The Hebrew form for presentation of the list cites the family first and then the name of the person, followed by any other information. This structure has been followed by many versions such as Revised Standard Version, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, and others. A more normal English pattern would be to present the name of the person first as Good News Translation has done (also Contemporary English Version, Bible en français courant). As was the case for the list in chapter 2, translators will need to adopt syntactic and discourse patterns that are appropriate for lists of persons with genealogical information as found here. The discourse structure that is adopted by the translators will very likely determine whether the verses will be numbered separately as in Revised Standard Version or as a group as in Good News Translation.

Of the sons of: See the comments at 2.3.

The heads of the two priestly families, Gershom and Daniel, are listed first (verse 2ab). The families are named from their earliest ancestors. Both priestly families are named from the descendants of Aaron, the first priest of the people of Israel. Phinehas was the son of Aaron’s third son Eleazar and Ithamar was Aaron’s fourth son (Exo 6.23-25).

The third person listed, Hattush, was of the line of King David (verses 2c; see 1 Chr 3.19-22). Other than being listed third he had no special position or role among the returning exiles.

Next twelve lay families are listed in Hebrew with the ancestor’s name given first, followed by the name of the head of the family who returned with Ezra, followed in most cases by the name of the father of the head of the family, and finally the number of men who accompanied him (verses 3b-14; compare 2.3). The family names in this list are the same as the names in Ezra 2.3-20 but in a different order. Although the number of families is the same as the number of the sons of Jacob and of the tribes of Israel, there is apparently no direct link between the 12 families listed here and the 12 tribes of Israel.

Zechariah, with whom were registered one hundred and fifty men (verse 3): Registered means that their ancestry was recorded and was known. Contemporary English Version says “150 other men … who had family records,” while Bible en français courant translates that Zechariah was “accompanied by 150 men of his family.” Good News Translation places the clause “there were records of their family lines” within parentheses to show that this information is in addition to that for the other families. Other translations translate more literally, as Revised Standard Version has done, leaving it unclear in what sense these men were registered, but translators should avoid this vagueness. New Jerusalem Bible says that they were “officially registered.” It can be assumed that the registration had to do with their genealogies (see New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh “through him the genealogy of 150 males was registered”).

For men in verses 3-14, the Hebrew says literally “males” and this has been retained in some translations (so New Jerusalem Bible, New Revised Standard Version). However, the translator should use a natural and neutral expression in the mother tongue and not imply that they were men in the sense of prowess. The meaning is simply that only the men were counted.

For Pahathmoab see the comments on Ezra 2.3-20.

The name Zattu in verse 5 does not occur in the Hebrew text, which is obviously missing a name in this verse. This name is found in the Septuagint and in 1 Esdras 8.32 and is supported here by Hebrew Old Testament Text Project with a B rating. Translators may include it and use a footnote to explain it, as both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation have done.

The name Bani in verse 10 is not in the Hebrew text, which is obviously missing a name in this verse but it is in the Septuagint and 1 Esdras 8.36 and is supported here by Hebrew Old Testament Text Project with a B rating. Translators may include it and use a footnote to explain its insertion here.

Those who came later in verse13 is literally “the last ones” in Hebrew. It is not certain what this means. It may mean that these people came later than the rest (Good News Translation) or that they were the last ones of the family of Adonikam in Babylonia and now the whole family had come to Jerusalem (Amplified Bible). Good News Translation uses parentheses to show that this is an explanatory statement.

Uthai and Zaccur in verse 14 does not fit the form of the rest of the list. Instead of the name of the head of the family followed by the name of his father, the names of two heads are given without the father’s name. New Jerusalem Bible has “Uthai son of Zabud.” According to 1 Chr 9.4, Uthai was the son of Ammihud. New King James Version has “Uthai and Zabbud,” but it should be Uthai and Zaccur as Revised Standard Version and most versions have it. This is supported by Hebrew Old Testament Text Project with a D rating.

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 .