Ater

Ater was the ancestral head of a family of gatekeepers whose 98 descendants returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:42; Nehemiah 7:45). A different family of lay Israelites named Ater—also called 'Ater of Hezekiah'—had 98 members return (Ezra 2:16; Nehemiah 7:21). The Ater of the gatekeepers is distinguished by his professional designation. Gatekeepers were Levitical officials responsible for controlling access to the temple precincts and storehouses, a position of both honor and practical importance in the organization of the second temple.