And from all the birds that have been created thou hast named for thyself one dove: For dove see the comments on 2 Esd 2.15. For the dove as a symbol of Israel, compare Psa 74.19; Song 2.14; 5.2. The Hebrew name “Jonah” means “dove,” and the prophet Jonah represented Israel in the book of Jonah. The verb named may be chosen by the author since in Old Testament thought, naming a person or thing implied authority over the thing or person named. It also means that God took a special interest in the dove over all other birds. This clause may be rendered “From all the birds that you created you have taken a special interest in the dove over all of them.”

And from all the flocks that have been made thou hast provided for thyself one sheep: The image of Israel as God’s sheep is common in the Old Testament (see, for example, Psa 23.1-4; 79.13; Micah 7.14). Once again, the point here is the smallness of the example chosen. The Latin word translated flocks can refer to groups of any kind of animal; it usually applies to farm animals, but Latin authors also used it of monkeys, seals, or lawyers. Here Ezra is saying that God could have chosen the huge ox or buffalo, or the impressive horse, but settled for the harmless, unimpressive sheep. This clause may be translated “From all the animals you made, you decided that you would take only one as your own, a sheep” or “You decided that you would only take as your own one animal, the sheep, out of all the animals that you made.”

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.