Who was Merari in the bible?
Merari is listed among “The sons of Levi” in 1 Chronicles and appears in genealogies and Levitical family allotments, especially in 1 Chronicles 6.
Family Line
“The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi.” (1 Chronicles 6:19, WEB) A later genealogy traces, “the son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, the son of Merari, the son of Levi.” (1 Chronicles 6:47, WEB)
Learn More →Cities By Lot
“To the sons of Merari were given by lot… out of the tribe of Reuben… Gad… and… Zebulun, twelve cities.” (1 Chronicles 6:63, WEB) “To the rest of the Levites, the sons of Merari, were given… Rimmono… Tabor…” (1 Chronicles 6:77, WEB)
Learn More →Merari was an Israelite counted among the Levites; in the genealogies he appears as one of Levi’s sons. Lexicon information derives his name from a Hebrew root associated with bitterness.
Merari in Scripture
Merari first appears in lists that name the three sons of Levi. In a genealogy setting, Chronicles states:
“The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.” (1 Chronicles 6:1, WEB)
The same identification is repeated as the chapter continues:
“The sons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari.” (1 Chronicles 6:16, WEB)
Within the longer flow of 1 Chronicles 6, the writer places Merari inside a broad genealogical presentation of the Levites, beginning with Levi’s sons and then tracing lines connected with the sanctuary. After naming Levi’s sons, the chapter gives the sons of Kohath and then the children of Amram—“Aaron, Moses, and Miriam” (1 Chronicles 6:3, WEB)—and continues with successive generations in a line associated with the priest’s office, mentioning “Azariah, who executed the priest’s office in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem” (1 Chronicles 6:10, WEB). This establishes the chapter’s setting as a structured account of Levitical and priestly lines before returning to the broader Levitical families.
When the chapter turns back to the three Levitical branches, it identifies Merari’s immediate descendants and treats them as family heads within the Levites:
“The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers’ households.” (1 Chronicles 6:19, WEB)
Later in the same chapter, Merari’s line is expanded through a multigenerational listing. The text again begins with his sons and then continues by naming descendants in sequence:
“The sons of Merari: Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzzah his son,” (1 Chronicles 6:29, WEB)
The next verse continues the same line (“Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, Asaiah his son.”; 1 Chronicles 6:30, WEB), keeping Merari’s descendants within the larger Levitical genealogy.
Still within 1 Chronicles 6, Merari’s family is also connected to a line of temple singers by locating a prominent musician within “the sons of Merari” alongside others appointed for song. The narrative leading into the singers explains, “These are they whom David set over the service of song in Yahweh’s house, after the ark came to rest there.” (1 Chronicles 6:31, WEB), and then lists those who served. Within that list Merari’s branch is introduced this way:
“On the left hand their brothers the sons of Merari: Ethan the son of Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluch,” (1 Chronicles 6:44, WEB)
The genealogy of this Ethan is then traced back through Merari to Levi, situating Merari as an ancestral link within the Levitical singer line:
“the son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, the son of Merari, the son of Levi.” (1 Chronicles 6:47, WEB)
Alongside these genealogical notices, 1 Chronicles 6 also describes the allocation of cities to Levite families and specifies a portion assigned to Merari’s descendants. As the chapter explains the distribution, it states:
“To the sons of Merari were given by lot, according to their families, out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.” (1 Chronicles 6:63, WEB)
The account then names particular places granted to the Merarites among the wider list of Levitical towns, repeating the identification “the sons of Merari” and calling them “the rest of the Levites”:
“To the rest of the Levites, the sons of Merari, were given, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Rimmono with its pasture lands, Tabor with its pasture lands;” (1 Chronicles 6:77, WEB)
Outside the key chapter, the genealogical framing continues elsewhere in Chronicles. In a summary list of Levitical divisions attributed to David, Merari is again named as one of Levi’s sons:
“David divided them into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.” (1 Chronicles 23:6, WEB)
In the same context, Merari’s descendants appear again with the same pair of sons, and one branch is extended:
“The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.” (1 Chronicles 23:21, WEB)
Other passages mention “the sons of Merari” as a recognized Levitical subgroup. A genealogy of Levites in Jerusalem includes an individual traced as belonging to Merari’s line:
“Of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, of the sons of Merari;” (1 Chronicles 9:14, WEB)
Merari’s descendants also appear in a setting where Levites are organized by family leadership. The narrative identifies a chief from Merari’s branch:
“of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, and his brothers two hundred twenty;” (1 Chronicles 15:6, WEB)
In the same chapter, another organized appointment of Levites includes a representative of Merari’s line among the named musicians:
“So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel; and of his brothers, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari their brothers, Ethan the son of Kushaiah;” (1 Chronicles 15:17, WEB)
Together, these passages present Merari primarily as a foundational Levitical ancestor: one of Levi’s sons, the father of Mahli and Mushi, the ancestor in genealogies that connect to appointed singers, and the namesake of a Levitical branch that received cities “by lot, according to their families” (1 Chronicles 6:63, WEB).
Name and Meaning
The name is written in Hebrew as מְרָרִי (Merariy), pronounced mer-aw-ree’. Lexicon information derives it from a Hebrew term meaning “bitter,” connected with the root marar (מָרַר), “to be (causatively, make) bitter.”
Observation
Across Chronicles, Merari is consistently presented as a key point of origin for an identifiable Levitical family group—“the sons of Merari”—who appear in genealogies, organized service, and the receiving of “twelve cities” allotted to them (1 Chronicles 6:63, WEB).
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the name Merari mean?
Merari means “bitter.”
How many times does Merari appear in the Bible?
Merari appears 37 times.
Who was Merari?
Merari is identified as an Israelite, listed among the sons of Levi (1 Chronicles 6:1).
Who were the sons of Merari?
Merari’s sons are named Mahli and Mushi (1 Chronicles 6:19; 1 Chronicles 23:21).
Explore Further
If you found this page about Merari interesting and would like to discover more about other biblical characters, explore our comprehensive Encyclopedia of Biblical Characters. For those looking to delve deeper into the Greek origins of these names and terms, our Greek Lexicon is an invaluable resource.
Sources: Name and occurrence data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and STEPBible reference data (CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).
