Levites: A Transjordanian Tribe of Priests

This article is an adaptation of Part Two of, Alexander Rofé, “ברכת משה, מקדש נבו ושאלת מוצא הלויים” [Moses’ Blessing, the Sanctuary at Nebo, and the History of the Levites], inמחקרים במקרא ובמזרח הקדמון מוגשים לשמואל א׳ ליונשטם במלאת לו שבעים שנה [Studies in the Bible and the Ancient Near East Presented to Samuel E. Loewenstamm on his Seventieth Birthday], ed. Yitschak Avishur and Joshua Blau (Jerusalem: E. Rubinstein’s Pub. House, 1978), 409–424; reprinted in Alexander Rofé, מבוא לספר דברים: חלק ראשון ופרקי המשך [Introduction to Deuteronomy: Part I and Further Chapters] (Jerusalem: Akademon, 1988), 234–249. It was translated, edited, and adapted for TheTorah.com by the editors with the author’s permission and input. For an adaption of Part One, see Alexander Rofé, “YHWH Is Enthroned at Gad’s Temple: The Site of Moses’ Tomb,” TheTorah (2020).

Levi and his sons even appear in the list of the twelve children of Israel in Genesis 46:8–27, a text that looks much like a list of tribal clans.

The name Levi is likely envisioned as one of the twelve names to be carved into the high priest’s ephod and breastplate (Exod 28:9–11, 21; 39:6, 14). The text never says which twelve names, but as it mentions they should be carved כְּתוֹלְדֹתָם “according to their birth order,” this implies it means Israel’s literal sons and not the other conception of the twelve tribes, which excludes Levi.

Indeed, in the long description of the division of the land in Joshua 13–19, each of the twelve tribes is given a plot, and the Levites are not one of the twelve.

It seems like that they also receive the portion of the produce grown yearly that is donated to YHWH (Num 15:17–21). Certainly, this is how the rabbis understood the passage, which is the origin of what they call terumah gedolah.

The Levites themselves must give a portion of this to the priests as a tithe from the tithe (Num 18:25–32). The rabbis call this terumat maʿaser.

See discussion of this group in Menahem Haran, “הגבעונים, הנתינים, ועבדי שלמה: היסטוריה של קיבוץ כנעני ביהודה” [The Gibeonites, the Nethinim, and the Servants of Solomon: The History of a Canaanite Enclave in Judah], in יהודה וירושלים: הכינוס הארצי השנים־עשר לידיעת הארץ [Judah and Jerusalem: The Twelfth Archaeological Convention] (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1957), 37–45.

This was already noted in the early days of biblical source criticism in the 19^th century.

^{דברים י:ח} בָּעֵת הַהִוא הִבְדִּיל יְ־הוָה אֶת שֵׁבֶט הַלֵּוִי לָשֵׂאת אֶת אֲרוֹן בְּרִית יְ־הוָה לַעֲמֹד לִפְנֵי יְ־הוָה לְשָׁרְתוֹ וּלְבָרֵךְ בִּשְׁמוֹ עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה. ^י:ט עַל כֵּן לֹא הָיָה לְלֵוִי חֵלֶק וְנַחֲלָה עִם אֶחָיו יְ־הוָה הוּא נַחֲלָתוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְ־הוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לוֹ.

^{Deut 10:8} At that time YHWH set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the Ark of the YHWH’s Covenant, to stand in attendance upon YHWH, and to bless in His name, as is still the case. ^10:9 That is why the Levites have received no hereditary portion along with their kinsmen: YHWH is their portion, as YHWH your God spoke concerning them.

Editor’s note: See discussion in, Mark Leuchter, “Who Were the Levites?” TheTorah (2017); Baruch A. Levine, “The Meaning of Degel and the Elusive History of the Levites,” TheTorah (2014).

This conception lies behind the threat YHWH makes against the family of Eli, after promising that he will choose someone else to be the chief priest for Israel’s anointed king:

^{שמואל א ב:לו} וְהָיָה כָּל הַנּוֹתָר בְּבֵיתְךָ יָבוֹא לְהִשְׁתַּחֲו‍ֹת לוֹ לַאֲגוֹרַת כֶּסֶף וְכִכַּר לָחֶם וְאָמַר סְפָחֵנִי נָא אֶל אַחַת הַכְּהֻנּוֹת לֶאֱכֹל פַּת לָחֶם.

^{1 Sam 2:36} And all the survivors of your house shall come and bow low to him for the sake of a money fee and a loaf of bread, and shall say, “Please, assign me to one of the priestly functions, that I may have a morsel of bread to eat.”

According to this passage, a Levite without an assigned altar or worship site would find himself in penury.

The account of the birth of the sons of Jacob in Genesis 29:32–35 tells of the birth of her first four sons—Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah—and then says that she stopped giving birth for a while. Later (Gen 30:17–21), after she trades mandrakes for a night with Jacob, she conceives again, first Issachar then Zebulon (and afterwards Dinah, though she does not become a tribe). This narrative distinction between the first four sons and the last two sons likely masks a historical distinction, with the last two tribes joining the Leah group later in history. It also reflects a geographical distinction, since Issachar and Zebulon are in the northern valleys and the Galilee respectively.

