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Levite - Twelve Tribes of Israel
 The Tribe of Levite
לוי
"Attached", Standard Hebrew Levi Lēwî is a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi. The
Levites were the only one of the Israelite tribes who
received cities but no tribal land when Joshua led the
Israelites into the land of Canaan. The Tribe of Levi
served particular religious duties for the Israelites.
In return, the landed tribes were expected to give tithe
to the Levites.
The tribe is named after Levi one of the twelve sons of
Jacob (also called Israel.) Levi had three sons: Gershon,
Kohath, and Merari (Genesis 46:11).
Kohath's son Amram was the father of both Moses and
Aaron. The descendants of Aaron: the Kohanim
("Priests"), had the special role as priests in the
Tabernacle in the wilderness and also in the Temple in
Jerusalem. The remaining Levites (Levi'yim in Hebrew),
divided into three groups (the descendents of Gershon,
or Gershonites, the descendants of Kohath, or Kohathites,
and the descendants of Merari, or Merarites) each filled
different roles in the Tabernacle and later in the
Temple services.
also see: Cohen Levites and priests may have been responsible for
stamping the LMLK seals on Judean storage jars during
the reign of Hezekiah (circa 700 BC). The associated
Personal seals on the same jars may have represented
various courses of Levites overseeing the proper
production of 10 percent for tithing in the same manner
that modern rabbis (mashgihim) approve kosher wine (Grena,
2004, pp. 75-6). Even today, Levites are considered to have additional
rights and obligations compared to lay people. For
instance,
Kohanim are eligible to read the rolls of
Torah first, followed by the Levites.
No property / Priesthood The significance of the tribe membership and the
relation to the same ancestors have led Levite to adopt
a common last name, to signify their title. Because of
diverse geographical locations, the names have several
variations: Levi - Hebrew for "Levite", common among Levites of
Northern African and Middle Eastern origin
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