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According to the Bible, theTribe of Levi is one of thetribes of Israel, traditionally descended fromLevi, son ofJacob. The descendants ofAaron, who was the firstHigh Priest of Israel, were designated as thepriestly class, theKohanim.
The Tribe of Levi served particular religious duties for theIsraelites and had political responsibilities as well. In return, the landed tribes were expected to givetithes to the Kohanim, the priests working in theTemple in Jerusalem, particularly thefirst tithe. TheLevites who were not Kohanim played music in the Temple or served as guards. Most scholars view theTorah as projecting the origins of the Levites into the past to explain their role as landless cultic functionaries.[1]
WhenJoshua led theIsraelites into the land ofCanaan, the Levites were the only Israelite tribe thatreceived cities but were not allowedland tenure;Joshua 13:33, "But no portion was assigned by Moses to the tribe of Levi;YHWH God of Israel is their portion—as [God] spoke concerning them." Some Biblical traditions point to the alien aspects of the Levites and their role as military troops. In this context, the etymology linking the term Levi with theMycenaean Greek termla-wo (the people / armed people) was proposed.[2]
Notable descendants of the Levite lineage according to the Bible includeMoses,Aaron,Miriam,Samuel,Jeremiah,Ezekiel,Ezra, andMalachi.
According to theTorah, the tribe is named afterLevi, one of the twelve sons ofJacob (also calledIsrael). Levi married a woman named Adinah—according to theBook of Jasher—and had three sons:Gershon,Kohath, andMerari (Genesis 46:11). Levi also had a daughter namedJochebed (Exodus 6:20).
| Levi | Adinah | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gershon | Kohath | Merari | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Libni | Shimei | Izhar | Hebron | Uzziel | Mahli | Mushi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jochebed | Amram | Mishael | Elzaphan | Zithri | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miriam | Aaron | Moses | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kohath's sonAmram was the father of Miriam, Aaron andMoses. The descendants of Aaron, the Kohanim, had the special role as priests in theTabernacle in the wilderness and also in theTemple in Jerusalem. The remaining Levites were divided into three groups:Gershonites (descended from Gershon),Kohathites (from Kohath), andMerarites (from Merari). Each division filled different roles in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple services.
Levites' principal roles in the Temple included singingPsalms during Temple services, performing construction and maintenance for the Temple, serving as guards, and performing other services. Levites also served as teachers and judges, maintainingcities of refuge in biblical times. TheBook of Ezra reports that the Levites were responsible for the construction of theSecond Temple and also translated and explained the Torah when it was publicly read.
During theExodus the Levite tribe were particularly zealous in protecting the Mosaic law in the face of those worshipping thegolden calf, which may have been a reason for their priestly status.[3][4] Although the Levites were not counted in the census among the children of Israel, they were numbered separately as a special army.[5]
In theBook of Numbers the Levites were charged with ministering to the Kohanim and keeping watch over the Tabernacle:
TheBooks of the Prophets orNevi'im are one part of theHebrew Bible.
TheBook of Jeremiah speaks of a covenant with the Kohanim and Levites, connecting it with the covenant with the seed of King David:
TheBook of Malachi also spoke of a covenant with Levi:
Malachi connected a purification of the "sons of Levi" with the coming ofGod's messenger:
Critical scholars who follow thedocumentary hypothesis propose that those parts of the Torah attributed to theElohist seem to treatLevite as a descriptive attribute for someone particularly suited to the priesthood, rather than as a firm designation of a tribe, and believe that Moses and Aaron are being portrayed as part of the Joseph group rather than being part of a tribe calledLevi.[6]Jahwist passages have more ambiguous language; traditionally interpreted as referring to a person namedLevi, they could also be interpreted as just referring to a social position titledlevi.[6]
In theBlessing of Jacob, Levi is treated as a tribe, cursing them to become scattered; critics regard this as anaetiologicalpostdiction to explain how a tribe could be so scattered, the simpler solution being that the priesthood was originally open to any tribe, but gradually became seen as a distinct tribe to themselves.[6][7] ThePriestly source and theBlessing of Moses, which critical scholars view as originating centuries later, portray the Levites firmly established as a tribe, and as the only tribe with the right to become priests.
Aren M. Maier holds that it is very likely that priestly groups such as the Levites existed during the First Temple period, since the existence of cultic groups of that kind were very common within the ancient Near East.[8]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906)."LEVITES (Temple Servants)".The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.