The second part of this list counts people by grouping them according to their place of origin. The names of the places are preceded by either the phrase men of or sons of. Translators should respect the distinction made in the Hebrew text as Revised Standard Version has done. Men of may be stated as “people of” and sons of can be either “descendants of” or a special lexical form that indicates people who are born in a certain locality or who are native to that place.

The places that are named in the list are grouped according to geographic location. Bethlehem and Netophah are south of Jerusalem in the former territory of Judah. The other places are in the former territory of Benjamin: Anathoth and Azmaveth are north of Jerusalem; Kiriatharim, Chephirah, and Beeroth are northwest of Jerusalem; Rama, Geba, Michmas, Bethel, and Ai are north of Jerusalem; Nebo, Magbish, Elam, and Harim are southwest of Jerusalem; Lod, Hadid, and Ono are northwest of Jerusalem; and Jericho and Senaah are northeast of Jerusalem.

Revised Standard Version retains the Hebrew form for Kiriatharim. Good News Translation understands this to refer to “Kiriath Jearim” as in Neh 7.29, and changes it accordingly. This follows the Septuagint reading. Michmas is spelled this way in Hebrew only here and in Neh 7.31. Elsewhere it is spelled “Michmash.” Good News Translation therefore spells it here as it is spelled most commonly. Translators should follow the model they have adopted.

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 .