Malluch

Malluch (meaning reigning or counseling) is the name of several men in the post-exilic community. (1.) A Levite of the family of Merari, ancestor of the temple singer Ethan (1 Chronicles 6:44). (2.) A priest who returned from Babylonian exile with Zerubbabel and is listed in Nehemiah 12:2 among the priestly leaders. (3.) One of the men in the family of Bani who had taken a foreign wife and agreed to put her away in the reforms under Ezra (Ezra 10:29). (4.) Another man from a different family who had similarly taken a foreign wife (Ezra 10:32).

The name Malluch — with its royal overtones of one who reigns or counsels — was common in post-exilic Levitical and priestly circles. The presence of multiple men named Malluch in the community of returnees under Ezra and Nehemiah reflects both the frequency of the name and the challenges of tracing specific individuals through the overlapping post-exilic community records.