Shallum the son of Hallohesh, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem: In verse 9 above Rephaiah the son of Hur is described as ruling over one-half of the Jerusalem District. Therefore, Good News Translation specifies that Shallum is the “ruler of the other half of the Jerusalem District.”

He and his daughters: Although women are not mentioned elsewhere in the chapter, they no doubt were involved in the rebuilding project. However, special mention is made here of Shallum’s daughters. They are brought into focus by the Hebrew syntax, which is reflected in Revised Standard Version. This probably indicates that Shallum had no sons. New Jerusalem Bible changes the text to read “him and his sons,” but most translations follow the Hebrew text to which Hebrew Old Testament Text Project gives an A rating. Good News Translation takes this phrase to be an editorial comment and therefore sets it off in parentheses. However, it is preferable for the translation to give prominence to this phrase as in Hebrew. It is important in the translation to make it clear that these were not simply his offspring but they were his “children who were female.” Although their ages are not given, undoubtedly they were not small children. They were his “offspring who were women.”

Quoted with permission from Noss, Philip A. and Thomas, Kenneth J. A Handbook on Nehemiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2005. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .