Levi in the Bible

What does the name Levi mean?

The name Levi is generally linked to the Hebrew verb meaning “to be attached.” The Bible gives Leah's explanation: after three sons, she hoped her husband would at last become attached to her (Genesis 29:34).

The world of Levi

Levi is born in Paddan Aram, in the house of Laban, by the usual reckoning in the second millennium BC. He is the third son whom Leah bears to Jacob, in a family marked by the rivalry between Leah and Rachel (Genesis 29:30-35). After Jacob's return to Canaan, the family lives near Canaanite cities, and it is in contact with the city of Shechem that the episode takes place that will make Levi a dreaded name. The rest of his story unfolds well after him. The sons of Levi go down to Egypt with Jacob (Genesis 46:11), their family grows there, and then the people, now numerous, are reduced to slavery. Moses and Aaron, of the house of Levi (Exodus 6:16-20), lead the people out of Egypt, then to Sinai, where God gives his law and the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, is set up. In this context the tribe of Levi receives a unique mission. To understand Levi, we must therefore distinguish two periods: that of the patriarch, a violent man whose anger Jacob condemns, and that of the tribe, which God sets apart to serve at his sanctuary. The New Testament returns to this in the letter to the Hebrews, which compares the Levitical priesthood with that of Jesus (Hebrews 7).

The story of Levi

1. Leah's third son

   Genesis 29:31-35

   Yahweh sees that Leah is hated and opens her womb. She bears Reuben, then Simeon, saying that Yahweh has heard that she is hated. She conceives again and bears a third son. She says: “Now this time my husband will be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name is called Levi. Leah thus hopes that the birth of a third son will change her husband's heart. Her fourth son, Judah, will be born in another spirit: “This time I will praise Yahweh.” Levi is therefore born in a house marked by a lack of affection and by the rivalry of two sisters.

2. Dinah at Shechem

   Genesis 34:1-24

   Dinah, the daughter whom Leah bore to Jacob, goes out to see the daughters of the land. Shechem, the son of Hamor, prince of the land, takes her, lies with her and humbles her. Jacob hears of it and holds his peace until his sons come. When they come in from the field, they are grieved and very angry. Hamor and Shechem propose an alliance and a marriage. The sons of Jacob answer with deceit: they will give their sister only to men who are circumcised. The men of the city agree, and every male is circumcised, hoping that the flocks and possessions of the Israelites will be theirs.

3. The revenge of Simeon and Levi

   Genesis 34:25-31

   On the third day, while the men of the city are sore, Simeon and Levi each take his sword, come upon the unsuspecting city and kill all the males, including Hamor and Shechem. They take Dinah out of Shechem's house and leave. The sons of Jacob plunder the city and take flocks, wealth, little ones and wives. Jacob says to them: “You have troubled me, to make me odious to the inhabitants of the land.” They answer: “Should he deal with our sister as with a prostitute?” The account does not justify their act: it exposes it, and Jacob's judgment will come later.

4. A warning in the blessing

   Genesis 49:5-7

   As he blesses his sons, Jacob goes back to the affair of Shechem. He says: “Simeon and Levi are brothers. Their swords are weapons of violence.” He refuses to enter into their council and recalls that in their anger they killed men. Then he pronounces: “Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.” The curse falls on their anger, not on their persons. Many readers note that this scattering will later take another form, that of a tribe set apart to serve God in the midst of Israel.

5. Levi and his descendants in Egypt

   Genesis 46:11; Exodus 6:16-20

   Levi is among the sons of Israel who go down into Egypt. His three sons are named: Gershon, Kohath and Merari. The book of Exodus later takes up the genealogy of his family. It states that the years of the life of Levi were a hundred and thirty-seven, and that Kohath, his son, lived a hundred and thirty-three years. Among the sons of Kohath is Amram, who took Jochebed, his father's sister, as his wife, and from whom Aaron and Moses were born. The future priestly tribe thus has its origin in the house of Levi, long before God entrusts it with its service. The genealogy also recalls that Levi, despite his fault, had a long line of descendants.

