Eleazar was the third son of Aaron (verse 23). He is mentioned here because his older brothers died childless (Num 3.4) even before their father died. He also succeeded his father as high priest (Deut 10.6). Took to wife means “married” as in verse 20. His wife is not named, but she was not the only daughter of her father Putiel. (For she bore him see verse 20.) The genealogy ends with Phinehas, who succeeded his father Eleazar as high priest (Judges 20.28).

These refers back to all the male descendants of Levi listed in verses 16-25. There are six generations from Levi to Phinehas, but all those named in these verses are considered heads of the fathers’ houses for all the Levites, that is, for all the descendants of Levi. The Hebrew does not include the word for houses in this verse, although it is used in verse 14. Most translations supply it since it is probably understood. But it is also possible to interpret the Hebrew as referring to “the leading Levitical ancestors,” as Translator’s Old Testament has done. Since the words These are the heads are found only in verses 14 and 25, they should be understood as a formula that marks the beginning and the end of the entire genealogy.

The distinction between fathers’ houses and families is not clear in the Hebrew, but it is possible that fathers’ houses is intended as the larger unit. Good News Translation combines the two expressions as “the families and the clans.” It may be easier to say “clans and families,” since a “clan” normally included several extended “families.” (See the diagram of family structures and where “clans” fit in, at verse 14.) Contemporary English Version has a good alternative translation model: “This ends the list of those who were the heads of clans in the Levi tribe.” One may also translate “All these men who have been listed were the heads of the clans of the Levites, arranged by families.”

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .