The gatekeepers were also Levites. They were in charge of the Temple gates and had other responsibilities (see the comments on 1 Esd 1.15-16).

Compare the parallel passages of Ezra 2.42 and Neh 7.45.

An alternative model for this verse is:

• The members of the Shalom, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita, and Shobai families also returned, 139 of them. These were some of the families who had responsibility for the Temple gates.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Esdras. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.