Bible facts
Shallum’s daughters helped repair Jerusalem’s wall.
By Collins Osobase
Nehemiah’s record of Jerusalem’s wall repairs includes a ruler and his daughters. Their contribution appears in an easily overlooked phrase: “he and his daughters”.
Nehemiah 3:9–13 (KJV)
Discovery
Among the people repairing Jerusalem’s wall were Shallum and his daughters. Nehemiah 3:12 records their participation directly, within a chapter that names people and groups working along different sections of the city’s defences.
Evidence label: SCRIPTURE STATES
Read it yourself
And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters.
Nehemiah 3:12 (KJV)
Read Nehemiah 3:9–13 on BibleReach (KJV)
See the Evidence
The chapter follows the repair work from one location to another. Priests, goldsmiths, rulers and other groups appear in its record. Verse 12 places Shallum’s daughters among the participants; it does not leave them merely watching their father work.
The verse names Shallum and identifies his office, then adds “he and his daughters”. Their names, ages, number and precise tasks are not given. We can confidently say they participated without inventing the tools they used or the work each performed.
This is a recorded contribution to Jerusalem’s rebuilding, rather than a universal instruction assigning every reader the same task. The discovery is simple: a list we could hurry past preserves the work of people we might otherwise overlook.
On your next reading, follow the people as carefully as the places. Who joins the work, and what does the text actually say about their contribution?