Cyrus king of Persia brought these out: Cyrus did not bring the vessels out himself. Instead, he had the vessels brought out or “he caused them to be brought out.” This is the same Hebrew word as in the previous verse that was translated both as “brought out” and “carried away.”

In charge of Mithredath the treasurer: The vessels were handed over to the treasurer. In charge of is literally “into the hand of.” The treasurer had a Persian name, Mithredath, which means “gift of Mithra.” Mithra was a god worshiped by the Persians. The Hebrew word for treasurer here is gizbar, which is from a Persian word that became modified to Caspar, the legendary name of one of the wise men from the East who came to see Jesus (Matt 2.1). This title refers to a high financial official. Here he was responsible for the treasures that were kept in the temples.

Who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah: After the treasurer received the vessels he had them delivered to the leader of the people of Israel. He counted them out, that is, he “made an inventory” (Good News Translation) of the vessels and made sure that they were all accounted for and delivered. A count of the vessels had been made by the Levites when they were in the Temple (see 1 Chr 9.28).

Sheshbazzar is a Babylonian name, but no information is given about this man’s ancestry. His title, the prince of Judah, does not mean that he was the son of a king. It indicates instead that he was the head of the tribe of Judah. New English Bible translates “the ruler of Judah.” Good News Translation refers to him as “the governor of Judah” because in Ezra 5.14 he is identified as the “governor.” He was the one who laid the foundation of the Temple. His name occurs only in the book of Ezra.

Quoted with permission from Noss, Philip A. and Thomas, Kenneth J. A Handbook on Ezra. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2005. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .