The historical record of the name Harhas (sometimes rendered as Hasrah) brings us into the intimate chambers of the royal household of Judah during one of its most pivotal spiritual awakenings. In a day when the Law had been long forgotten and the “Ancient Paths” were buried under the idolatry of previous generations, Harhas stood as a keeper of the king’s dignity and a witness to the prophetic word.
Harhas, the Keeper of the Wardrobe
Harhas served during the reign of the righteous King Josiah. He held the significant office of “keeper of the wardrobe,” a position that placed him in charge of the royal vestments or perhaps the priestly garments used in the service of the Lord. He was a man of the lineage of Tikvah and the grandson of himself or his predecessor, representing a line of steady service within the palace.
As it is written:
“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” (2 Kings 22:14).
While Harhas’s own hands were occupied with the physical garments of the kingdom, his household was a vessel for the spiritual “clothing” of the nation. He was the grandfather of Shallum, the husband of Huldah the prophetess. When the Book of the Law was found in the temple and King Josiah rent his clothes in grief and conviction, the royal officials sought out the house of Harhas to hear a word from the Living God.
Harhas represents the supportive strength of the faithful. He was a man who maintained the order and decorum of the king’s house, providing the stability that allowed his family to become a spiritual lighthouse in a dark time. He understood that the defense of the truth requires those who attend to the “locks and bars” and the “wardrobes” of the kingdom just as much as it requires the voices of the prophets. His legacy is etched in the fact that when the King needed the Truth, he turned to the household that Harhas had built.