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.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The narrator records the divine census detailing the Levite tribal structure. This entry follows the listing of Kohath’s sons and precedes the enumeration of Gershon’s clans.

The words — מְרָרִ֛י (Merari) identifies the third Levitical patriarch whose lineage is being cataloged. אֵ֥לֶּה הֵ֛ם (Eleh hem) literally means "these are they," serving as a formal textual marker to confirm the preceding names.

The thread — This genealogical record runs parallel to Exodus 6:19 and 1 Chronicles 6:19, which list the same Merarite descendants. The identical family structure reappears in Numbers 3:33 to formally classify the Mahlites and Mushites.

Why it lands — The text states that Levite service groups are organized through documented familial lines. It requires the reader to accept that institutional order and assigned duties derive from recorded ancestry rather than human appointment.

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

וּבְנֵ֧יu./ve.Neiand/ [the] sons of מְרָרִ֛יme.ra.RiMerari לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֖םle./mish.pe.cho.Ta/mto/ clans/ their מַחְלִ֣יmach.LiMahli וּמוּשִׁ֑יu./mu.Shiand/ Mushi אֵ֥לֶּה'E.lehthese הֵ֛םhemthey מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥תmish.pe.Chot[were] [the] clans of הַלֵּוִ֖יha./le.Vithe/ Levites לְבֵ֥יתle./Veitto/ [the] house of אֲבֹתָֽם׃'a.vo.Ta/mancestors/ their

King James Version

And the sons of Merari by their families; Mahli, and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to the house of their fathers.

Cross-references

Exodus 6:19 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of the Levites according to their records.
1 Chronicles 6:19 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites listed according to their fathers:
Numbers 3:33 From Merari came the clans of the Mahlites and Mushites; these were the Merarite clans.
1 Chronicles 6:29 The descendants of Merari: Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzzah his son,
1 Chronicles 6:44 On the left were their kinsmen, the sons of Merari: Ethan the son of Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluch,
1 Chronicles 15:6 from the Merarites, Asaiah the chief and 220 of his relatives;
1 Chronicles 23:21 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.
1 Chronicles 24:27 The descendants of Merari from Jaaziah: Beno, Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri.
1 Chronicles 25:3 From the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah—six in all—under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with the harp, giving thanks and praise to the LORD.