It might strike theological conservatives as frustrating or outright offensive, but Biblical law permits prophetesses, and narratives of the Bible give multiple examples of them. There are two ways that a text can condemn something: it can either directly call it immoral or say it should not be done, or it can prescribe something which would logically necessitate that an alternative is immoral. The Bible does neither with female prophets, or prophetesses, not even in the Mosaic Law some people seem to assume is thoroughly hostile towards women, among other things, in positions of spiritual, familial, or workplace leadership. Of fucking course prophetess are Biblically valid. The Bible does not teach that moral obligations beyond those having to do with actual anatomy like male circumcision, not behaviors that people with any genitalia can do, are just for men or women.
Deuteronomy 13:1-5 and 18:14-22, for instance, condemn prophecy in the name of other gods and false prophecy in the name of Yahweh (both are capital offenses), but not prophetesses. In fact, Deuteronomy 13:6-10 exemplifies how male language like "he" can refer to both genders since men and women are introduced and then referenced in these verses with male wording in some translations, like the KJV, NKJV, NASB. Compare this to the KJV translation of Deuteronomy 13:5; male wording is irrelevant to whether prophets must be men. Many other passages like Exodus 21:20-21, 21:26-27, Leviticus 13:29-39, and Numbers 5:5-7 do the same thing as Deuteronomy 13:6-10, often with perpetrators or victims of some sin among both genders. Miscellaneous passage would thus be using male language when all people are in view if nothing about the context requires that it is referring to literal men. As if the obviously egalitarian proclamation of Genesis 1:26-27 (and 5:1-2) and the absence of a prohibition of female prophets are not already enough to demonstrate already that prophetesses would of course be Biblically permitted and valid, Deuteronomy 4:2 and 12:32 say not to add to God's commands.
Men and women bear God's image; men and women can sin in the same ways, and men and women can grasp reason and serve God and righteousness, either by carrying out the obligations all people have or by becoming special representatives of Yahweh. There are specific examples of prophetesses in the Bible, despite examples of such a thing being unnecessary to establish that the Bible does not condemn them. In Exodus 15:20, Miriam, the sister of Moses, is called a prophetess--or prophet depending on the translation; again, male wording does not necessarily refer to just men and in many cases could not. This is in the allegedly misogynistic Torah! Now, I already addressed how Mosaic Law, by far the most central and thorough of all the Biblical moral revelation, says absolutely nothing against female prophets. It is just that the Torah affirms them in this way as well.
Deborah of Judges 4 is called a prophetess, and she leads the whole of Israel, acting as a judge in the days before the Jewish monarchy. Barak, a man, insists that he will only go on the military operation she prescribes on God's behalf if she goes with him (Judges 4:4-8). Nothing about this contradicts the explicit, literal teachings and words of the Torah. There is also Huldah of 2 Kings 22 and 2 Chronicles 34. King Josiah has just found the book of the law, a clear reference to some portion of Mosaic Law, and laments how the people have not upheld it. He tasks several people with inquiring of God about the book, since Josiah says that God's anger with the people is great, and they go to Huldah the prophetess. Now, people can be hypocrites, but there is no hypocrisy in Josiah's reliance on the prophetess Huldah and his simultaneous devotion to Mosaic Law. Her actions are not immoral because she speaks truthfully and her gender is not an affront to the deity who made both men and women equal in their humanity and thus metaphysical value, intellectual capacity, and moral rights and obligations!
Without listing the other prophetesses of the Bible, I want to touch on how Luke 2:36-38 mentions Anna, the prophetess who sees Jesus as a child and celebrates him. This prophetess interacted with the young Jesus and spoke with listeners about his role in the "redemption of Jerusalem". After the resurrection and ascension of Christ, Peter quotes Joel 2:28-29 in Acts 2:14-18, which predicts a particular era in which sons and daughters would prophesy, and in which God would pour out his spirit on his servants, male and female. It is not as if he forbade such a thing beforehand, though. God does not change (Malachi 3:6, James 1:17), and thus the obligations rooted in his nature do not change. Men and women are not in error for prophesying when both can perform the same task! This was never opposed in the Torah's detailed moral commands where some might expect prophetesses to be dismissed.
Logic, people. It is very fucking helpful.
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