Numbers 3:35

35 And the head of the house of the families of the division of Merari, was Suriel the son of Abichail: they shall encamp by the side of the tabernacle northwards.

Numbers 3:35 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 3:35

And the chief of the house of the father of the families of
Merari
I think it should rather be rendered, "and the chief of the house", that is, of the Merarites, "the father to the families of Merari"; the common father to them all, having the chief authority and power over them, and so in ( Numbers 3:24 Numbers 3:30 ) ;

[shall be] Zuriel the son of Abihail;
of whom we read nowhere else, nor is it certain of which family he was, whether of the Mahlites or Mushites:

[these] shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle northward;
to the left of it, between that and the camp of Dan.

Numbers 3:35 In-Context

33 To Merari the family of Mooli, and the family of Musi: these are the families of Merari.

34 The mustering of them according to number, every male from a month old and upwards, six thousand and fifty.

35 And the head of the house of the families of the division of Merari, was Suriel the son of Abichail: they shall encamp by the side of the tabernacle northwards.

36 The oversight of the charge of the sons of Merari the chapiters of the tabernacle, and its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets, and all their furniture, and their works,

37 and the pillars of the court round about, and their bases, and their pins, and their cords.