Sheerah
Sheerah, granddaughter of Ephraim, who built Beth-horon and Uzzen-sheerah.
Biography
Sheerah was a remarkable woman of the tribe of Ephraim, identified in 1 Chronicles 7:24 as a daughter (or granddaughter) of Ephraim and sister of Rephah and Resheph. She stands out as one of the very few women in the Old Testament credited with founding cities. Sheerah built Lower Beth-horon, Upper Beth-horon, and Uzzen-sheerah, significant settlements in the hill country of Ephraim that controlled key passes into the central highlands. Her architectural and civic achievements were substantial enough to warrant her name being preserved in the Ephraimite genealogical record, a rare honor for a woman in the ancient Near East. The city Uzzen-sheerah likely bore her name, preserving her memory for generations.
Significance
Sheerah's inclusion in the genealogical record of Ephraim carries profound theological weight. In a patriarchal culture that rarely credited women with civic accomplishment, Scripture deliberately preserves her legacy as a city-builder. Her work on Beth-horon proved strategically significant throughout Israel's history, the Beth-horon pass was the scene of Joshua's great victory (Joshua 10:10–11) and later military campaigns. Sheerah's life demonstrates that God's purposes in building a nation were accomplished through women as well as men, and that faithful labor in ordinary domains, construction, settlement, civic order, participates in the unfolding of God's covenant purposes for His people.
Verse Appearances (1)
1Chr
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References (TIPNR). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]