Bible Strands
1 Chronicles 6:63
The Merarites, according to their clans, were allotted twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Chronicler compiles a post-exilic inventory for Israel, summarizing the initial conquest-era settlement of Levitical families.
The words — מְרָרִ֜י (Merari) names the third Levitical lineage, while לְ/מִשְׁפְּחוֹתָ֗/ם (le/mishpechotam) clarifies that the distribution was organized by extended family units.
The thread — This record aligns with Joshua 21:7, which lists the identical twelve cities, and traces back to Genesis 46:11, which first establishes Merari as one of Levi’s three sons.
Why it lands — It requires the reader to recognize the deliberate, geographically dispersed provision made for the priestly class and to track how tribal boundaries functioned as administrative frameworks.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Unto the sons of Merari were given by lot, throughout their families, out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.
Cross-references
- Joshua 21:7 And the descendants of Merari received twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.
- Joshua 21:34 This is what the Merarite clan (the rest of the Levites) were given: From the tribe of Zebulun they were given Jokneam, Kartah,
- Genesis 46:11 The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
- Numbers 3:20 And the sons of Merari by their clans were Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of the Levites, according to their families.
- 1 Chronicles 6:77 The Merarites (the rest of the Levites) received the following: From the tribe of Zebulun they were given Rimmono and Tabor, together with their pasturelands.