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The quality of weighing less than something else of equal bulk; relative lightness, especially as shown by rising through, or floating upon, a contiguous substance; buoyancy; -- opposed to gravity. 3. (n.) Lack of steadiness or constancy; disposition to change; fickleness; volatility. Greek.
Levite [E] Pentateuch. The Hebrew word for Levite (lew") indicates a descendant of Levi, the son of Jacob and Leah ( Gen 29:34 ). There were three family clans within the tribe of Levi — Gershon, Kohath, and Merari but it was only Kohath who supplied the Aaronic priests.
Levity is a term used to designate a certain lightness of spirit in opposition to gravity. Nothing can be more proper than for a Christian to wear an air of cheerfulness, and to watch against a morose and gloomy disposition.
God chose the Levites for the service of his tabernacle and temple, instead of the firstborn of all Israel, to whom such duties naturally belonged, and who were already sacred to God in memory of the great deliverance in Egypt. Exodus 13:1-22 Numbers 3:12,13,39-51.
- The Tribe of Levi in The Canonized Torah
- A Tribe That Lost Its Land
- Levites as The Exodus Group: Egyptian Connection
- Levites as “Connected/Attached” to Local Cult Centers
- Non-Tribal Levites and The Dedication of Sons
- David’s Sons – Levites?
- Samuel The Ephraimite Becomes A Levite
- Mushite Priests
- In Early Tradition Moses Is Not A Levite
- Levites and Sacral Violence
When reading the Torah as a single narrative of Israel’s distant origins, the Levites appear alongside the other Israelite tribes who leave Egypt and wander in the wilderness with Moses before their return to the Promised Land of Canaan.Like those other tribes, they descend from one the sons of Jacob – Levi – described in the book of Genesis (Gen 2...
One proposal for explaining the origins of Levites is that the Levites originated as a normal, lay tribe, but their inability to maintain a territorial foothold led to their dispersal throughout the other tribes, finding a living and social position through becoming cultic specialists. The episode in Judges 17, in which a local chieftain employs a ...
Another approach suggests that the Levites were originally non-Israelites from Egypt who joined the indigenous and settled Israelite tribes. As landless sojourners, this group found their place working as cultic professionals throughout the territories of the Israelite tribes. Scholars fostering this theory point to the fact that so many of the imp...
An important clue to the origin of the Levites is reflected in the meaning of the word “Levite” (Hebrew lewi), which comes from the Hebrew root ל-ו-ה, meaning “connect” or “attach”; lewi literally means “one who is connected/attached.”But connected or attached to what? I suggest that it means “attached to local cult centers.” Both archaeology and a...
In many cultures around the world, eldest sons inherit the property and position of the father—this is called patrilineal primogeniture—and the other sons must find other ways of sustaining themselves. They sometimes joined the priesthood. The dedication of sons to priestly sanctuaries/clans is not uncommon in rural peasant economies;these children...
An echo of this can be found in the list of David’s royal achievements preserved in 2 Samuel 8, a chapter probably drawn from an early monarchic royal inscription, which ends with the notice that David dedicated his sons to the priesthood: This notice assumes that priestly status was not hereditary, and was more permeable and fluid, a hallmark of e...
The best example of an Israelite from a non-priestly and non-Levitical family becoming a cultic functionary under the tutelage of a priest is the prophet Samuel in 1 Samuel 1—3.The story is exceptional, since Samuel is a firstborn, but what it illustrates as possible in this culture is no less significant. The events in these chapters take place at...
The description of an Ephraimite boy (Samuel) being brought up by a priestly family (Eli) is more or less in line with the model that I am suggesting for early Levites, consisting of (later-born) Israelite sons dedicated to service of YHWH. I would further suggest that this existent body of cultic professionals were what scholars call the “Mushite ...
Over time, the “levitical” dedicated sons, who trained under the Mushite priests, adapted for themselves traditions about Moses and rituals cultivated by the Mushites and forged a new type of relationship between themselves as a group and the legendary holy man of the distant past (Moses). They eventually swallowed up this older group of Mushite pr...
The legacy of sacral violence is strongly affirmed within the blessing’s verses, but this legacy is moderated by claims that the Levites also preserve the terms of YHWH’s covenant with Israel, engage in divine instruction, and carry out cultic duties (v. 10). These other modes of behavior stand in for the legacy of violence, ritualizing them into m...
Discover the meaning of Levites in the Bible. Study the definition of Levites with multiple Bible Dictionaries and Encyclopedias and find scripture references in the Old and New Testaments.
Find 804 synonyms for levity and other similar words that you can use instead based on 5 separate contexts from our thesaurus.
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