A number of names in the list are repeated several times and are common names found elsewhere in Ezra and Nehemiah. One person who can be identified is Jozabad in this verse. His name is also found in Ezra 8.33, where he was one of the Levites who received the gifts for the Temple from Ezra, in Neh 8.7 as one of the Levites who helped explain the Law, and in Neh 11.16 as one of the leaders of the Levites supervising the work on the outside of the Temple.

Also in this verse is Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), who is mentioned in Neh 8.7 and 10.10 by his nickname Kelita, which means “cripple” or “dwarf.” Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation both place the nickname in parentheses to show that while this is part of the text, it is an editorial comment or explanation (also Revised English Bible, New International Version). Other versions like New Jerusalem Bible, Osty-Trinquet and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible separate this explanation from the rest of the sentence by placing it between long dashes. Translators should do here as they have done elsewhere to indicate editorial comments in the text.

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 .