A personal name appearing in Nehemiah's list of priestly families, with variant spellings in the Ketiv (written text) and Qere (read text). The Ketiv reads 'Malluchi' while the Qere reads 'Melicu,' reflecting scribal uncertainty or dialectal variation. This individual represents a priestly family in the postexilic restoration community. Such textual variants are common in Ezra-Nehemiah's lists, where names underwent spelling changes or were remembered differently across traditions. The Septuagint's attempts (Malouch, Malouk) show ancient translators also navigating this variation.