October 30, 2017
Britton (Building Benjamin) continues her Tribes of Israel series in this fine retelling of a Bible story, this time that of the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s wall. Adah is the daughter of Shallum, who rules half of Jerusalem. When she finds out that Nehemiah, the governor of Judea, plans to rebuild Jerusalem’s wall, she volunteers her family to help. The prospect of an aging father, a blind mother, and two daughters working on the wall makes the family the butt of many jokes, emboldening Rephaiah, her father’s co-ruler, to vocalize his contempt for Shallum’s family in order to seize control of Jerusalem for himself. Nevertheless, Adah remains determined that her family be memorialized as one of those that helped to rebuild the wall. As Judea’s neighboring territories try to stop the building of the wall, Adah’s strength and courage make a friend and ally out of Nehemiah. Despite the opposition and the challenges Adah and Nehemiah face, they continue with the task that God has called them to do. Britton’s story transcends a simple biblical retelling thanks to the feisty, unshakable Adah.