[Let Her Preach] Sheerah (1 Chronicles 7:24)
Author’s Note: The following is an excerpt from a work in progress.
The book of 1 Chronicles records the history of Israel’s monarchy from the death of its first king, Saul, through the reign of David, it’s greatest king, to the enthronement of Solomon. With the main account beginning in chapter ten, however, the book’s first nine chapters were given to a sort of “Previously on…” teaser. This teaser took the form of a massive genealogy beginning with Adam. Along the way, the chronicler offered periodic insights into the character and accomplishments of key people. Most of these were little more than a sentence or two, but the chronicler thought these specific details were remarkable.
Of particular note, the author used these asides to incorporate numerous women into the genealogy. In 1 Chronicles 1:50, for example, the chronicler introduced Mehetabel, the wife of Hadad, and Timna, the sister of Lotan. In chapter 2, we find Tamar, Achsah, Zeruiah, and Abigail, and in chapter 3, there was Maacah, Eglah, Bath-shua (i.e, Bathsheba), and Shelomith. As we saw in our discussion of Genesis 1-3, the Old Testament was engrossed in a male-centric culture which generally excluded women unless they were distinguished in some way.[1] Therefore, the fact that these women were included at all in the genealogy is significant.
If it was significant for a woman’s name to be merely included in this genealogy, though, then 1 Chronicles 7:24 was mind blowing. There, we are introduced to a woman named Sheerah. From the preceding verses, we learn that she was a descendant of Jacob’s son Ephraim, though the exact relationship is unclear.[2] Neither is there any biblical record of her husband or children. In fact, the only information that we have about her is found in this one verse, and it is simply this: “His daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper Beth-horon and Uzzen-sheerah.”
Sheerah, the city builder
As limited as this is, the importance of this detail must not be overlooked. Throughout history, city building has generally been the purview of kings because they were the only people who could marshal the necessary human and material resources. In fact, through much of history, even most kings could afford to build only a singular city. In Joshua 12, for example, we find a list of the thirty-one one-city kings that had to be defeated for Joshua and the Israelites to conquer the Promised Land.
Sheerah, then, was exceptional. She was no king, but she was a city builder. Moreover, after building her first city, she built two more! This placed her in rarified company. Among women, she was certainly unique, but even among men, there were few who built one city, let alone three![3]
Sheerah’s record suggests a couple of things. For example, Lockyer reasoned she “must have been a woman of physical power for she built or fortified three villages.”[4] Certainly, this would follow if Sheerah physically constructed all three cities herself. However, it is difficult to fathom any one person being able to build an entire city, let alone three. Therefore, it is more likely that Sheerah was able, at the very least, to gather resources and lead people. This is further evidenced by the fact that cities in ancient times were less centers of population and commerce than they were fortresses intended to protect something. Thus, the fact that Sheerah built three cities suggests that she commanded at least three garrisons to defend these cities. This required people, weapons, food, and more.
Sheerah, then, was more than an architect or construction worker. Commentator Adam Poole explained, “This work may be ascribed to her, because these works were done either by her design or contrivance, or by her instigation and influence upon her husband and brethren who did it.”[5] That is, Sheerah saw something that needed to be done, and she drew together the people and materials required to accomplish it. This involved vision casting, training, and resource management, and when she moved on to the next city, she had to delegate responsibilities to ensure the first city kept going. Put another way, Sheerah was a leader.
And what a leader she was! Sheerah did not flinch at the monumental task of building three cities. She did not seek to excuse herself, and when people doubted her, she did not heed their naysaying. No doubt, much of their criticism stemmed from the fact that Sheerah was a woman living and leading in a man’s world. Yet, she went to work without fanfare or drama and did what needed to be done.
Sheerah, the innovator
Sheerah, however, was not just any leader. In the Hebrew language, the notion of “son” or “daughter” encompassed all of a person’s male or female descendents, respectively. In fact, biblical genealogies often skipped generations and still referred to the next included descendent as “son” or “daughter.” Thus, it is unclear whether Sheerah was Ephraim’s actual daughter or a granddaughter, great-granddaughter, or even great-great-granddaughter, etc. This ambiguous relationship with Ephraim makes it difficult to know exactly when Sheerah lived. The most obvious answer, of course, would be that she lived during the generation immediately following the patriarchs, but some scholars plausibly suggest that she was a contemporary of Joshua.[6]
At the beginning of this 500-year window for Sheerah’s life, the nation of Israel amounted to Jacob’s household living in Egypt. At Joseph’s request, the Egyptian pharaoh allowed Jacob and his family to settle in Goshen. This region, located between the Nile River and the Sinai Penninsula, was sparsely populated and known for its rolling grasslands. It was, then, ideal for the flocks Jacob’s family kept, and the Israelites apparently continued the nomadic lifestyle inherited from Abraham.
Over the next few centuries, Jacob’s family “multiplied and spread so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites” (Exodus 1:12). Consequently, the Egyptians oppressed Israel, compelling them to do “difficult labor in brick and mortar and in all kinds of fieldwork” (Exodus 1:13). When they finally escaped this bondage, Israel spent the next forty years wandering in the desert and living in a tent city. In essence, they went from nomad to slave to refugees.
