Person Old Testament
Abihail
Abihail was the father of Zuriel, who was the leader of the Merarite clan of the Levites during the wilderness wanderings. Mentioned once in Scripture, at Numbers 3:35.
Why it matters. Father of Zuriel, a Levite leader
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Abihail
Abihail is mentioned in Num.3.35 as the father of Zuriel, who was the leader of the Merarite clan during the Israelites' journey through the wilderness. The Merarites were one of the three main divisions of the Levites, alongside the Gershonites and the Kohathites.
As the leader of the Merarites, Zuriel was responsible for overseeing the transportation and setup of the tabernacle's framework, including the boards, bars, pillars, and sockets (Num.3.36-37). The Merarites were under the overall leadership of Ithamar, one of Aaron's sons.
No additional information is provided about Abihail himself in the biblical text, apart from being the father of Zuriel. His mention serves to identify Zuriel's lineage and his role within the Levitical clan structure.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
- Children
- Zuriel
Appears in Scripture
Named in 1 verse across 1 book. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.
Numbers (1 verse)