Reference: Merari, Merarites
Hastings
1. The third son of Levi, to whom a division of the Levites traced their descent (Ge 46:11; Ex 6:16; Nu 3:17; 1Ch 6:1,16; 23:6. The title 'Merarites' is found only in Nu 26:57; elsewhere they are called 'sons of Merari' (Ex 6:19; Nu 3:20; 4:29,33,42,46; 7:8; 10:17; Jos 21:7,34,39; 1Ch 6:19,29,44,63,77; 9:14; 15:6,17; 23:21; 24:27; 26:19; 2Ch 29:12; Ezr 8:19). They were subdivided into two groups, the Mahlites and the Mushites (Nu 3:33; 26:58), each being traced to a 'son' of Merari (Ex 6:19; Nu 3:20; 1Ch 6:19,29,17; 23:21). From these families fragments of genealogies remain, some branches being traced through the daughters of Mahli (see 1Ch 23:2).
Very little is related of the Merarites after the Exile. Certain Merarites are mentioned in 1Ch 9:14,16-18 = Ne 11:15,17-19 as dwelling in Jerusalem immediately after the Return, and certain others as accompanying Ezra to the city in 454 b.c. (Ezr 8:18 f.). But Priestly Narrative and the Chronicler introduce the family into the earlier history. (1) During the desert wanderings the Merarites were on the north side of the Tent (Nu 3:35); their duty was to carry the less sacred parts of it, the 'boards' (or rather frames), pegs, cords, etc. (Nu 3:38 f., Nu 4:31 f., Nu 10:17), for which they were given four waggons and eight oxen (Nu 7:8); and they were superintended by Ithamar, the youngest son of Aaron (Nu 4:33). (2) After the settlement in Palestine, twelve cities were assigned to them (Jos 21:7,34-40 = 1Ch 6:63,77-81). (3) In David's reign the Chronicler relates that the Temple music was superintended partly by Ethan, or Jeduthun, a Merarite, and his family (1Ch 6:44-47; 16:41 f., 1Ch 25:1,3,6,11,16,18,21 f.; and see 1Ch 15:6,17-19). David divided the Levites into courses 'according to the sons of Levi' (1Ch 23:8; Merarites, 1Ch 23:21-24,26-30), and particular offices of certain Merarites are detailed in 1Ch 26:10-13,16-18. (4) They took part in the cleansing of the Temple under Hezekiah (2Ch 29:12,14). Cf. also art. Kohath.
2. The father of Judith (Jdt 8:1; Jdt 16:7).
A. H. M'Neile.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari: and the years of the life of Levi were a hundred thirty and seven years.
And the sons of Merari; Mahli and Mushi: these are the families of Levi according to their generations.
And the sons of Merari; Mahli and Mushi: these are the families of Levi according to their generations.
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.
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.
Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merari.
And the head of the house of the father of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail: these shall encamp on the side of the tabernacle to the north.
But those that encamp before the tabernacle on the east, even before the tabernacle of meeting eastward, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary to meet the needs of the children of Israel; and the stranger that comes near shall be put to death.
As for the sons of Merari, you shall number them after their families, by the house of their fathers;
And this is the task of their burdens, according to all their service in the tabernacle of meeting; the boards of the tabernacle, and its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets,
This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the tabernacle of meeting, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the tabernacle of meeting, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
And those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers,
All those that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the leaders of Israel numbered, by their families, and by the house of their fathers,
And four wagons and eight oxen he gave unto the sons of Merari, according unto their service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
And four wagons and eight oxen he gave unto the sons of Merari, according unto their service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
And the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari moved forward, bearing the tabernacle.
And the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari moved forward, bearing the tabernacle.
And these are they that were numbered of the Levites according to their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites: of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites: of Merari, the family of the Merarites. These are the families of the Levites: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korathites. And Kohath begat Amram.
The children of Merari by their families had out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.
The children of Merari by their families had out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.
And unto the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its pasture lands, and Kartah with its pasture lands,
And unto the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its pasture lands, and Kartah with its pasture lands, Dimnah with its pasture lands, Nahalal with its pasture lands; four cities. read more. And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with its pasture lands, and Jahaz with its pasture lands, Kedemoth with its pasture lands, and Mephaath with its pasture lands; four cities. And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its pasture lands, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Mahanaim with its pasture lands, Heshbon with its pasture lands, Jazer with its pasture lands; four cities in all.
Heshbon with its pasture lands, Jazer with its pasture lands; four cities in all. So all the cities for the children of Merari by their families, who were remaining of the families of the Levites, were by their lot twelve cities.
And their brethren the sons of Merari stood on the left hand: Ethan the son of Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluch, The son of Hashabiah, the son of Amaziah, the son of Hilkiah, read more. The son of Amzi, the son of Bani, the son of Shemer, The son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, the son of Merari, the son of Levi.
Unto the sons of Merari were given by lot, throughout their families, out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.
