This article discusses the Biblical patriarch. See Levi Strauss for the inventor of jeans, Levites for the Biblical tribe, or Matthew the Evangelist for the disciple sometimes known as "Levi". Levi Strauss, born Löb Strauß, ( February 26, 1829 - September 26, 1902) was a German - Jewish immigrant In the Jewish tradition a Levite ( is a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi. Matthew the Evangelist (מתי/מתתיהו "Gift of Yahweh " Standard Hebrew and Tiberian Hebrew: Mattay or Mattithyahu For other names and surnames, see Levi (disambiguation).

Levi/Levy, Standard Levy לוי Tiberian Lēwî ; "joining") was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi (the levites). Tiberian Hebrew is an extinct (yet very well documented Oral tradition of pronunciation for ancient Hebrew, especially the Hebrew of the Tanakh, that was Jacob ( Hebrew: יַעֲקֹב, Standard   Yaʿaqov Tiberian   Yaʿăqōḇ; Leah ( "Weary tired" is the first of the four concurrent wives of the Hebrew patriarch Jacob, and mother of six of the Twelve Tribes of Israel along See also History of ancient Israel and Judah According to the Bible, the Israelites were the dominant group living in the Land of Israel. In the Jewish tradition a Levite ( is a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi.

The text of the Torah argues that the name of Levi refers to Leah's hope for Jacob to join with her, implying a derivation from yillaweh, meaning he will join. term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to Sexual intercourse, in its biological sense is the act in which the male reproductive organ (in humans and other higher animals enters the female reproductive tract

Contents 1 Ancestral 2 Priestly 3 Vengeful 4 See also 5 Citations 6 External links

Ancestral

In the Book of Genesis, Levi is described as having fathered three sons - Gershon, Kohath, and Merari^[1]. According to the Torah, Gershon was the eldest of the sons of Levi, and the patriarchal founder of the Gershonites one of the four main divisions among According to the Torah, Kohath was one of the sons of Levi, and the patriarchal founder of the Kohathites, one of the four main divisions among the According to the Torah, Merari was one of the sons of Levi, and the patriarchal founder of the Merarites one of the four main divisions among the Levites A similar genealogy is given in the Book of Exodus, where it is added that among Kohath's sons was one - Amram - who married a woman named Jochebed, who was closely related to his father, and between them were the biological parents of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam^[2]; though some Greek and Latin manuscripts of the Torah state that Jochebed was Amram's father's cousin, the masoretic text states that she was his father's sister^[3], and the Septuagint mentions that she was one of his father's sisters. Exodus ( Greek: έξοδος eksodos = "departure" is the second book of the Jewish Torah and of the Christian Old Testament. In the Book of Exodus, Amram ( Arabic عَمْرَام: ʿAmrām) (Anrão is the father of Aaron, Moses, and According to the Torah, Jochebed ( was the mother of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam, and the wife of Amram. Moses ( Latin: Moyses,; Greek: grc Mωυσής in both the Septuagint and the New Testament; Arabic: ar موسىٰ This article is about Aaron the Levite in the Hebrew Bible, the Qu'ran, and other sources Miriam ( but it might be derived originally from an Egyptian name myr "beloved" or mr "Love" or even Meryamun "beloved of Amun" The Masoretic Text ( MT) is the Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible ( Tanakh) Incest refers to any sexual activity between closely related persons (often within the immediate family that is illegal or socially Taboo. The Septuagint (ˈsɛptuədʒɪnt or simply " LXX " is the Koine Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, translated in stages between the The masoretic text's version of Levi's genealogy thus implies (but doesn't state) that Levi also had a daughter (Jochebed), and the Septuagint implies further daughters. The names of Levi's sons, and possible daughter, are interpreted in classical rabbinical literature as being reflections on their future destiny^[4]. Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense can mean the entire spectrum of Rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history In some apocryphal texts such as the Testament of Levi, and the Book of Jubilees, Levi's wife, his children's mother, is named as Milkah, a daughter of Aram^[5][6]. The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs is an important constituent of the Apocryphal scriptures connected with the Old Testament. Jubilee The Book of Jubilees (ספר היובלים sometimes called the Lesser Genesis ( Leptogenesis) is an ancient Jewish religious work considered