Julius Wellhausen, Prolegomena to the History of Ancient Israel, trans. J. Sutherland Black and Allan Menzies, introduction by W. Robertson Smith (Edinburgh: A. & C. Black, 1885), 121–157; trans. from, Prolegomena zur Geschichte Israels (Berlin: G. Reimer, 1883 [reprint of Geschichte Israels, 1878]), 144.

Another piece of supporting evidence for this comes from a comment in the book of Chronicles about Levites in the time of David:

^{דברי הימים א כו:לא} לַחֶבְרוֹנִי חֲשַׁבְיָהוּ וְאֶחָיו בְּנֵי חַיִל אֶלֶף וּשְׁבַע מֵאוֹת עַל פְּקֻדַּת יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵעֵבֶר לַיַּרְדֵּן מַעְרָבָה לְכֹל מְלֶאכֶת יְ־הוָה וְלַעֲבֹדַת הַמֶּלֶךְ. ^כו:לא לַחֶבְרוֹנִי יְרִיָּה הָרֹאשׁ לַחֶבְרוֹנִי לְתֹלְדֹתָיו לְאָבוֹת בִּשְׁנַת הָאַרְבָּעִים לְמַלְכוּת דָּוִיד נִדְרָשׁוּ וַיִּמָּצֵא בָהֶם גִּבּוֹרֵי חַיִל בְּיַעְזֵיר גִּלְעָד. ^כו:לב וְאֶחָיו בְּנֵי חַיִל אַלְפַּיִם וּשְׁבַע מֵאוֹת רָאשֵׁי הָאָבוֹת וַיַּפְקִידֵם דָּוִיד הַמֶּלֶךְ עַל הָראוּבֵנִי וְהַגָּדִי וַחֲצִי שֵׁבֶט הַמְנַשִּׁי לְכָל דְּבַר הָאֱלֹהִים וּדְבַר הַמֶּלֶךְ.

^{1 Chron 26:30} The Hebronites: Hashabiah and his brothers, capable men, 1700, supervising Israel on the west side of the Jordan in all matters of YHWH and the service of the king. ^26:31 The Hebronites: Jeriah, the chief of the Hebronites -- they were investigated in the fortieth year of David's reign by clans of all their lines, and men of substance were found among them in Jazer-gilead. ^26:32 His brothers, able men, 2700, chiefs of clans -- David put them in charge of the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in all matters of God and matters of the king.

While this is admittedly from a Persian period text, the historical note here does not appear to be part of a rethinking of the priest/Levite divide, but a random nugget likely taken from an older source. If so, then we hear that at least some Levites are from the area of Jazer in the Transjordan.

That the Levites once had land but were scattered is also implied by the Jacob’s deathbed curse:

^{בראשית מט:ה} שִׁמְעוֹן וְלֵוִי אַחִים כְּלֵי חָמָס מְכֵרֹתֵיהֶם. ^מט:ו בְּסֹדָם אַל תָּבֹא נַפְשִׁי בִּקְהָלָם אַל תֵּחַד כְּבֹדִי כִּי בְאַפָּם הָרְגוּ אִישׁ וּבִרְצֹנָם עִקְּרוּ שׁוֹר. ^מט:ז אָרוּר אַפָּם כִּי עָז וְעֶבְרָתָם כִּי קָשָׁתָה אֲחַלְּקֵם בְּיַעֲקֹב וַאֲפִיצֵם בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל.

^{Gen 49:5} Simeon and Levi are a pair; Their weapons are tools of lawlessness. ^49:6 Let not my person be included in their council, Let not my being be counted in their assembly. For when angry they slay men, And when pleased they maim oxen. ^49:7 Cursed be their anger so fierce, And their wrath so relentless. I will divide them in Jacob, Scatter them in Israel.

Here the explanation for their landlessness, related in some way to the story of Dinah and Shechem in Genesis 34, is negative, painting the Levites (and Simeonites) in a criminal light. Clearly, the texts that talk about Levi gaining the priesthood take the opposite perspective on Levi’s military past, but at the same time, they are attempting to explain the same phenomenon of Levitical landlessness.

While in the Torah as we have it now, their story is intertwined with that of the 250 Israelite leaders, plus Korah and the Levites, source critics have long noted that these are two separate stories, and that the Datan and Abiram one is from a non-Priestly source. Editor’s note: For a discussion of how the story divides up into sources/redactions, see TABS Editors, “Korah, Datan and Abiram: A Case Study for the Methods of Academic Biblical Studies,” TheTorah (2014).

Editor’s note: For an argument that this dispute took place not in the wilderness but in the land itself, see David Frankel, “Datan and Abiram: A Rebellion of the Shepherds in the Land of Israel,” TheTorah (2016).

