Zuriel

Biblical Record

Zuriel appears only in Numbers 3:35. Numbers 3 records the census of the Levites in the wilderness of Sinai and assigns duties and camping positions to the descendants of Levi's three sons, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Every Levite male from a month old and upward was counted (Numbers 3:15). The descendants of Merari consisted of the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites, and they numbered 6,200 (Numbers 3:33–34).

The text states: "And the chief of the house of the father of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail: these shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle northward" (Numbers 3:35). A chief was the head who represented a family line. The Merarites were responsible for the boards, bars, pillars, and sockets of the tabernacle and all its vessels, as well as the pillars, sockets, pins, and cords of the surrounding court (Numbers 3:36–37). Scripture records nothing further about Zuriel's life or deeds.

Significance in Scripture

In Numbers 3, Zuriel is listed alongside the chiefs of the other two Levitical clans. The chief of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael (Numbers 3:24), and the chief of the Kohathites was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel (Numbers 3:30). Over them, Eleazar the son of Aaron served as chief over the chiefs of the Levites and oversaw those who kept the charge of the sanctuary (Numbers 3:32). Zuriel's name thus belongs to a list showing that service at the tabernacle was assigned in an orderly way, clan by clan. The New Testament does not mention Zuriel.

Interpretation and Debate

The Hebrew name is understood to mean "God is my rock." Because Zuriel appears only once, and briefly, in Scripture, no particular points of interpretive disagreement among denominations or traditions are known. His father Abihail should be distinguished from others of the same name in the Bible, such as the father of Esther.

In the Korean Church

Sermons or Sunday school lessons devoted specifically to Zuriel are uncommon. Readers usually encounter the name in the list of Levites in Numbers while following a through-the-Bible reading plan.