Meshullam

Name

The name "Meshullam" is generally understood to be related to a Hebrew root meaning peace or wholeness. Proposed meanings include "one who is recompensed" and "one who has become a friend." Because it was a common name in postexilic Judah, several people in the Bible bear it. This article focuses on the two men who took part in rebuilding the wall in Nehemiah 3.

Biblical Record

Meshullam the son of Berechiah was the grandson of Meshezabeel. He repaired (that is, rebuilt what had been broken down) the section next to that of Meremoth (Nehemiah 3:4). He is later recorded as having repaired the section "over against his chamber" (Nehemiah 3:30), which suggests that he was responsible for two sections. According to Nehemiah 6:18, his daughter married Johanan the son of Tobiah, the Ammonite who opposed the rebuilding of the wall. The text indicates that, because of such marriage ties, there were "many in Judah sworn unto him."

Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired "the old gate" together with Jehoiada the son of Paseah. The two men "laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof" (Nehemiah 3:6).

Others of the Same Name

• The grandfather of Shaphan the scribe (2 Kings 22:3).
• A son of Zerubbabel (1 Chronicles 3:19).
• Several men named Meshullam also appear in the genealogies of 1 Chronicles 5, 8, and 9.
• One of the chief men whom Ezra summoned (Ezra 8:16).
• A man who supported those who opposed the handling of the matter of the foreign wives (Ezra 10:15).
• One of the sons of Bani who had taken foreign wives (Ezra 10:29).
• A man who stood at Ezra's left hand when he read the Law (Nehemiah 8:4).
• One of those who sealed the covenant (Nehemiah 10:7).
• The name recurs repeatedly in the lists of Nehemiah 10–12.

Significance Within the Bible

Nehemiah 3 is a list recording, in order, who was responsible for each section of the wall. Meshullam appears as one of the participants in this shared undertaking. Meshullam the son of Berechiah contributed to the rebuilding, yet his family was linked by marriage to Tobiah, who opposed it. For this reason he is sometimes read as a figure who illustrates the complex relationships within the community of the return from exile. Meshullam is not mentioned in the New Testament.

Interpretation and Points of Discussion

Scholars differ over which of the several men named Meshullam in the book of Nehemiah are the same person. Because Nehemiah 3:4 and 3:30 give the same father's name, they are generally taken to refer to the same man. By contrast, whether the Meshullam of Nehemiah 8 or 10 is the same man who worked on the wall cannot be determined from the text alone. One view takes "his chamber" in 3:30 to be a room near the temple and connects him with a priestly family, but this too is conjecture. The text says nothing about his character or motives.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, Meshullam is rarely treated as a topic in his own right. He is usually mentioned in sermons or Bible studies on Nehemiah 3 that cover the entire list of wall builders. In such settings, the facts that he took on two sections and that he repaired the area in front of his own dwelling are often noted as well.