Sheerah

This week I read the chronological reading with Bev and her group of chronological readers. We read in the book of Numbers, but there was this one day that we deviated and read genealogies from 1 Chronicles. That is where I got stuck.

I get excited about genealogies!!! Oh Yeah, that is right. Genealogies.

I want you to see where I got stuck. Reading in Numbers 26, the Lord tells Moses and Eleazar, son of Aaron (who has already died) to take another census after a plague had ended. Then the scriptures cross references to scriptures in 1 Chronicles 7. As I was reading, his son…blah, blah, his son, blah…blah, his son…then all of a sudden the word DAUGHTER jumped off the page at me. I back tracked. Here’s that portion of scripture:

1 Chronicles 7:20-24 HCSB

Ephraim’s Descendents

Ephraim's sons: Shuthelah, and his son Bered,
his son Tahath, his son Eleadah,
his son Tahath, his son Zabad,
his son Shuthelah, Ezer, and Elead.
The men of Gath who were born in the land killed Ezer and Elead because they went down to raid their cattle. Their father Ephraim mourned a long time, and his relatives came to comfort him. He slept with his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. So he named him Beriah, because there had been misfortune in his home. His daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper Beth-horon and Uzzen-sheerah,

These are the descendant of Ephraim, son of Joseph. They experienced misfortune in this family. When he had another son, Ephraim (whom Matthew Henry’s Commentary says he believes is not the same Ephraim as Joseph’s son) named him Beriah, which means misfortune.

But then in verse 24, it mentions his daughter, Sheerah, “who built Lower and Upper Beth-horon and Uzzen-sheera.” A woman in the midst of genealogy is rare in the Bible. If she is mentioned, then there must be some significance.

I’m in the process of researching this, but little is to be found. I’ve sent an email to my homeschool history curriculum author to see if she can lend any insight.

But to think about what I do know from these scriptures—Sheerah came from a family of misfortune. Sheerah (I think “she rose”) above the circumstances and founded three cities. She must have been a woman of influence. The Hebrew lexicon for built is banah (baw nah) which means to build, rebuild, establish, cause to continue. One of the cities is named after her. Wow!

For some reason this woman is briefly mentioned in the scriptures and I want to know why. She came from a down and out family, but was influential in building or establishing three cities. She must have had some fortitude. She knew how to work with the establishment of men. She knew her purpose and fulfilled the call on her life.

I love the word of God and God loves women. He uses women to accomplish HIS will.

May we the women of the Lord recognize God’s plan for our lives and do what HE has called us to do. We may not be an Esther, Rahab, or Sarah who are well known. But we can still leave behind a legacy where God places us, just as Sheerah left her legacy where she was placed, though little known.

Blessings in Christ--