These are the families of Levi …: This verse may seem confusing after the previous one. However, out of the clans of the Gershonites, Kohathites and Merarites, this verse selects only a few specific “subclans” (Good News Bible). Libni was a son of Gershon (3.18), Hebron was a son of Kohath (3.19), Mahli and Mushi were Merari’s sons (3.20), and Korah was a son of Izhar, who was a son of Kohath (3.19; 16.1). Therefore the renderings of Contemporary English Version and New International Version are not helpful here. Contemporary English Version begins this verse with “as well as the clans of Libni, Hebron, Mahli, Mushi, and Korah,” and New International Version has “These also were Levite clans: the Libnite clan, the Hebronite clan, the Mahlite clan, the Mushite clan, the Korahite clan.” The expressions “as well as” and “also” give the wrong suggestion that these clans were outside of and in addition to the clans of Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. We advise translators to follow Good News Bible and Bible en français courant here by using the word “subclans” instead of “clans.”

And Kohath was the father of Amram: For the Hebrew verb rendered was the father of (holid), see the comments on verse 29. Amram was mentioned already in 3.19. This clause starts a short paragraph referring to Amram’s children (Aaron, Moses, and Miriam) as well as Aaron’s sons (verses 59-61). The parentheses around this paragraph in New International Version may give the wrong suggestion to some readers that its information is unimportant. The point of this specially included paragraph is to remind readers of the preeminent place of Aaron, his sons, and Moses in the clan structure of the tribe of Levi. It is placed here at the conclusion of the second census to ensure the continued priority of the Aaronic priesthood for the new generation. So it seems much better to print verses 58b-61 as one paragraph, without parentheses (so New Living Translation).

New Living Translation has the following helpful model for verse 58:
• The Libnites, the Hebronites, the Mahlites, the Mushites, and the Korahites were all subclans of the Levites.
Now Kohath was the ancestor of Amram….

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .