Hulda told King Josiah to refuse Pharaoh’s request to cross Israel to fight other enemies; this led to the King’s death. I also read, I don’t remember where, that she advised Gedaliah not to worry about an assassination threat. According to Maimonides’ criteria for judging the validity of a prophet, these two major pieces of advice, both of which led to disaster, would seem to disqualify Hulda. Yet she is clearly recognized as a prophet. I don’t understand, and hope you can clarify this.
My pleasure! Hulda is not only a prophet, but one of the greatest of the prophets. Thus, yours is really a great question with a surprising answer (but the nature of the surprise may surprise you:).
You described this incident from the Book of Kings as I also thought I recalled it. According to how we both remembered, your question would be very hard to answer.
Good thing both of our memories were wrong. The incident described in II Kings, chapters 22-23, doesn’t say at all that Hulda told Josiah to refuse Pharaoh’s request.
Briefly, the actual Torah account reveals that at the beginning of Josiah’s reign, a rare Torah scroll was found hidden in the Holy Temple (Temple in Jerusalem), rolled to the passage of terrible curses which G-d had warned would come upon the Jewish People if they were not loyal to the Torah (Deuteronomy, Ki Savo). This ominous discovery stunned Josiah and the entire nation.
Josiah decided to send a delegation to the prophetess, Hulda, to inquire what this sign meant. It was Josiah’s choice to inquire of Hulda specifically, since women are more naturally compassionate on average than men (Talmud, Megilla 14b). Hulda could therefore be expected to plead for mercy before G-d more passionately, while in her prophetic state, if her vision appeared foreboding. Unfortunately, Hulda’s prophecy was terribly negative and she was not successful in beseeching G-d to soften it. She reported that this omen meant G-d was certainly going to destroy the Holy Temple because of the transgressions of the Jewish People. The only (semi-) good news to Josiah was that G-d would spare him from witnessing it personally, as Josiah would die before the destruction.
Twenty three years passed before Josiah mistakenly refused Egypt’s request to pass through the Land of Israel, instigating his own death in battle. Josiah, in his love and hope for the Jewish People, could not imagine they weren’t worthy of G-d’s protection against Pharaoh Necho’s trespass, tragically not seeking outside advice regarding his decision.
Of course, Hulda’s earlier prophecy turned out all too tragically true. The Holy Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians less than 23 years later.
The only slightly confusing part of this catastrophic account is that a simple reading of Hulda’s prophecy implies that Josiah would die peacefully (II Kings 22:15-20). The Talmud, however, explains the more precise reading: Josiah would die while there would still be Shalom in Israel, for the Holy Temple would still be standing (Moed Katan 28b).
When I wrote above that this answer is surprising, I meant it’s both surprising and revealing how so many forceful questions fade away when we go back and make sure that our simple reading or recollection of the text is truly accurate.
Don’t feel bad, though. I did indeed once see an English Torah essay describing events as you did (thus, I assume you’ve read that essay also), but I can find no sources supporting that account, while every source I have found (including the words in Tanach [Bible] themselves) presents the story exactly as described here.
Lastly, I’m not aware of any sources suggesting that Gedaliah sought or heeded Hulda’s advice in his tragically mistaken decision not to be wary of an assassination threat (recorded in Jeremiah 40-41). I’m not even sure if Hulda was still alive then. If you’re aware of specific sources, please let me know so we can examine them together.
Until then, take care and keep learning and asking questions!
Shlomo Shulman