Nehemiah 3:12

‘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 Nehemiah 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 (Numbers 36:1). 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 (1 Chronicles 7:13), called "Shillem" in Genesis 46:24; Numbers 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 (1 Chronicles 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 (1 Chronicles 2:34; 1 Chronicles 2:40), 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 (1 Chronicles 9:17; 1 Chronicles 9:19; 1 Chronicles 9:31; compare Ezra 2:42; Nehemiah 7:45). The name is also written as "Me-shullam" in Nehemiah 12:25, "Me-shelem-iah" in 1 Chronicles 26:1; 1 Chronicles 26:9, and "Shelemiah" in 1 Chronicles 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 (1 Chronicles 6:12; Ezra 7:2). It was the name of the fifteenth king of Israel, the son of Josiah (Jeremiah 22:11; 2 Chronicles 34:22) who took the throne name of Jehoahaz II (2 Chronicles 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 (Ezra 10:42). It was the name of the father of Jehizkiah, an Ephraimite in the time of Ahaz king of Israel (2 Chronicles 28:12). It was the name of the husband of the prophetess Huldah (2 Kings 22:14; 2 Chronicles 34:22). He was the keeper of the sacred wardrobe and was probably the uncle of Jeremiah the prophet (Jeremiah 32:7; compare Jeremiah 35:4). It was the name of a Levite who was a porter at the time of Ezra (Ezra 10:24).