SHEERAH: CITY BUILDER

As we’ve been working our way from Eve to Bathsheba, we’ve been walking in chronological lockstep with history. Today's story, however, breaks that pattern. Although Bathsheba's story is recorded in Samuel and Kings, and today's story is recorded in Chronicles, the woman we are learning about lived hundreds of years before Bathsheba.

Sidenote: There is some debate about where to place this story in the history of Israel because it seems like it’s out of order. If you’re interested in diving deeper into this, I’ve linked a few resources below for further reference. The article by Professor Rabbi David Frankel is a good read.

Today's story is recorded in 1 Chronicles 7. Before we dive in, it will be helpful to understand the biblical context surrounding our passage and the historical setting in which it takes place.

BIBLICAL CONTEXT

The first nine chapters of 1 Chronicles is basically a long list of genealogies beginning with Adam and includes descendants from each of Jacob’s sons as well as those of his favorite son Joseph: Ephraim and Manasseh. 1 Chronicles 9 concludes with a list of Saul’s descendants to the eighth generation, setting up the narrative of Saul and David in the following chapters.

In ancient times, family lineage was established through the man's bloodline, so it’s no surprise these chapters are filled—almost exclusively—with the names of fathers and sons. Here’s an example:

“And the sons of Shemidah were, Ahian, and Shechem, and Likhi, and Aniam. And the sons of Ephraim; Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son, and Eladah his son, and Tahath his son,  and Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son, and Ezer, and Elead, …”

1 Chronicles 7:19-21a (KJV)

These genealogies were written to establish the lineage of the Messiah, who was prophesied to be a descendant of Abraham and David.

AND...

Every once in a while, the Chronicler inserts a short story or an interesting fact about a woman into the genealogy list. And sometimes, it blows gender stereotypes out of the water.

This brings us to today’s woman of valor: Sheerah (pronounced “Shira”).

HISTORICAL SETTING

The historical setting for Sheerah's story is a few hundred years prior to that of David and Bathsheba. The physical setting is in the tribal lands of Ephraim: the hill country of Israel. (If you recall, Hannah wasfrom the hill country of Ephraim, and it’s also where Deborah kept her “outdoor office.” This story predates both of them.)

Sidenote: When the Israelites settled the land, it was divided among 12 tribes—but the breakdown is not what you might expect because the descendants of Levi received something different. The Levites were not given a specific portion of land like the other tribes of Israel. Instead, they were given cities scattered throughout the land of Israel where they could live, and they were given certain portions of the offerings and sacrifices made at the tabernacle and later the temple.

So how was the land divided among 12 tribes if the Levites didn’t get any? Great question! Since Joseph was Jacob’s firstborn of his favorite wife, Rachel, he received a double portion. But you’ve probably never heard of the “tribe of Joseph,” right? That’s because Joseph’s land was divided between his two sons: Ephraim and Manasseh👈 and you have probably heard of them!

AND NOW, BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING...

The first time we meet Sheerah is the last time we meet Sheerah (sometimes spelled without the final "h").

Sheerah is the daughter of a descendant of Ephraim (one of Joseph's sons), and according to 1 Chronicles 7:24, we know that she is responsible for building THREE cities: Lower Beth Horon, Upper Beth Horon, and Uzzen-Sheerah.

According to Professor Rabbi David Frankel, Associate Professor of Bible at the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem :

Ephraim’s daughter, Sheera is said to have built Upper and Lower Beit Horon. Beit Horon is one of the Levitical cities within the territory of Mount Ephraim in Joshua 21:20-22 (cf. also Josh. 16:3, 5). The entire family is thus living and building new settlements in the land.

Sheerah breaks gender expectations by building cities. Take a moment to ponder what “building a city” entails. And then imagine a woman trying to build one in a heavily patriarchal society. What challenges does she face? What obstacles does she overcome?

IMAGINE WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN

Dr. Wil Gafney, Biblical Scholar and Professor at Brite Divinity School, has spent a lot of time thinking about Sheerah. She writes:

She had to build her city in the right order. She couldn’t start with the wallpaper and the flower arrangements. She had to start in the dirt. She had to lay her foundation. She had to build her walls and those walls had to hold – they were still at war with some of the Canaanite nations. She had to choose which buildings would be built first.