Advocates of the Documentary Hypothesis attribute the genealogy to the Book of Generations, a document originating from a similar religiopolitical group and date to the priestly source^[7]. The Book of generations is an hypothesized text that the modern Documentary hypothesis claims was used by the redactor of the Torah to connect up parts The Priestly Source (P is posited as the most recent of the four chief sources of the Torah, as postulated by the long-established "standard" Wellhausen (or Graf-Wellhausen According to some Biblical scholars, the Torah's genealogy for Levi's descendants, is actually an aetiological myth reflecting the fact that there were four different groups among the levites - the Gershonites, Kohathites, Merarites, and Aaronids^[8]; Aaron - the eponymous ancestor of the Aaronids - couldn't be portrayed as a brother to Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, as the narrative about the birth of Moses (brother of Aaron), which these scholars attribute to the earlier Elohist source, mentions only that both his parents were Levites (without identifying their names)^[9]. The Gershonites were one of the four main divisions among the Levites in Biblical times The Kohathites were one of the four main divisions among the Levites in Biblical times The Elohist (E is one of four sources of the Torah described by the Documentary Hypothesis. Some Biblical scholars suspect that the Elohist account both matrilinial and patrilinial descent from Levites in order to magnify the religious credentials of Moses^[10]. Matrilineality is a system in which lineage is traced through the mother and maternal ancestors Patrilineality (aka agnatic kinship) is a system in which one belongs to one's father's lineage it generally involves the Inheritance of property names or titles

Assuming that the masoretic text/Septuagint is accurate in respect to Jochebed, the family tree of Levi's immediate descendants would be as follows:

Levi

Melcha

Gershon

Kohath

Merari

Jochebed

Amram

Izhar

Hebron

Uzziel

Miriam

Aaron

Moses

Priestly

In accordance with his role as founder of the Levites, Levi is occasionally referred to in the Bible as being particularly pious. According to the Torah, Gershon was the eldest of the sons of Levi, and the patriarchal founder of the Gershonites one of the four main divisions among According to the Torah, Kohath was one of the sons of Levi, and the patriarchal founder of the Kohathites, one of the four main divisions among the According to the Torah, Merari was one of the sons of Levi, and the patriarchal founder of the Merarites one of the four main divisions among the Levites According to the Torah, Jochebed ( was the mother of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam, and the wife of Amram. In the Book of Exodus, Amram ( Arabic عَمْرَام: ʿAmrām) (Anrão is the father of Aaron, Moses, and According to the Torah, Izhar ( was the father of Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri, and was a son of Kohath and grandson of Levi According to the Torah, Hebron was a son of Kohath and grandson of Levi, consequently being the brother of Amram and uncle of Aaron Miriam ( but it might be derived originally from an Egyptian name myr "beloved" or mr "Love" or even Meryamun "beloved of Amun" This article is about Aaron the Levite in the Hebrew Bible, the Qu'ran, and other sources Moses ( Latin: Moyses,; Greek: grc Mωυσής in both the Septuagint and the New Testament; Arabic: ar موسىٰ In spiritual terminology piety is a Virtue. While different people may understand its meaning differently it is generally used to refer either to religious devotion The Blessing of Moses, which textual scholars attribute to period just before the deuteronomist^[11], speaks about Levi via an allegorical comparison to Moses himself^[12], which hagaddah take to support the characterisation of Levi (and his progeny) as being by far the greatest of his brothers in respect to piety^[13]. The Blessing of Moses is a Poem that appears in Deuteronomy at 332-27 The Deuteronomist (D is one of the sources of the Torah postulated by the Documentary Hypothesis An allegory (from αλλος allos "other" and el αγορευειν agoreuein "to speak in public" is a figurative mode of representation Moses ( Latin: Moyses,; Greek: grc Mωυσής in both the Septuagint and the New Testament; Arabic: ar موسىٰ The Haggadah (הגדה is a Jewish religious text that sets out the order of the Passover Seder. The apocryphal Prayer of Asenath, which textual scholars believe dates from some time after the first century AD (scholarship in regards to the dating is currently quite contentious, with dates ranging from near the first century, to the fourth or fifth centuries)^[14], describes Levi as a prophet and saint, able to forecast the future, understand heavenly writings (astrology ?), and someone who admonishes the people to be forgiving, as well as in awe of God^[15]. Joseph and Aseneth (alternatively spelled Asaneth is an ancient apocryphal expansion of the Book of Genesis 's account of the patriarch Joseph 's marriage Astrology (from Greek grc ἄστρον astron, "constellation star" and grc -λογία -logia) is a group of Systems God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. The Book of Malachi argues that the Levites were chosen by Yahweh to be the priests, because Levi was always accurate, having never lied, specified only the true religious regulations, was reverent, revered Yahweh, was in awe of the Tetragrammaton, upheld peace, was a model of good morality, and turned many people from sin^[16]

