Numbers 3:33

From Merari came the clans of the Mahlites and Mushites; these were the Merarite clans.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The biblical narrator records this lineage entry for Israel during the wilderness census preparation, placing it after the Kohathite records and immediately before the Merarite male count.

The words — The text emphasizes מִשְׁפַּ֙חַת (mish.Pa.chat), meaning “clan,” and אֵ֥לֶּה ('E.leh), meaning “these,” to formally designate the Mahlites and Mushites as the complete Merarite families.

The thread — This pairing appears in Numbers 3:20, 1 Chronicles 6:19, and 1 Chronicles 23:21, which consistently list Mahli and Mushi as the foundational Merarite lineages.

Why it lands — It requires the reader to accept the text’s explicit genealogical boundaries for the Levitical tribes and to recognize the precise organizational structure without importing external family claims.

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

לִמְרָרִ֕יli/m.ra.Ri[belonged] to/ Merari מִשְׁפַּ֙חַת֙mish.Pa.chat[the] clan of הַמַּחְלִ֔יha./mach.Lithe/ Mahlite[s]וּמִשְׁפַּ֖חַתu./mish.Pa.chatand/ [the] clan of הַמּוּשִׁ֑יha./mu.Shithe/ Mushite[s]אֵ֥לֶּה'E.lehthese הֵ֖םhemthey מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥תmish.pe.Chot[were] [the] clans of מְרָרִֽי׃me.ra.Ri[the] Merarite[s]

King James Version

Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merari.

Cross-references

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 6:19 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites listed according to their fathers:
1 Chronicles 23:21 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.