Editor’s note: For another discussion of the shifting territory of Reuben and Gad, see Yigal Levin, “What Were Reuben and Gad’s Territories in the Transjordan?” TheTorah (2017).

For the date of Deuteronomy 33, see Rofé, “YHWH is Enthroned at Gad’s Temple,” n. 20.

See my “YHWH Is Enthroned at Gad’s Temple.”

Editor’s note: For an argument that this part of the text is a later addition, see Andrew Tobolowsky, “Did Israel Always Have Twelve Tribes,” TheTorah (2020). For an argument that the list of blessings was once separate from the framing, see Tzemah Yoreh, “‘Moses Wrote Down This Song,’ Deuteronomy 31:22—Which Song?” TheTorah (2018).

Apparently, the poem has a different version of the story of Levi’s loyalty, since in Exodus 32, it occurs neat Mount Horeb, not in Massah u-Meribah, which is where the water miracle takes place (Exod 17).

The blessing of Levi ends with the hope that their enemies will no longer be able to hurt them, implying that Levi has suffered defeats in the past. This may be an oblique reference to their displacement by Reuben.

For a discussion of whether the change to Manasseh has any significance beyond just making the name not that of Moses, see Steve Weitzman, “Reopening the Case of the Suspiciously Suspended Nun in Judges 18:30,” The Catholic Bible Quarterly 61.3 (1999): 448–460.

Joshua 13:20, which likely describes the situation in this later period, lists Ashdot-hapisgah as part of Reuben.

Editor’s note: For some discussions of this question, see Mark Leuchter, “How All Kohanim Became Sons of Aaron,” TheTorah (2019); David Frankel, “The Flowering Staff: Proof of Aaron’s or the Levites’ Election?,” TheTorah (2019); Ely Levine, “The Historical Circumstances that Inspired the Korah Narrative,” TheTorah (2015); Adele Berlin, “The Levite Rebellion against the Priesthood: Why They Were Demoted,” TheTorah (2013).

Wellhausen, Prolegomena to the History of Ancient Israel, 121–157.

For detailed criticism of Wellhausen’s idea, see Wolf W. Baudissin, Die Geschichte des alttesamentlichen Priesterthums (Leipzig: Hirzel, 1889); Yehezekel Kaufmann, תולדות האמונה הישראלית [The History of Israelite Faith] (Tel Aviv: Bialik, 1937–1948), 1.160–184; Moshe Greenberg, “A New Approach to the History of the Israelite Priesthood,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 70 (1950): 41–47.

Aelred Cody, A History of Old Testament Priesthood, Analecta Biblica 35 (Rome: Pontifical Institute, 1969), 158–166; Menahem Haran, “הכהנים והלויים” [The Priests and the Levites], in idem, תקופות ומוסדות במקרא: עיונים היסטוריים [Periods and Institutions in the Bible: Historical Inquiries] (Tel Aviv: Am Oved, 1972), 137–200; idem, “The Priesthood and the Tribe of Levi” in Menahem Haran, Temples and Temple Service in Ancient Israel: An Inquiry into Biblical Cult Phenomena and the Historical Setting of the Priestly School (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1985 [repr. of, Oxford: Clarendon, 1978]), 58-111 (= ch. 4).

Editor’s note: For a discussion of this tradition, see Mark Leuchter and Zev Farber, “Pre-Biblical Aaron, Miriam, and Moses,” TheTorah (2020).

Editor’s note: See discussion in Frederick E. Greenspahn, “Reading the Golden Calves of Sinai and Northern Israel in Context,” TheTorah (2015). For a different take on the relationship between the texts, see Nathan MacDonald, “The Golden Calf: A Post-Exilic Message of Forgiveness,” TheTorah (2021).

As difficult as it is to find any territorial difference between Levites and priests in pre-Priestly sources, it is just as difficult to find any different in their tasks. Max Weber (Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Religionsoziologie, III Das Antike Judentum [Tübingen: Mohr, 1923], 188–189) argued that they were in charge of promulgating ritual laws in contrast to the secular statutes, yet it is hard to see how any of these things would distinguish them from priests. (See discussion in, Joachim Begrich, “Die priesterliche Tora,” in Werden und Wesen des Alten Testaments, ed. Johannes Hempel, Friedrich Stummer, and Paul Volz, BZAW 66 (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1936), 63–88. Similarly, Gerhard von Rad (Studies in Deuteronomy, Studies in Biblical Theology 9 [London: SCM Press, 1953], 11–16) argued that the Levites were popular preachers in the periphery, and Benjamin Mazar (“ערי הלויים והכהנים” [The Cities of the Levites and Priests], אנציקלופדיה מקראית [Encyclopaedia Biblica] 4 ]Jerusalem: Bialik, 1971], 478–485), in contrast, that they were administrative officials. Both of these positions rely on texts composed in the Second Temple period and cannot be taken as sources for pre-exilic reality.