Category:Levi (subject)
According to Jewish (and Christian) traditions, Levi was the third son of Jacob and Leah, and the forefather of the one tribe, among the Twelve Tribes, chosen to serve in perpetuity in the Temple; see House of Levi (Sons of Levi, Sons of Aaron, Sons of Phinehas).
< Twelve Patriarchs -- Jacob -- Leah -- Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs -- Twelve Tribes -- House of Levi >
Overview
Levi is a literary character of the early Jewish tradition. He was the third son of Jacob and Leah. The tradition says that he lived "one hundred thirty-seven years," and had three sons: "Gershon, Kohath, and Merari."
In earlier sources Levi was not given any priestly attributes; like Simeon, Levi was known as a ruthless warrior ("weapons of violence are their swords," Gen 49:5). The major story in which he was involved was the revenge he carried on with his brother Simeon against Shechem for the rape of their sister Dinah. Jacob reproached his two sons for their violent reaction (see Gen 34) and cursed them to be divided and scattered in Israel (see Gen 49).
By the time of the Babylonian Exile, however, Levi emerged as the ancestor of all priests, possibly as a result of the reform of Josiah, in the effort of centralizing the cult and unifying the priesthood at Jerusalem. In this light, the story of Jacob's curse on Levi, to be scattered among his brothers, seems likely to be born in order to explain why the priesthood "appeared" to have been originally open to people from all tribes--they were in reality the "scattered" members of a single tribe, the House of Levi.
In post-exilic times the structure of the Jewish priesthood became more complex. All the Sons of Levi were destined to serve in the temple (as Levites), but only a few of them were singled out as Priests (the Sons of Aaron) or High Priests (the Sons of Phinehas, or Zadokites). After the Maccabean Revolt all Aaronite families were made eligible for the office of High Priest. Amid all these changes Levi maintained his status as the forefather of the Jewish priesthood.
Levi in Second Temple Jewish Interpretation
The Aramaic Levi Document (3rd? cent. BCE) portrays Levi, the ideal preist, as a man of wisdom.
Jubilees (2nd cent. BCE) exalted Levi for his zeal against the Shechemites and makes him one of central characters of its narrative. Levi is now himself a priest performing the rituals he learned from the Tablets of Heaven.
More complicated is to assess the testimony of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. In its present form the Testament of Levi is heavily Christian, but the text seems to betray the existence of Jewish traditions similar to those attested in the Aramaic Levi Document and in Jubilees, although with a stronger eschatological emphasis.
Joseph and Aseneth provides evidence of a different trajectory of development of the Levi traditions. Here Levi is portrayed more as a prophet and - in line with the earliest tradition -- as a military hero, but -- contrary to the earliest tradition -- also as a man of peace and reconciliation. He defends Joseph against the plot of the Pharaoh's son but manages to reconcile the family of Jacob and prevents Benjamin for seeking revenge against the Pharaoh's son.
Levi is not an important character in Philo's work. The few references follows the traditional lines that connect Levi to the priesthood, purity and wisdom.
Both Josephus and 4 Maccabees see negatively the revenge of Simeon and Levi against the Shechemites as a violent and senseless action which Jacob condemned.
Levi is not a central character in the early Christian tradition. The Letter to the Hebrews dismissed his importance, claiming that the Messiah Jesus was from Judah, not Levi, and is the eschatological priest according to a different order, that of Melchizedek.
Levi in ancient sources
- See Levi (sources) -- survey of ancient sources
Levi in literature & the arts
Levi does not often appear in works of fiction and even more rarely as protagonist, or even co-protagonist.
- See Levi--fiction (art, cinema, literature, music)
References
- Levi / Robert A. Kugler / In: The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism (2010 Collins / Harlow), dictionary,
- Levi / [[]] / In: The Anchor Bible Dictionary (1992 Freedman), dictionary,
External links
Pages in category "Levi (subject)"
The following 3 pages are in this category, out of 3 total.