Sheerah, then, was an innovator. The dictionary defines an innovator as “a person who introduces new methods, ideas, or products,”[7] and no matter when Sheerah lived within this window, building a city represented a dramatic departure from Israel’s dominant lifestyle. Rather than roaming from place to place in search of green pastures, cities existed in a fixed location. Rather than living in tents that could be pitched and struck, city dwellers resided in real houses and built hardened fortifications. Rather than fleeing oppression as refugees, cities represented establishment and strength. Yes, Sheerah was an innovator.
Sheerah, the strategist
She was, however, even more than that, and the cities she built were not just any cities. No, at least Upper and Lower Beth-horon would appear numerous times throughout the Old Testament. For instance, in Joshua 10:10-11, they were the site of Joshua’s final victory over the Amorite alliance that attacked Gibeon in an attempt to halt the conquest of the Promised Land. In 1 Samuel 13:18, the Philistines systematically raided these cities as part of their campaign to oppress Israel, and in 2 Chronicles 8:5, Solomon rebuilt and refortified these cities. Later, the area was the site of Judas Maccabeus’ victory over the Syrian prince Seron.[8]
The reason these cities kept appearing in history becomes clear with a look at a map. The cities of Lower and Upper Beth-horon were located just a few miles apart on the road connecting the coastal city of Joppa to Jerusalem.[9] Because Jerusalem was well inland, Joppa was the nearest harbor. As such, this road was a key corridor for goods and commerce. Indeed, when Solomon decided to build the temple and ordered lumber from Lebanon, the logs were lashed together and floated by sea to Joppa (2 Chronicles 2:16). This same scene was replayed in Ezra 3:7 when the Jews returned to Jerusalem from exile and sought to rebuild the temple. It was to Joppa that Jonah went to board a ship for Tarshish when he sought to flee from the Lord’s presence in Jonah 1:3, and in Acts 9, just as the gospel began to spread throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria (Acts 9:31), it had already arrived in Joppa by Acts 9:36. In fact, it was in Joppa that Peter saw the vision of the sheet being lowered, which led him to the centurion Cornelius and opened the floodgates for evangelism to the Gentiles.
A typical map, however, does not tell the full story. The road from Joppa to Jerusalem climbed through the Aijalon Valley. This valley formed a natural bottleneck through which anyone traveling from the coast to the capital had to pass. Moreover, the twin cities of Lower and Upper Beth-horon were located at opposite ends of a particularly steep stretch of the pass. Even though the two cities were only a few miles apart, there was between them a difference of some 600 feet (182m) in elevation.[10]
Between the natural bottleneck and the relatively steep elevation change, this stretch of road was of tremendous strategic value. By controlling either end, one could throttle trade throughout the region. They could impose virtually any toll and tariff on the goods flowing between Jerusalem and Joppa. By controlling both ends, they could ensure the security of travelers by keeping bandits out, and by building cities at the top and bottom of the climb, Sheerah made it virtually impossible for armies to pass through to invade.
Sheerah, then, was a keen strategist. She recognized the importance of these locations and leveraged the natural topography to maximize effectiveness. She saw the people and resources that were available and formulated a plan to realize a preferred future where they were all safe and prosperous.
Sheerah, the commoner
Moreover, she did it all in one verse. Sheerah, a female, innovative, strategic leader operating in a male-centric culture, was able to rally the people and resources to build and maintain three key fortresses, and it warranted just one verse in the biblical record. This is objectively absurd. Men who accomplished far less received more attention in Scripture. Yet, it compels us to wonder. If Sheerah was mentioned only in passing, what happened to women of lesser accomplishment?
One can only imagine the conversation in heaven as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit debated which names to breathe into the biblical authors’ hearts. “What about Jane? Should we mention Jane? Nah, she built only two cities.”
If building three cities was the bar for receiving only a single verse of biblical attention, we must assume that there were other women accomplishing other things that did not rise to that standard. Indeed, we find hints elsewhere in the Old Testament that women were engaged in numerous types of leadership. They were, for example, primarily responsible for raising children. Who do you suppose it was that helped the kids study for the quiz at synagogue school? And in Proverbs 31, we find King Lemuel himself extolling the virtues of the noble and industrious woman.
Yes, Sheerah’s inclusion in the biblical account, as brief as it is, reveals two key things. Namely, it shows that women can lead, innovate, and strategize in a primarily military context. Indeed, it demonstrates that women did each of these things in the Bible. Second, it suggests that women were quietly involved in leadership on a much wider scale among God’s people throughout history.
[1] Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown 1997, 468
[2] Ancient genealogies routinely skipped generations, and the Hebrew language did not really distinguish between a daughter, granddaughter, great-granddaughter, etc.
[3] Monson et al. 2009, 1 Chronicles 7:24
[4] Lockyer 1967, 161
[5] Poole 1853, 787
[6] E.g., Poole 1853, 787
[7] Stevenson and Lindberg 2010
[8] 1 Maccabees 3:13-24; Monson et al. 2009, 1 Chronicles 7:24
[9] Monson et al. 2009, 1 Chronicles 7:24
[10] Monson et al. 2009, 1 Chronicles 7:24