In the Testament of Levi, Levi is described as having had two visions. Malachi (or Malachias מַלְאָכִי Malʾaḫi Mál'akhî is a book of the Bible Old Testament and Jewish Tanakh, written by the prophet For information about Yahweh see God in Abrahamic religions, which provides useful links See also Yahweh Tetragrammaton (from the Greek, meaning ' of four letters' (tetra "four" + gramma (gen Morality (from the Latin la moralitas "manner character proper behavior" has three principal meanings The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs is an important constituent of the Apocryphal scriptures connected with the Old Testament. The first vision covered eschatological issues, portraying the seven heavens, the Jewish Messiah, and Judgement Day. Jewish eschatology is concerned with the Jewish Messiah, Afterlife, and the revival of the dead. Messiah ( משיח; mashiah, moshiah, mashiach, or moshiach, ("anointed " is a term used in the Hebrew Bible 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, mentioning Moses, the Aaronid priesthood, and a time when there would be priest-kings; this latter point was of particular interest to the Maccabean period of John Hyrcanus, who was both a high priest, and warrior-king, though according to textual scholars this is to be expected, since the Testament of Levi was written during Maccabean rule, between 153BC and 107BC, and closer to the latter date^[17]. To anoint is to pour or smear with perfumed oil milk water melted butter or other substances a process employed ritually by many religions and races Moses ( Latin: Moyses,; Greek: grc Mωυσής in both the Septuagint and the New Testament; Arabic: ar موسىٰ The Maccabees ( Hebrew: מכבים or מקבים, Makabim or Maqabim; Greek Μακκαβαῖοι, /makav'εï/ were John Hyrcanus ( Yohanan Girhan) (reigned 134 BCE - 104 BCE died 104 BCE was a Hasmonean ( Maccabeean Leader of the 2nd century BC The Book of Jubilees similarly has Isaac telling Levi of the future of his descendants, again predicting priesthood, prophets, and political power^[18], and additionally describes Jacob as entrusting Levi with the secrets of the ancients, so that they would be known only to the Levites^[19]; however, like the Testament of Levi, the Book of Jubilees is regarded as a Maccabean document by scholars^[20]. Jubilee The Book of Jubilees (ספר היובלים sometimes called the Lesser Genesis ( Leptogenesis) is an ancient Jewish religious work considered

Vengeful

In a Biblical narrative, Levi and Simeon destroy the city of Shechem in revenge for the rape of Dinah, seizing the wealth of the city, and killing the men^[21]; the narrative also mentions that the brothers had earlier misled the denizens of Shechem, by consenting to Dinah's rapist marrying her, and when Jacob hears about the destruction of Shechem by Simeon and Levi, he castigates them for it^[22]. A number of people named Simeon appear in the Bible Simeon (Hebrew Bible, the second son of Jacob Simeon the Righteous, mentioned in Luke 2 Shechem ( Sichem, Shkhem or Shachmu, Hebrew: שְׁכֶם‎ / שְׁכָם, Standard According to the Hebrew Bible, Dinah ( was the daughter of Jacob, one of the Patriarchs of the Israelites and Leah, his first wife In the Blessing 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^[23]; textual scholars date the Blessing of Jacob to a period between just one and two centuries prior to the babylonian captivity^[24][25], and some Biblical scholars regard this curse, and Dinah herself as an aetiological postdiction to explain the fates of the tribe of Simeon and the Levites, the simpler 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 (the Levites)^[26][27]. The Blessing of Jacob is a Poem that appears in Genesis at. The poem presents an opinion of the merits and attributes of each of the Tribes of Israel

See also

• Levite
• Testament of Levi
• Levi (disambiguation)
• Miscegenation

Citations

External links

• “The Tribe: The Cohen-Levi Family Heritiage” (cohen-levi. Richard Elliott Friedman is a biblical scholar and the Ann and Jay Davis Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Georgia. org)

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