The Levites and the Kohens: The Patriarchal High Priests of Judaismhttps://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/levites-0014868

The Levites are members of the Hebrew tribe of Levi. They, and their tribe, are named after Levi, the third son of Jacob, and Leah. In the past, the Levites were entrusted with religious responsibilities at the Temple of Jerusalem. They were selected for the job, partly due to their lineage, and partly due to an incident that occurred shortly after the Jewish Exodus from Egypt. A subset of the Levites, the Kohanim (or Kohens), served as the priests of the Tabernacle. Normally, the Levites assisted and cooperated with the Kohanim in a range of religious duties. After the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD, the role and responsibilities of the Levites were greatly reduced. Nevertheless, many Jews today still identify themselves as Levites, which is often revealed in their surnames.

The Origins Of The Levites: Patriarchal Lineage

According to the Book of Genesis , Levi was the third son of the Jacob, one of the Patriarchs (narrowly defined as Abraham, his son Isaac, and Isaac's son Jacob, also named Israel, the ancestors of the Israelites) and his first wife, Leah. The Book of Genesis also recounts the story of how Levi, along with his brother Simeon, avenged the rape of their sister, Dinah.

In this tale, a prince of Shechem, raped Dinah, as he desired to marry her. Levi and Simeon allowed the prince to marry their sister, on the condition that all the male residents of Shechem were circumcised. The prince consented, unaware that it was actually a ruse by the two men. Thus, after the Shechemites were circumcised, Levi and Simeon attacked them, slaughtering all the males, and rescued Dinah. Jacob was not too happy with what his sons had done. He criticized them, and later even cursed them.

Levi is recorded to have had three sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Kohath, in turn, had four sons: Izhar, Amram, Heron, and Uzziel. One of them, Amram, married Jochebed, whom he already had blood relations with prior to the marriage. This relationship, however, is unclear. Some sources state that Jochebed was Amram’s cousin, others, the cousin of Kohath, and yet others, a daughter of Levi. In any event, Amram and Jochebed were the parents of Miriam, Aaron, and Moses. Thus, in a way, the connection between the Levites and the family of Moses and Aaron, allows the former to justify the religious responsibilities that were given to them.

In addition, the Levites are supposed to have received these responsibilities as a reward for their loyalty. When the Israelites arrived at Mount Sinai after the Exodus from Egypt , Moses went up the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments from God. As Moses was away for 40 days and 40 nights, the Israelites were worried that he would not return, and asked Aaron to make a god for them.

Therefore, Aaron collected gold ornaments from the Israelites, melted them down, and fashioned a golden calf. When Moses returned, he broke the tablets of the law, burnt the idol in a fire, ground it into a powder, mixed it with water, and forced those who were still faithful to God to drink it. The tribe of Levi is recorded as the only Israelites who did not worship the idol. Therefore, when Moses decided to purge the Israelites of the unfaithful, the Levites rallied to him, and 3000 were slaughtered by them.

The Levites Split Again Over Certain Elite Privileges

The killing of the idol worshippers was considered to be a sign of the Levites’ loyalty, and hence they were entrusted with priestly duties. Nevertheless, as time went by, not all the Levites toed the line, and a story in the Book of Numbers is a reminder of the fate that awaits those Levites who dared to question or rebel against the system.

In this tale, a group of Levites began questioning the exclusive rights given to Aaron’s descendants, the Kohanim (more about them in a moment), to attend the altar of the Tabernacle. The leader of these Levites, a Kohathite by the name of Korah, confronted Moses and Aaron, questioning their rationale for setting themselves apart from the rest of the Israelites. He argued that since God is with each member of the Israelite community all of them should be considered as holy.

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Whilst the view of Korah and his supporters may be regarded as progressive by a modern observer, it was perhaps not the best of ideas at that point in time. For their audacity in questioning the system, Korah and his supporters were punished. According to the Book of Numbers, it was God himself who punished the rebellious Levites, by causing the ground to open, and the earth to swallow Korah, his followers, their households, and their properties. The rest of the Levites who remained loyal to Moses and Aaron, on the other hand, continued to receive God’s blessings.

The Book of Numbers also provides information about the responsibilities of the Levites. They were responsible for carrying the Tabernacle, and to keep guard around the sanctuary so as to prevent any unauthorized person from trespassing. The Levites could only perform these functions after reaching the age of 30.

The role of the Levites was expanded following the establishment of the Temple of Jerusalem . Whilst they still served as guards, the Levites were also given the duty of singing psalms during temple services, undertook construction and maintenance works for the temple, served as teachers and judges, and maintained “cities of refuge” in Biblical times. The last of these warrants some additional information.

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I know right? It is kind of funny and tragic. Jews seem to ruin everything.