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Levi

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This article is about the Biblical patriarch. For the brand of jeans, along with the person who invented them, seeLevi Strauss & Co.andLevi Strauss.For other uses, seeLevi (disambiguation).
Levi
לֵוִי
Levi, from the seriesJacob and His Twelve Sons(c. 1640– c. 1645), byFrancisco de Zurbarán
Born16Nisan
Paddan Aram
Died1431, 1430 or 1429 BC (AM2331 orAM2332) (aged 137)[1]
SpouseAdinah
ChildrenGershon(son)
Kehath(son)
Merari(son)[2]
Jochebed(daughter)
Parents
RelativesReuben(brother)
Simeon(brother)
Judah(brother)
Dan(half brother)
Naphtali(half brother)
Gad(half brother)
Asher(half brother)
Issachar(brother)
Zebulun(brother)
Dinah(sister)
Joseph(half brother)
Benjamin(half brother)
Rachel(aunt/stepmother)

Levi(/ˈliːvaɪ/LEE-vy;Hebrew:לֵוִי,Modern:Levī,Tiberian:Lēwī) was, according to theBook of Genesis,the third of the six sons ofJacobandLeah(Jacob's third son), and the founder of theIsraeliteTribe of Levi(theLevites,including theKohanim) and the great-grandfather ofAaron,MosesandMiriam.[3]Certain religious and political functions were reserved for the Levites.

Origins

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TheTorahsuggests that the nameLevirefers to Leah's hope for Jacob tojoinwith her, implying a derivation fromHebrewyillaweh,meaninghe will join,but scholars suspect that it may simply mean "priest", either as aloanwordor by referring to those people who werejoinedto theArk of the Covenant.Another possibility is that the Levites were atribe of Judahnot from the clan of Moses or Aaron and that the name "Levites" indicates theirjoining- either with the Israelites in general or with the earlier Israelitepriesthoodin particular.[4]

TheBook of Jubileesstates that Levi was born "in the new moon of the first month", which means that he was born on 1Nisan.[5]

Simeonand Levislay Hamor and Shechem

Levi and the "Blessing of Jacob"

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In theBook of Genesis,Levi and his brother,Simeon,exterminate the city ofShechemin revenge for therape of Dinah,seizing the wealth of the city and killing the men.[6]The brothers had earlier misled the inhabitants by consenting to Dinah's rapist marrying her in exchange for the men of the city to be circumcised, and when Jacob hears about their destruction of Shechem, he castigates them for it.[7]In theBlessing of Jacob,Jacob is described as imposing a curse on the Levites, by which they would be scattered, in punishment for Levi's actions in Shechem.[8]

Some textual scholars date the Blessing of Jacob to a period between one and two centuries before theBabylonian captivity,and some Biblical scholars regard the curse, and Dinah herself, as an aetiological postdiction to explain the fates of the tribe of Simeon and the Levites, with one possible explanation of the Levites' scattered nature being that the priesthood was originally open to any tribe but gradually became seen as a distinct tribe itself.[4]Nevertheless, Isaac, Levi's grandfather, gives a special blessing about the lineage of priests of God.[9]

The family of Levi

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In theBook of Genesis,Levi is described as having fathered three sons—Gershon,Kohath,andMerari.[10]A similar genealogy is given in theBook of Exodus,where it is added that among Kohath's sons was one—Amram—who married a woman namedJochebed,who was closely related to his father, and they were the biological parents ofMoses,Aaron,andMiriam;[11]though some Greek and Latin manuscripts of the Torah state that Jochebed was Amram's father's cousin, theMasoretic Textstates that she was his father's sister,[12]and theSeptuagintmentions that she wasone ofhisfather's sisters.The Masoretic Text's version of Levi's genealogy thus implies (and in Numbers 26:59, explicitly states) that Levi also had a daughter (Jochebed), and the Septuagint implies further daughters. The names of Levi's sons, and possible daughter, are interpreted inclassical rabbinical literatureas being reflections on their future destiny.[13]In someapocryphaltexts such as theTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchs,and theBook of Jubilees,Levi's wife, his children's mother, is named asMilkah,a daughter ofAram,[14][15]but according to theBook of Jasher,the name of Levi's wife was Adinah.

