³³ Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites. These are the families of Merari. ³⁴ Those who were counted of them, according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward, were six thousand two hundred.^[a]

³⁵ The prince of the fathers’ house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They shall encamp on the north side of the tabernacle. ³⁶ The appointed duty of the sons of Merari shall be the tabernacle’s boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, all its instruments, all its service, ³⁷ the pillars of the court around it, their sockets, their pins, and their cords.

³⁸ Those who encamp before the tabernacle eastward, in front of the Tent of Meeting toward the sunrise, shall be Moses, with Aaron and his sons, keeping the requirements of the sanctuary for the duty of the children of Israel. The outsider who comes near shall be put to death. ³⁹ All who were counted of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron counted at the commandment of Yahweh, by their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty-two thousand.