Shallum’s Daughters: wall builders

Nehemiah 3.12

We are nearing the end of our series of women from the Hebrew bible and today’s women come at the chronological conclusion of the forty posts as the final posts will be going backwards in time to reflect on women who might be able to help us connect with the Easter story.

Today’s women share only one single verse in the bible and seem rather inconsequential compared with the women we’ve been reflecting on recently; yet they were part of something far bigger and therefore deserve a day to themselves.

Shallum son of Hallohesh, ruler of a half-district of Jerusalem, repaired the next section [of the wall] with the help of his daughters.

Nehemiah 3.12

When the Babylonians invaded Judah in c.587BCE (2 Chronicles 36.15-21), they destroyed the city of Jerusalem, including the Temple (built by Solomon) and the city walls. At this point in our story, the Jewish people had been in exile for around 70 years.

The Jews were allowed to return home to Jerusalem by King Cyrus and they were given permission to rebuild the temple (Ezra) and restore their damaged homes. The people were vulnerable to attack as the city walls were damaged and so God called Nehemiah to oversee the restoration. The book of Nehemiah is essentially a historical account of the rebuilding of the city walls:

Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come let us rebuild the wall.  

Nehemiah 2.17

And within the book there is an entire chapter (3) which consists of a long list of names of all those who rebuilt a section of the wall. It’s not the most riveting part of scripture I have to say, but it shows that each and every person named was important and had a role to play:

And so it continues…

The men of Jericho built the adjoining section, and Zakkur son of Imri built next to them. The Fish Gate was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah. They laid its beams and put its doors and bolts and bars in place. 

Nehemiah 3.2

The daughters of Shallum are the only women named in the rebuilding work. I find it intriguing to wonder what their role was. How exactly did they help their father? Perhaps they financed the work, or brought food and drink to the labourers? Or did they do actual hard labour, carrying stones, placing beams, hoisting doors and shovelling rubble?

Whatever their exact role involved, they were part of the working party who finished the wall in only 52 days, enabling the Jewish families to return home (chapter 7) to live and worship in safety.

Reflection and Prayer

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 
But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 
John 2.19-20

The daughters of Shallum helped to build the walls in Jerusalem that were still standing during Jesus’ final journey into Jerusalem. He may even have ridden through the gate they built when he arrived on the colt. Or perhaps he passed their section of the wall when he was being dragged towards the cross on his final journey.

I thought it was important to include them in this blog because it’s good to remember those who just get on with the task in hand, without fuss and ceremony, and often without being given any accolades for what they do.

During this curious time of Covid-19 it can feel that our world is crumbling around us and structures that we thought of as strong and solid turn out to be weaker that we ever imagined. When things are crumbling we can really appreciate the multitude of people performing every day tasks that keep us secure and enable us to function. Let us pray for hospital porters, cleaners, catering staff, nursing assistants and all those who keep our nursing homes and hospices running smoothy.

And let us remember that Jesus’ body (which he compared to the temple), although utterly broken and destroyed, was indeed raised in three days. And like the daughters of Shallum each one of us is called to play our own little part in the rebuilding work of God’s kingdom, a kingdom that can never be destroyed and will last forever.

Behold our lives, our faculties, our wills: we have given them all to You. We are Yours; dispose of us according to your will. We see well enough, O Lord, how little we can do. But now having drawn near to You, having ascended this watchtower from which Your truth can be seen,
and while You depart not from us, we can do all things. Amen
(A prayer of Teresa of Avila)