A respected family line faces the threat of extinction, prompting the patriarch to take unusual measures to preserve his legacy. Sheshan finds himself with no sons, only daughters, a situation that creates a historical puzzle since earlier accounts mention he had a son named Ahlai. The primary approach among commentators is that Ahlai was indeed Sheshan's son, but he died young during his father's lifetime without leaving any children of his own [מצודת דוד, רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. His very name may even hint at a sickly and fragile constitution [רש״י]. Alternatively, Ahlai might not have been a son at all, but rather the name of one of Sheshan's daughters, as genealogical records occasionally use masculine terms even when referring to a single daughter [רלב״ג]. A third perspective suggests a timeline shift: at the time Sheshan arranged his daughter's marriage, he truly had no sons, and Ahlai was born only later [מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ].
Left without a male heir to continue his line, Sheshan turns to his Egyptian servant, Jarha. Having grown up in Sheshan's home, Jarha was considered a trusted member of the household, much like Eliezer in the house of Abraham [רד״ק]. To secure his family's future, Sheshan frees Jarha and gives him his daughter in marriage. This action mirrors later rabbinic advice suggesting that if a man has an adult daughter and no suitable match for her, he should free his servant and marry her to him [רד״ק, מלבי״ם]. The very act of giving a freeborn woman to a servant automatically granted Jarha his freedom, meaning there was no violation of marrying a slave [מלבי״ם].
Despite the legality of the servant's emancipation, commentators point out a severe legal flaw in the union. The issue was not Jarha's former status as a slave, but his origin as a first-generation Egyptian. The law explicitly forbids a first-generation Egyptian from entering the congregation of God and marrying an Israelite woman [רד״ק, מלבי״ם]. This forbidden marriage left a tragic mark on history. Generations later, the descendants of Jarha included Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the man who assassinated Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, ultimately bringing destruction upon the last remaining Israelites in Judah [רד״ק].