Jedaiah the son of Harumaph repaired opposite his house: Jedaiah was assigned the section of wall nearest his house. Revised Standard Version says opposite his house but each language will use its own way of referring to the spatial relationship of the house to the wall. “In the face of his house,” “right beside his house” (compare Contemporary English Version), and “looked at his own house” are possible ways of expressing the meaning. His house must be translated to refer to “his own house” and not to refer to someone else’s house. Some languages use a special pronoun to make it clear that the possessive pronoun relates to Jedaiah himself and not to another person.

Harumaph was a nickname meaning “cleft nose.”

The name Hattush occurs three other places in Ezra and Nehemiah. He was a descendant of David in Ezra 8.2; one who set his seal on the covenant in Neh 10.4; and a priest who returned with Zerubbabel in Neh 12.2.

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 .