³³ Of Merar′i were the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merar′i. ³⁴ Their number according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was six thousand two hundred. ³⁵ And the head of the fathers’ house of the families of Merar′i was Zu′riel the son of Ab′ihail; they were to encamp on the north side of the tabernacle. ³⁶ And the appointed charge of the sons of Merar′i was to be the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service pertaining to these; ³⁷ also the pillars of the court round about, with their bases and pegs and cords.

³⁸ And those to encamp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, having charge of the rites within the sanctuary, whatever had to be done for the people of Israel; and any one else who came near was to be put to death. ³⁹ All who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the Lord, by families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty-two thousand.