According to the view represented in the OT by the so-called ‘Priests’ Code,’ the Levites were originally the clan whose members were qualified for the priestly office. In the course of time a distinction arose, and the Levites became the principal attendants upon the priests, entrusted with minor sacerdotal duties but not competent to succeed to the full status. In the NT, outside the Gospels, the term occurs but once or twice. Barnabas of Cyprus, where there were numerous Jews and Christians (1Ma_15:23, Act_11:19), was a landowner, though a Levite (Act_4:36), the old ordinance (Num_18:24) against the possession of real estate having long before fallen into abeyance, and probably having never been meant to apply to land outside Palestine. In Heb_7:11 the writer coins a word to enable him to write of ‘the Levitical priesthood,’ as though the hallowing of the tribe were concentrated in ‘the order of Aaron’ (so Westcott, ad loc.), or with a view to indicating the provisional character of all parts of the earlier sacrificial service and not merely of its central acts. The priestly tribe with all its privileges passes away; and another-the royal tribe (Heb_7:14)-yields Him who is able really to save, and to ‘save to the uttermost’ (Heb_7:25). In later times an assumed parallel between the historical and the true Israel was pushed, until the relation of deacons to bishops and presbyters was based upon that of Levites to priests. The theory has proved useful since the days of Cyprian, and may conceivably have originated in some of the Ebionitic Christian communities of our period; but the functions of the two classes, Levites and deacons, were quite distinct, and any analogy between them is artificial and an afterthought.
R. W. Moss.
Luk 10:32 (c) This sect may be taken as a picture of the lay workers of many churches who know almost nothing about soul winning, and care less. They are busy with the physical and social affairs of the church, but not the spiritual.
The Levites were the servants, or ministers, in the Israelite religious system. They were descended from the third son of Jacob and formed one of the tribes of Israel (Gen 29:31-34; see LEVI). The Levites were divided into three sections that corresponded to the three families descended from Levi’s three sons, Gershon, Kohath and Merari (Exo 6:16; Num 3:14-20). God appointed them to their privileged religious service as a reward for their zeal against idolatry (Exo 32:26-29; Deu 33:8-10).
Although the Levites had general duties in the tabernacle and temple ceremonies, only those of one family within the tribe, the family of Aaron, were priests (Exo 6:16-25; Exo 29:9). Priests alone carried out the blood rituals of the sacrifices, and priests alone entered the inner shrine of the tabernacle (or later the temple) (Num 3:5-10; see PRIEST).
Duties concerning the tabernacle
After helping to construct the tabernacle (Exo 38:21), the Levites had the duty of setting up, taking down, maintaining and transporting the tabernacle on the journey to Canaan (Num 1:50-51). The Gershon group looked after the curtains and other hangings, and had two wagons to carry their load (Num 3:21-26; Num 7:7). The Merari group had care of all the timber and metal parts, and had four wagons to carry their load (Num 3:33-37; Num 7:8). The Kohath group looked after the sacred furniture, most of which they carried on shoulder poles (Num 3:27-32; Num 7:9; 1Ch 15:14-15).
On the journey the Levites travelled in the centre of the procession (Num 2:17). When a camp was set up, they camped immediately around the tabernacle (Num 1:52-53; Num 3:23; Num 3:29; Num 3:35; Num 3:38).
Representatives of the people
Since God had saved the Israelites’ firstborn through the Passover judgment, all their firstborn belonged in a special sense to God. For the service of the tabernacle, however, God used the Levites instead of the firstborn (Num 3:11-13; Num 3:40-51).
In a dedication ceremony involving cleansing rituals and sacrificial offerings, Moses and Aaron presented the Levites to God for his service (Num 8:5-13). God then gave the Levites back to Aaron to help him and the other priests in their work (Num 8:14-19). Leaders of the people also took part in the ceremony, to indicate symbolically that the Levites were the people’s representatives (Num 8:9-10).
