Lewi

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". For other names and surnames, see Levi (disambiguation).

Levi/Levy, Standard Levy 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); however some Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederationPeake\'s commentary on the Bible. Certain religious and political functions were reserved for the Levites, and, according to textual scholars, the early sources of the Torah - the Jahwist and Elohist - appear to treat the term Levi as just being a word meaning priest; some scholars suspect that "levi" was originally a general term for a priest, and had no connection to ancestry, and that it was only later, for example in the priestly source and Blessing of Moses, that the existence of a tribe named Levi became assumed, in order to explain the origin of the priestly casteJewish EncyclopediaPeake\'s commentary on the bible.

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, but Biblical scholars have proposed quite different origins of the nameJewish Encyclopedia. Many scholars suspect that it simply means priest, either by being a loan word originating from the Minaean word lawi\'u, meaning priest, or by referring to those people who were joined to the ark of the covenantibid. Some scholars believe that the Levites were not originally Israelite, instead originating as migrants, and consequently consider the name to refer to the Levites joining with either the Israelites in general, or the earlier Israelite priesthood in particularibid. It has also been suggested that the term Levi may just be a corruption of the name Leah (or vice versa), or cognate with the word leviathan, whose exact translation remains highly debatedibid.

Ancestral

In the Book of Genesis, Levi is described as having fathered three sons - Gershon, Kohath, and MerariGenesis 46:11. 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 MiriamExodus 6:16-20; 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 sisterNew American Bible, footnote to Exodus 6:20, and the Septuagint mentions that she was one of his father\'s sisters. 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 destinyNumbers Rabbah 3:12. 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 AramJubilees 34:20Testament of Levi 11.

Textual scholars attribute the genealogy to the Book of Generations, a document originating from a similar religiopolitical group and date to the priestly sourceRichard Elliott Friedman, Who Wrote The Bible?. 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 AaronidsPeake\'s commentary on the Bible; 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 textual scholars attribute to the earlier Elohist source, mentions only that both his parents were Levites (without identifying their names)Exodus 2:1-2. Some Biblical scholars suspect that the Elohist account offers both matrilinial and patrilinial descent from Levites in order to magnify the religious credentials of MosesPeake\'s commentary on the Bible.

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

Priestly

In accordance with his role as founder of the Levites, Levi is occasionally referred to in the Bible as being particularly pious. The Blessing of Moses, which textual scholars attribute to period just before the deuteronomistRichard Elliott Friedman, Who wrote the Bible, speaks about Levi via an allegorical comparison to Moses himselfDeuteronomy 33:8-10, which hagaddah take to support the characterisation of Levi (and his progeny) as being by far the greatest of his brothers in respect to pietyJewish Encyclopedia. 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)Jewish Encyclopedia, Asenath, 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 GodJewish Encyclopedia, Levi. 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 sinMalachi 2:4-6

In the Testament of Levi, Levi is described as having had two visions. The first vision covered eschatological issues, portraying the seven heavens, the Jewish Messiah, and Judgement 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, 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 dateThis article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.. The Book of Jubilees similarly has Isaac telling Levi of the future of his descendants, again predicting priesthood, prophets, and political powerJubilees 31:12-17, and additionally describes Jacob as entrusting Levi with the secrets of the ancients, so that they would be known only to the LevitesJubilees 45:16; however, like the Testament of Levi, the Book of Jubilees is regarded as a Maccabean document by scholarsJewish Encyclopedia, Book of Jubilees.

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 menGenesis 34; 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 itGenesis 34:30-31. 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 ShechemGenesis 49:-7; textual scholars date the Blessing of Jacob to a period between just one and two centuries prior to the babylonian captivityJewish EncyclopediaRichard Elliott Friedman, Who wrote the Bible?, 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)Jewish EncyclopediaPeake\'s commentary on the bible.

See also

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

Citations

External links

• “The Tribe: The Cohen-Levi Family Heritiage” (cohen-levi.org)

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