This noun designates goldsmiths or metalworkers as a collective group or guild. Nehemiah 3:31 mentions 'son of the goldsmiths'—meaning a member of the goldsmith guild. In post-exilic Jerusalem, craftsmen organized into professional guilds for economic and social purposes. This phrase indicates guild membership rather than actual biological descent. The goldsmith mentioned was helping rebuild Jerusalem's walls, showing how various trade guilds contributed to the restoration project. Such professional designations reflected the organized structure of Jerusalem's artisan community.