Bamidbar 3:35

35 And the Nasi bais av of the mishpekhot of Merari was Tzuriel ben Avichayil; these shall encamp on the side of the Mishkan northward.

Bamidbar 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.

Bamidbar 3:35 In-Context

33 To Merari belonged the mishpakhat of the Mahli, and the mishpakhat of the Mushi: these are the mishpekhot of Merari.

34 And those that were counted of them, according to the number of all the zachar, from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred.

35 And the Nasi bais av of the mishpekhot of Merari was Tzuriel ben Avichayil; these shall encamp on the side of the Mishkan northward.

36 And under the guard duty charge of the Bnei Merari shall be: the frames of the Mishkan, and the crossbars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the bases thereof, and all the vessels thereof, and all that serveth thereto,

37 And the pillars of the khatzer round about, and their bases, and their pegs, and their cords.