עזרא, פרק ב׳, פסוק ט״ז

The historical record of those returning from the Babylonian exile carefully catalogs the various families making the journey back to their homeland. Among these groups is the family of Ater, whose record includes an additional, unique identifier linking them to a figure named Hezekiah.

This specific connection is understood in two distinct ways. One approach suggests that this identifier traces a direct family line, indicating that Ater was an actual descendant of Hezekiah. According to this perspective, the record is simply counting the children born to Ater while noting his specific ancestry [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Alternatively, the connection might not imply a direct bloodline between the two men at all. Instead, it could mean that the total number of people recorded reflects a combined count, grouping the descendants of Ater together with the descendants of Hezekiah into a single, unified tally [מצודת דוד].