Unto the rest of the children of Merari were given out of the tribe of Zebulun, Rimmono with its pasture lands, Tabor with its pasture lands: And on the other side of the Jordan by Jericho, on the east side of the Jordan, were given them out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the wilderness with its pasture lands, and Jahzah with its pasture lands, read more. Kedemoth also with its pasture lands, and Mephaath with its pasture lands: And out of the tribe of Gad; Ramoth in Gilead with its pasture lands, and Mahanaim with its pasture lands, And Heshbon with its pasture lands, and Jazer with its pasture lands.
And of the Levites; Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, of the sons of Merari;
And Obadiah the son of Shemaiah, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun, and Berechiah the son of Asa, the son of Elkanah, that dwelt in the villages of the Netophathites. And the gatekeepers were, Shallum, and Akkub, and Talmon, and Ahiman, and their brethren: Shallum was the chief; read more. Who until then waited in the king's gate eastward: they were gatekeepers in the camp of the children of Levi.
Of the sons of Merari; Asaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred and twenty:
So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel; and of his brethren, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari their brethren, Ethan the son of Kushaiah; And with them their brethren of the second order, Zechariah, Ben, and Jaaziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, the gatekeepers. read more. So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were appointed to sound with cymbals of bronze;
And with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who were designated by name, to give thanks to the LORD, because his mercy endures forever;
And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites.
The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. The sons of Mahli; Eleazar, and Kish. And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters: and their brethren the sons of Kish took them. read more. The sons of Mushi; Mahli, and Eder, and Jeremoth, three. These were the sons of Levi by their fathers' houses; even the heads of their fathers' houses, as they were counted individually by the number of their names, that did the work for the service of the house of the LORD, from the age of twenty years and upward.
And also unto the Levites; they shall no more carry the tabernacle, nor any vessels of it for the service thereof. For by the last words of David the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and above: read more. Because their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the LORD, in the courts, and in the chambers, and in the purifying of all holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God; Both for the showbread, and for the fine flour for meal offering, and for the unleavened cakes, and for that which is baked in the pan, and for that which is mixed with all kinds of measures and sizes; And to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise at evening;
Moreover David and the captains of the army separated for the service some of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with lyres, and with cymbals: and the number of the workmen according to their service was:
Of Jeduthun: the sons of Jeduthun; Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Jeshaiah, Shemei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the hands of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with a harp, to give thanks and to praise the LORD.
All these were under the direction of their father in the music in the house of the LORD, with cymbals, lyres, and harps, for the service of the house of God, according to the king's order to Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman.
Also Hosah, of the children of Merari, had sons; Shimri the chief, (for though he was not the firstborn, yet his father made him the chief;) Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth: all the sons and brethren of Hosah were thirteen. read more. Among these were the divisions of the gatekeepers, even among the chief men, having duties like one another, to minister in the house of the LORD. And they cast lots, the small as well as the great, according to the house of their fathers, for every gate.
To Shuppim and Hosah the lot came forth westward, with the gate Shallecheth, by the road that goes up, watch opposite watch. Eastward were six Levites, northward four a day, southward four a day, and for the storehouse two by two. read more. At Parbar westward, four at the road, and two at Parbar.
Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites: and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehalelel: and of the Gershonites; Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah:
And of the sons of Heman; Jehuel, and Shimei: and of the sons of Jeduthun; Shemaiah, and Uzziel.
And by the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen; And Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty;
Also of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni;
And Mattaniah the son of Mica, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, was the leader to begin the thanksgiving in prayer: and Bakbukiah the second among his brethren, and Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun. All the Levites in the holy city were two hundred fourscore and four. read more. Moreover the gatekeepers, Akkub, Talmon, and their brethren that kept the gates, were a hundred seventy and two.
Smith
Mer'ari, Mer'arites
(bitter, unhappy), third son of Levi and head of the third great division of the Levites, the Merarites.
At the time of the exodus and the numbering in the wilderness, the Merarites consisted of two families, the Mahlites and the Mushites, Mahli and Mushi being either the two sons of the son and grandson of Merari.
Their chief at that time was Zuriel. Their charge was the cords of the tabernacle and the court, and all the tools connected with setting them up. In the division of the land by Joshua, the merarites had twelve cities assigned to them, out of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun.
Jos 21:7,34-40; 1Ch 6:63,77-81
In the days of Hezekiah the Merarites were still flourishing.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And these are the names of the children of Israel, who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob's firstborn.
The children of Merari by their families had out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.
And unto the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its pasture lands, and Kartah with its pasture lands, Dimnah with its pasture lands, Nahalal with its pasture lands; four cities. read more. And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with its pasture lands, and Jahaz with its pasture lands, Kedemoth with its pasture lands, and Mephaath with its pasture lands; four cities. And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its pasture lands, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Mahanaim with its pasture lands, Heshbon with its pasture lands, Jazer with its pasture lands; four cities in all. So all the cities for the children of Merari by their families, who were remaining of the families of the Levites, were by their lot twelve cities.
The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. And these are the families of the Levites according to their fathers.
Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites: and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehalelel: and of the Gershonites; Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah: