The Levites (see Ezra 1.5) are the next to be numbered. They were also identified with the religious life of the community. They were descendants of Levi, the son of Jacob. They were the tribe of Israel that was responsible for serving the priests in the Temple. Only a few returned after the exile. Many languages have a lexical form that identifies a person as belonging to an ethnic group or a tribe. It may be similar to “son of” or “daughter of,” or it may be like the “-ite” ending of “Levite.” Such a form should be attached to the name “Levi” or its adaptation and not to a borrowed term “Levite.”

The sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the sons of Hodaviah: The Greek text of 1 Esdras has translated of the sons of as the proper name “Binnui” (also Bible de Jérusalem, Luther), as in Ezra 3.9; 8.33; and 10.30, which makes a series of four names in verse 40. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project gives “Binnui” a B rating, and it is the recommended text for translation. The translation would read “the sons of Jeshua, Kadmiel, Binnui, and Hodaviah.” The Levites who returned to Judah were from four families.

The singers were members of the tribe of Levi. They also had religious duties, but they are listed separately because of their specialized duties. They were responsible for “the service of song in the house of the LORD” (1 Chr 6.31-32). They sang and played musical instruments in the tabernacle and the Temple. Asaph was a contemporary of David who is credited with a number of psalms (see A Handbook on Psalms on Psa 50; 73–83).

The gatekeepers were also Levites (1 Chr 9.18) who had a variety of specialized duties with regard to the tabernacle and later the Temple (1 Chr 9.17-32). New International Version makes explicit that they were “The gatekeepers of the temple,” while New English Bible refers to them as “The guild of door-keepers.” They are also called “Temple guards” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) because of their responsibility for guarding the Temple and its entrances. Translators should avoid using a term that would imply that these men had military-like duties.

The sons of before gatekeepers is omitted in Good News Translation, Bible de Jérusalem and Luther, following the parallel passages in Neh 7.45 and 1 Esdras 5.28. The omission is probably intended to simplify the text to conform to the presentation of the other categories of people in this list. It is preferable to follow the Hebrew text as Revised Standard Version has done, and then indicate in a footnote that some versions do not translate “The sons of” here (see the Nouvelle version Segond révisée footnote). The Hebrew text has been given a B rating by Hebrew Old Testament Text Project.

Revised Standard Version includes verses 40-42 in a single paragraph to show that the singers and gatekeepers were Levites like the sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel. Good News Translation restructures the three verses into a single unit with the introduction, “Clans of Levites who returned from exile,” to make the presentation even clearer (similarly Contemporary English Version), and translators may wish to follow this example.

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 .