Sheerah built her own house; maybe she built a house for her mama and daddy if they were still alive. She built houses for her people and perhaps for folk she didn’t even know.

And when she finished building her city, Sheerah didn’t retire. She built another city. And then she built one more. Sheerah never married or gave birth. That wasn’t her calling. Sheerah became the mother of cities. And her name lives on in the scriptures through her cities, the works of her hands.

Dr. Gafney’s creative reflection on Sheerah is fantastic! I’ll link to it below in case you’d like to read the full article—which is actually the transcript of a sermon she preached over 1o years ago.

Here’s what we know for sure about Sheerah:

Sheerah built three cities, and she is noted for this remarkable accomplishment in a book of the Bible where 95% of the folks listed in the genealogies are men.

UPPER & LOWER BETH-HORON

Upper and Lower (or "nether") Beth Horon were located approximately 10 and 12 miles northwest of Jerusalem with a difference of about 700-800 feet elevation between the two. The cities were located on a major trade route between Gibeon and the Valley of Aiajalon and the coast. They also marked the tribal land boundaries between Benjamin and Ephraim. Lower Beth-Horon was later fortified by King Solomon.



Modern Day Location of the Biblical "Upper Beth-Horon"

Another interesting fact about these cities is that one or both were designated a Levitical “city of refuge” (see Joshua 21:22 and 1 Chronicles 6:68). These cities provided a kind of safe haven for the unfortunate persons who accidentally caused the death of someone else. There were less than 50 cities of refuge scattered throughout Israel, and Sheerah’s was one of them!

Upper and Lower Beth-Horon and the land between them saw a lot of action as recorded in the Hebrew Bible:

• The famous battle between Joshua and five Canaanite kings when the sun stood still (Joshua 10:6-15)

• An attack led by Holofernes during intertestamental times (Judith 4:4)

• A battle during the Maccabean Revolt (also during intertestamental times) where Judas Maccabeus fought and killed Nicanor the Syrian (1 Maccabees 7:15-26, 39-43)

• We also learn from a hieroglyphic inscription (see image below) at the Temple of Karnak that Pharaoh Shishak conquered Beth-Horon during King Rehoboam’s reign (Rehoboam was one of Solomon’s sons). Check it out:

One last thing: The cities are remembered to this day by two modern day Palestinian Arab villages of Beit Ur al-Fauqa and Beit Ur al-Tahta which occupy the same sites. Amazing. If you're interested, you can read more about the location of the cities and view a few more recent photos here.

UZZEN-SHEERAH

While we have no idea where the third city, Uzzen-Sheerah, was located, we do know what it meant. The name of Sheerah's third city literally means “Listen to Sheerah." It's clear the townsfolk believed Sheerah knew what she was doing. Unfortunately, we have no idea where this city was located. We can hope that someday, archaeologists will uncover an inscription or another artifact to help solve this mystery.

A FINAL THOUGHT

Sheerah is proof that even in patriarchal ancient Israel, women were capable of building much more than family trees. And. They. Did. 🙌

You can read the little we know about Sheerah in 1 Chronicles 7:20-24.

Additional Resources:

• “Sheerah: A Woman of Distinction” by Claude Mariottini, PhD.

• “Beth Horon” International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Online). Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

• “Observations on Women in the Genealogies of 1 Chronicles 1–9” by Antje Labahn and Ehud Ben Zvi. Biblica, Vol. 84(2003), 475-478.

• “She Built A City: Sheerah the Biblical City-Builder” by Rev. Wil Gafney, PhD (2012).

• "The Book of Chronicles and the Ephraimites that Never Went to Egypt" by Rabbi David Frankel, PhD. TheTorah.com (2015).

• “Bethoron” on Wikipedia – follow the footnoted links to view the inscription & translation.

• “Beth-Horon” in The Dictionary of Bible and Religion. General Editor William H. Gentz (1986).

Photo Credits:

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.

Enhanced screenshot of the heiroglyph found at the Temple of Karnak is from An Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary: with an index of English words, king list and geological list with indexes, list of hieroglyphic characters, coptic and semitic alphabets, etc. by Budge, E. A. Wallis (Ernest Alfred Wallis), Sir, 1857-1934.

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