Kemuel

Three men bear the name Kemuel — a son of Nahor in the patriarchal genealogies, an Ephraimite tribal prince in the wilderness period, and a Levite under David.

Son of Nahor, father of Aram

The earliest Kemuel appears in the listing of Nahor's sons by Milcah, where he is identified as the ancestor of Aram: "Uz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram." (Ge 22:21). The tag "father of Aram" places his line within the Aramean stock of Abraham's broader kindred.

Prince of the tribe of Ephraim

In the wilderness, when Yahweh appoints a representative from each tribe to oversee the inheritance west of the Jordan, Ephraim's chief is Kemuel: "And of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim a prince, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan." (Nu 34:24). His patronymic — son of Shiphtan — distinguishes him from the patriarchal Kemuel.

Father of Hashabiah the Levite

The third Kemuel is the father of one of David's tribal officers. In the roster of those set over the tribes, the Levites' chief is named with his pedigree: "of Levi, Hashabiah the son of Kemuel: of Aaron, Zadok:" (1Ch 27:17). Here Kemuel himself is not the officer but the father of Hashabiah, the man placed over the tribe of Levi in David's administration.