6. The sons of Levi after the golden calf

   Exodus 32:25-29

   While Moses is on the mountain, the people ask Aaron for gods, and he fashions a golden calf. When he comes down, Moses sees that the people are out of control. He stands in the gate of the camp and cries: “Whoever is on Yahweh’s side, come to me!” All the sons of Levi gather themselves together to him. They carry out the order received from Yahweh, and about three thousand men fall that day. Moses then tells them to consecrate themselves to Yahweh so that he may give them a blessing. This episode is hard to read, but it shows a tribe that chooses to stand on Yahweh's side at the price of a great sacrifice.

7. Moses' blessing on Levi

   Deuteronomy 33:8-11

   Before his death, Moses blesses each tribe. Of Levi he says: “Your Thummim and your Urim are with your godly one.” He recalls Massah and Meribah, where God proved this tribe. He also says of the Levites that “they have observed your word, and keep your covenant.” They shall teach Jacob his ordinances and Israel his law, and they shall put incense and whole burnt offering on his altar. Moses concludes with a prayer: “Yahweh, bless his skills. Accept the work of his hands.” The Levites are thus presented as the guardians of God's word and the teachers of his law.

8. The Levites taken for God's service

   Numbers 3:5-13

   At Sinai, Yahweh speaks to Moses: “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him.” The Levites will keep the requirements of the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, do the service of the tabernacle and keep all its furnishings. They are given to Aaron and to his sons. God declares: “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn.” Every firstborn belongs to him since the day he struck down the firstborn in the land of Egypt. The Levites therefore belong to him.

9. Three families to carry the tabernacle

   Numbers 3:17-39

   The sons of Levi are counted by their families: Gershon, Kohath and Merari. Each is given a precise task. The Gershonites take care of the tabernacle, the tent, its covering and the hangings of the court. The Kohathites are in charge of the ark, the table, the lamp stand, the altars and the vessels of the sanctuary. The Merarites keep the boards, the bars, the pillars and their sockets. Each family encamps around the tabernacle, while Moses, Aaron and his sons encamp in front, toward the sunrise. The total of the Levites, counted from a month old and upward, is twenty-two thousand. The service is thus shared out with order and responsibility.

10. Yahweh is their inheritance

    Deuteronomy 10:8-9

    When Moses recalls the history of the people, he goes back to the time when Yahweh set apart the tribe of Levi. He ordered it to bear the ark of Yahweh's covenant, to stand before Yahweh to minister to him and to bless in his name, which it has done to this day. Then he gives the reason why Levi has no portion or inheritance with his brothers: “Yahweh is his inheritance.” This phrase sums up the calling of the Levites. They do not receive a territory like the other tribes, but they receive God himself, and it is in the service of his name that they find their place.

Levi's family

father

Jacob Genesis 29:34

mother

Leah Genesis 29:34

brother

Simeon Genesis 34:25

brother

Judah Genesis 29:35

sister

Dinah Genesis 34:1

son

Gershon Genesis 46:11

son

Kohath Genesis 46:11

son

Merari Genesis 46:11

grandson

Amram Exodus 6:18

descendant

Aaron Exodus 6:20

descendant

Moses Exodus 6:20

What Levi teaches us

• Human anger, even when it believes itself righteous, does not accomplish God's justice: Jacob condemns the violence of Simeon and Levi.
• God can restore to his service a family marked by wrongdoing: the service of the tabernacle later comes from the tribe of Levi.
• Siding with the Lord requires making a choice, like the sons of Levi who gather around Moses.
• Every believer belongs to God and can serve him, because he took them for himself as he took the Levites in place of the firstborn.

Key verses

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• 20 Bible Verses on the Will of God
• 25 Bible Verses About Serving the Church

Frequently asked questions

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