29 "As for the sons of Merari, you shall number them by their families, by their fathers' houses;
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
As for the sons of Merari,.... The third and youngest son of Levi:
thou shalt number them after their families, by the house of their fathers; which is the form of expression used of them all; See Gill on Numbers 4:2.
As for the sons of Merari--They carried the coarser and heavier appurtenances, which, however, were so important and necessary, that an inventory was kept of them--not only on account of their number and variety, but of their comparative commonness and smallness, which might have led to their being lost or missing through carelessness, inadvertency, or neglect. It was a useful lesson, showing that God disregards nothing pertaining to His service, and that even in the least and most trivial matters, He requires the duty of faithful obedience.
Service of the Merarites. - Numbers 4:29 and Numbers 4:30, like Numbers 4:22 and Numbers 4:23. פּקד, to muster, i.e., to number, equivalent to ראשׁ נשׁא, to take the number.
*More commentary available at chapter level.