John Gill Commentary Numbers 3:35

"And the prince of the fathers` house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail: they shall encamp on the side of the tabernacle northward." — Numbers 3:35 (ASV)

And the chief of the house of the father of the families of
Merari
I think it should rather be rendered, "and the chief of the house", that is, of the Merarites, "the father to the families of Merari"; the common father to them all, having the chief authority and power over them, and so in (Numbers 3:24Numbers 3:30) ;

[shall be] Zuriel the son of Abihail ;
of whom we read nowhere else, nor is it certain of which family he was, whether of the Mahlites or Mushites:

[these] shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle northward ;
to the left of it, between that and the camp of Dan.