Bible Person

Ater

Meaning: left hand; shut · Male · 2 cross references

This Ater entry refers to the gatekeeper or porter family listed among the returnees in Ezra and Nehemiah, not to the separate house associated with Hezekiah. It belongs to the practical service structure of restored Jerusalem. First appears in Ezra 2:42.1

AI summary: This Ater matters because the cross references place the name among the temple gatekeeping families who return after exile. Such entries highlight that restoration depended not only on priests and leaders but also on those responsible for order, access, and daily sacred routine. Taken together, the material presents this Ater as a returnee service-house within the functional rebuilding of worship life.1

Central Figure

Ater

Meaning: left hand; shut

Ezra 2:42.