33 Of Merari 'is' the family of the Mahlite, and the family of the Mushite; these 'are' the families of Merari. 34 And their numbered ones, in number, all the males from a son of a month and upward, 'are' six thousand and two hundred. 35 And the prince of a father's house for the families of Merari 'is' Zuriel son of Abihail; by the side of the tabernacle they encamp northward. 36 And the oversight—the charge of the sons of Merari—'is' the boards of the tabernacle, and its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets, and all its vessels, and all its service, 37 and the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Numbers 3:33-37
Commentary on Numbers 3:14-39
(Read Numbers 3:14-39)
The Levites were in three classes, according to the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari; and these were subdivided into families. The posterity of Moses were not at all honoured or privileged, but stood upon the level with other Levites; thus it was plain, that Moses did not seek the advancement of his own family, or to secure any honours to it. The tribe of Levi was by much the least of all the tribes. God's chosen are but a little flock in comparison with the world.