of the state of mind of the particular person who sent to make the inquiry."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The man - She uses no compliments. Tell the man that sent you - Even kings, though gods to us, are men to God, and shall be so dealt with: for with him there is no respect of persons.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.