Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Nehemiah 3:12
And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters.
12. the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem ] R.V. the ruler of half the district of Jerusalem. See note on Neh 3:9. This was the ‘Zion’ half of the city.
he and his daughters ] The mention of ‘his daughters’ is strange. Some consider that the word ‘daughters’ is here used in its technical sense of ‘villages’ and ‘country towns’ (cf. Neh 11:25; Neh 11:27), the inhabitants of which placed workers under the command of the ruler of the whole district. Others again accepting this rendering of ‘daughters’ = ‘villages,’ refer the pronoun ‘he’ to ‘the district,’ i.e. ‘the district and the villages adjacent to that quarter of Jerusalem.’
But the most simple and literal explanation is probably the best. The whole chronicle of the restoration of the walls is a register of personal effort. The exceptional mention of women does not justify us in excluding the possibility of their useful cooperation, not only by sympathy and exhortation, but also by gifts of money, by contributions of food, and by the labour of their servants and retainers.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Neh 3:12
He and his daughters.
Worthy women
We know not how these ladles wrought; probably it was not in a way of manual labour, but rather by words of kindness and acts of consideration towards the builders. We need not tarry to show how worthily the women of England fulfil their mission in the sweet offices of charity. Some of them make the noblest sacrifices from love to their Redeemer. A poor woman sought admission to one of our great missionary meetings in Exeter Hall. The young man who acted as porter demanded her ticket. I have none, was the reply; I cannot afford to subscribe. You cannot enter without a ticket, was the curt rejoinder. I think, sir, said the widow, that I have given more than ever you have to the society; I have given an only son, and he is now labouring for your society in India. The widow was cheerfully admitted on this statement. (J. M. Randall.)
Family zeal
I. Notable women.
1. Within the circle of Biblical story.
2. In history.
II. Womans influence.
1. For evil. Jezebel; Solomons wives; devotees of fashion, etc.
2. For good. (Homiletic Commentary.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 12. The son of Halohesh] Or, the son of the Enchanter: conjectured to be thus named from having the art to charm serpents.
The ruler of the half part] See on Ne 3:9.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Of the half part of Jerusalem, i.e. of the other half, &c.: See Poole “Neh 3:9“.
He and his daughters; who were either heiresses, or rich widows, and caused part to be done at their charges.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. Shallum . . . he and hisdaughterswho were either heiresses or rich widows. Theyundertook to defray the expenses of a part of the wall next them.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And next unto him repaired Shallum, the son of Hallohesh,…. So called, as Ben Melech says, from his being an enchanter of serpents, or a wise prudent counsellor:
the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem; of the other half; see Ne 3:9
he and his daughters; who were rich widows or heiresses, and employed men to build at their own expense; he seems to have had no sons.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(12) He and his daughters.Shallum was governor of the second half-district around Jerusalem; and it has been thought that the daughters here are the villages of the district. But needlessly: the women of Jerusalem might do voluntarily what as females they were not pressed to do.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. Ruler of the half Compare Neh 3:9, note.
He and his daughters These words may be understood in two ways: 1) of Shallum and his daughters, who assisted their father in the work; or, 2) of the half part of Jerusalem, and its towns, or villages such dependent villages often being called the daughters of more princely cities. Compare the Hebrew of Neh 11:25; Neh 11:27, where the word rendered villages is daughters. This latter view we adopt. The pronoun he refers to part, which is masculine; but in English the sense would be clearer if rendered, it and its villages. That is, Shallum was ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, both it and its dependent villages.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And next to him repaired Shallum the son of Hallohesh, the ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, he and his daughters.’
In charge of the repairing of the next section of the wall were Shallum, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem (compare Neh 3:9 for the ruler of the other half), ‘and his daughters’. The daughters no doubt took oversight rather than doing the actual building, (they were chief’s daughters). They would inherit his name and property, and can be compared with the daughters of Zelophehad (Num 36:1-8). They are the only women described as involving themselves in the work. It is, however, extremely probable that others played their part in some way in a more humble fashion.
Shallum was such a popular name that it is hard to know where to begin. It was the name of the youngest son of Naphtali (1Ch 7:13), called “Shillem” in Gen 46:24; Num 26:49, who went into Egypt with Jacob. It was the name of a descendant of Simeon, being the son of Shaul and the father of Mibsam (1Ch 4:25). He lived in the mid-second millennium BC. It was the name of a son of Sismai, descended through the female line from Sheshan of the tribe of Judah (1Ch 2:34; 1Ch 2:40-41), who lived later in the second millennium BC. It was the name of a son of Kore, a porter of the sanctuary during the reign of David (1Ch 9:17; 1Ch 9:19; 1Ch 9:31; compare Ezr 2:42; Neh 7:45). The name is also written as “Me-shullam” in Neh 12:25, “Me-shelem-iah” in 1Ch 26:1-2; 1Ch 26:9, and “Shelemiah” in 1Ch 26:14. He lived about 1050 BC.
It was the name of a son of Zadok, who as such was the father of Hilkiah, a high priest and ancestor of Ezra the scribe (1Ch 6:12-13; Ezr 7:2). It was the name of the fifteenth king of Israel, the son of Josiah (Jer 22:11; 2Ch 34:22) who took the throne name of Jehoahaz II (2Ch 36:1). It was the name of a son of Bani, a priest who had taken a foreign wife and was compelled by Ezra the scribe to put her away (Ezr 10:42). It was the name of the father of Jehizkiah, an Ephraimite in the time of Ahaz king of Israel (2Ch 28:12). It was the name of the husband of the prophetess Huldah (2Ki 22:14; 2Ch 34:22). He was the keeper of the sacred wardrobe and was probably the uncle of Jeremiah the prophet (Jer 32:7; compare Jer 35:4). It was the name of a Levite who was a porter at the time of Ezra (Ezr 10:24).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
(12) And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters.
The service of Shallum’s daughters in this work, carries with it a conviction how much the general mind was engaged in this public good. It reminds us of the women Paul speaks of, who laboured with him in the gospel. Phi 4:3 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Neh 3:12 And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters.
Ver. 12. Shallum the son of Halohesh ] Some read it, the son of an enchanter, or conjurer; and tells us that conjuring was a common thing among the Jews, as, Act 13:8 Elymas, and elsewhere the sons of Sceva, &c. But Shallum (if ever any such) forsook that science (as did afterwards also Cyprian) to become a Christian.
He and his daughters
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
his daughters. Showing how women may contribute to the work of reformation.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the ruler: Neh 3:9, Neh 3:14-18
he and his daughters: Exo 35:25, Act 21:8, Act 21:9, Phi 4:3
Reciprocal: Neh 3:15 – the ruler Neh 3:16 – the ruler
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Neh 3:12. Shallum, the ruler of the half part, &c. That is, of the other half of Jerusalem: see on Neh 3:9. He and his daughters Who were either heiresses or rich widows, and caused part to be done at their charges.