Levites began their service at the age of thirty, though this was apparently preceded by a training period of five years. They ceased their main duties at the age of fifty, but could still help in various ways (Num 4:3; Num 8:23-26). Having no time to earn a living as others, the Levites received their income in the form of tithes offered by the people (Num 18:21-28; see TITHES).
Although Levi had no tribal area of its own, Joshua gave the Levites cities in each of the other tribes. The number of cities in each tribe was in proportion to the size of the tribe (Num 35:1-8; Jos 21:1-3). There were forty-eight Levitical cities and these were divided among four groups – the priestly Kohathites (Aaron was a Kohathite; Exo 6:16-20), the non-priestly Kohathites, the Gershonites, and the Merarites. The cities for the priestly group were all within easy reach of Jerusalem, where the temple was later built (Jos 21:4-8). Among the forty-eight cities were six cities of refuge (Joshua 20; see CITY OF REFUGE).
Temple service
In arranging the functions for priests and Levites in Israel’s temple services, David divided the Levitical singers and musicians into the usual three family groups. The respective leaders were Heman, Asaph and Ethan (Jeduthan), all of whom are mentioned as writers of psalms (1Ch 6:1; 1Ch 6:31-48; 1Ch 15:16-22; 2Ch 5:12; Psalms 73; Psalms 74; Psalms 75; Psalms 76; Psalms 77; Psalms 78; Psalms 79; Psalms 80; Psalms 81; Psalms 82; Psalms 83; Psalms 88; Psalms 89).
Other duties of Levites included cleaning the temple (1Ch 23:28), helping the priests in the temple rituals (1Ch 23:28-32), serving as temple guards (1Ch 9:17-27) and looking after the furniture, food and spices used in the ceremonies (1Ch 9:28-32). Some of the Levites served as judges and officials of various kinds (1Ch 23:4; 1Ch 26:20).
When David found that there were too many Levites for the amount of work available, he divided them into twenty-four groups according to their family descent. The groups served in rotation one week every six months, though all groups were on duty for the annual festivals (thereby making up the remaining four weeks of the year) (1Ch 23:1-24; 1Ch 24:18-19; 1Ch 25:9-31; 1Ch 26:1; 1Ch 26:12).
Errors, reforms and developments
Over the following centuries, the nation and many of its kings frequently fell into idolatry. Priests and Levites usually played an important part in the reforms that godly kings carried out (2Ch 17:7-9; 2Ch 19:8-11; 2Ch 29:1-16; 2Ch 30:21-22; 2Ch 34:8-13), though at times they were slow to respond to the king’s directions (2Ch 24:4-13). A feature of some of the reforms was the organization of temple duties for priests and Levites according to David’s original plan (2Ch 29:25-30; 2Ch 31:2-19; 2Ch 35:1-15).
When, after seventy years captivity in Babylon, the Jews were released, many Levites were among those who returned to Jerusalem (Ezr 2:40-42). They supervised the reconstruction of the temple and participated in ceremonies connected with the building’s beginning and completion (Ezr 3:8-11; Ezr 6:16). At first they were properly organized for religious service (Ezr 6:18), but later they were neglected by those who should have supported them with their tithes. Nehemiah corrected this problem by organizing an orderly system of tithing (Neh 10:37; Neh 11:3; Neh 12:27; Neh 12:47).
Another result of Nehemiah’s reforms was increased activity in teaching the law. The Levites helped the priests and scribes in this work (Neh 8:7-9), but the good work of these early leaders was not maintained by those of later generations. The result was the development of that form of Jewish religion known in New Testament times as Judaism (see SCRIBE; SYNAGOGUE). Nevertheless, people of New Testament times still saw Levites as a class of people distinct from both the priests and the scribes (Luk 10:25; Luk 10:31-32; Joh 1:19; Act 4:36).
Any of the men from the tribe of
Levi, who helped the Israelite priests in
the Holy Tent (Tabernacle) and Temple.
In later periods some Levites worked for
the civil government.