Malchijah the son of Rechab was the ruler or the head of the district of Bethhaccherem. Bethhaccherem is literally “house of the vineyard.” Two locations have been claimed for this place. One is three kilometers (two miles) south of Jerusalem and the other is eight kilometers (five miles) west of Jerusalem. The name is sometimes transliterated as one word as in Revised Standard Version, sometimes as two words as in Good News Translation, and sometimes as a three-unit hyphenated word (so New Jerusalem Bible “Beth-ha-Cherem”). Translators should follow the model they have chosen for other such complex names.

Dung Gate: See verse 13 above.

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 .