Family tree

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JacobLeah
LeviAdinah
GershonKehathMerari
LibniShimeiIzharHebronUzzielMahliMushi
JochebedAmramMishaelElzaphanZithri
MiriamAaronMosesZipporah
GershomEliezer

In post-Torah tradition

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Levi, Russian icon

In accordance with his role as founder of the Levites, Levi is referred to as being particularlypious.TheBlessing of Moses,which some textual scholars attribute to a period just before thedeuteronomist,speaks about Levi via anallegoricalcomparison toMoseshimself,[16]whichhaggadahtake to support the characterization of Levi (and his progeny) as being by far the greatest of his brothers in respect to piety. TheapocryphalPrayer of Asenath,which textual scholars believe dates from some time after the first century AD, describes Levi as a prophet and saint who is able to forecast the future and understand heavenly writings, and as someone who admonishes the people to forgive and to be in awe ofGod.[17]TheBook of Malachiargues thatYahwehchose the Levites to be priests because Levi, as God's minister,[18]embodied true religious principles, possessed reverence for Yahweh, heldthe divine namein awe,upheld peace,provided a model of goodmorality,and turned many people away from sin.[19]

Testament of Levi

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Main article:Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs

The Testament of Levi is believed to have been written between 153 BC and 107 BC, and closer to the latter date.[20] On his deathbed, Levi gathered all his children to narrate the story of his life to them, and prophesied unto them what they would do, and what would happen to them until judgment day. He also told them that God had chosen him and his seed as priest of Lord unto eternity.[21]In this testament, Levi is described as having had two visions. The first vision coveredeschatologicalissues, portraying the seven heavens, theJewish Messiah,andJudgement Day.The second vision portrays seven angels bringing Levi seven insignia signifying priesthood, prophecy, and judgement; in the vision, after the angels anoint Levi, and initiate him as a priest, they tell him of the future of his descendants, mentioningMoses,the Aaronid[citation needed]priesthood, and a time when there would be priest-kings; this latter point was of particular interest to theMaccabeanperiod ofJohn Hyrcanus,who was both a high priest, and warrior-king.

TheBook of Jubileessimilarly has Isaac telling Levi of the future of his descendants, again predicting priesthood, prophets, and political power,[22]and additionally describes Jacob as entrusting Levi withthe secrets of the ancients,so that they would be known only to the Levites;[23]however, like the Testament of Levi, the Book of Jubilees is regarded as a Maccabean-era document.[4]

Tomb

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ASamaritantradition recorded in the late 19th century considered Neby Lawin, just north ofSilat ad-Dhahrto be the burial place of Levi.[24]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Exodus 6:16
  2. ^Genesis 46:11
  3. ^Ex. 6:16-20
  4. ^abc"Levi, Tribe of",in the 1906Jewish Encyclopedia
  5. ^"Book of Jubilees 28:20".sefaria.org.
  6. ^Genesis 34
  7. ^Genesis 34:30–31
  8. ^Genesis 49:–7
  9. ^Ginzberg, Louis (1909).Legends of the JewsVol I: Isaac blesses Levi and JudahArchived2018-10-11 at theWayback Machine(Translated by Henrietta Szold) Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.
  10. ^Genesis 46:11
  11. ^Exodus 6:16–20
  12. ^New American Bible,footnote to Exodus 6:20
  13. ^Numbers Rabbah3:12
  14. ^Jubilees 34:20
  15. ^Testament of Levi11
  16. ^Deuteronomy 33:8–10
  17. ^Kaufmann, Kohler."Jacob's Heroic Sons".Jewish Encyclopedia.Retrieved5 October2023.
  18. ^Ginzberg, Louis (1909).The Legends of the Jews Vol II: Ascension of LeviArchived2017-12-01 at theWayback Machine(Translated by Henrietta Szold) Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.
  19. ^Malachi 2:4–6
  20. ^Charles, Robert Henry (1911)."Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs".InChisholm, Hugh(ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 666–668.
  21. ^The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, R. H. Charles
  22. ^Jubilees 31:12–17
  23. ^Jubilees 45:16
  24. ^Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p.219

This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Singer, Isidore;et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Levi, Tribe of".The Jewish Encyclopedia.New York: Funk & Wagnalls.

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