The phrase, These were in the days of, is elliptical for “These people lived during the time of” as Good News Translation says in contemporary English. This verse may be a summary that applies to all the lists beginning at verse 12. It should therefore be presented as a separate paragraph as Good News Translation has done. All the men whose names are listed lived and worked in the time of Joiakim the high priest, Nehemiah the governor, and Ezra the priest the scribe. They are presented as having worked together to restore Jerusalem, the Temple, and its worship.

The temporal expression, in the days of, occurs twice in this verse (see verse 7 above).

The word used for Persian governors is applied here to Nehemiah. See Ezra 5.3.

For the significance of Ezra’s title, the priest the scribe, see the comments at Ezra 7.11.

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 .