Levi (Matthew) Series

Levi

Levi (Hebrew: Modern: Levi, Tiberian: Lewi) was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's third son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi (the Levites, including the Kohanim) and the great-grandfather of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam.

Relatives: (The 12 brothers; children of Jacob); Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin

Born: 16 Nisan, Paddan Aram

Children: Gershon (son), Kohath (son), Merari (son), Jochebed (daughter)

Parents: Jacob (father), Leah (mother)

There are two Levis of significance in the Bible. One is Levi, the tax collector who became one of Jesus' twelve disciples, better known as Matthew (Matthew 9:9; Luke 5:27). The person most often intended when referring to Levi in the Bible, however, is Leah's third son born to Jacob, who became the head of the tribe of Levites.

Levi got his name because Leah was the unloved wife of Jacob, and with the birth of her third son, she hoped her husband would finally become emotionally attached to her. Therefore she named her son Levi, which sounds similar to the Hebrew word for attached (Genesis 29:34). However, Jacob continued to pour his love and attention into his other wife, Leah's sister, Rachel. Perhaps this disappointment played into the character trait Levi is most remembered for: anger.

Levi, along with his next oldest brother Simeon, became known for his fierce wrath and cruel fury. When Shechem, Levi, and Simeon took justice into their own hands, they tricked the city men into undergoing the rite of circumcision, God's covenant sign with Abraham, promising to give Dinah as a wife and join the peoples together (Genesis 34:1–24). However, three days after the city men had been circumcised, Levi and Simeon "took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males" (Genesis 34:25). Jacob worried, "You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land… if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed" (Genesis 34:30). However, when God told Jacob to move his family to Bethel, "a terror from God fell upon the cities around them so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob" (Genesis 35:5). Thus Levi's bloody revenge did not result in disaster for the family.

Once settled back in Canaan, Jacob's sons, including Levi, "conspired against [their younger brother Joseph] to kill him" (Genesis 37:18). Joseph was the first son of Rachel and was Jacob's favored son. Eventually, the brothers decided to sell him for twenty shekels of silver to Midianite traders on their way to Egypt (Genesis 37:28). Of course, Joseph eventually rose to power in Egypt and stored up grain ahead of a famine. So when Jacob and his sons were in need, Levi and his brothers traveled to Egypt to buy grain, not knowing Joseph was the one with whom they were dealing. Eventually, Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, and they all reconciled. Jacob and his entire family, including Levi, resettled in Egypt (Genesis 39—50). Jacob's sons eventually became the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel, Levi being the patriarch of the Levites. He had three sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari (Genesis 46:11).

When Jacob was on his death bed, he pronounced blessings and prophecies over his sons. Over Simeon and Levi, he said, "Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them between Jacob and scatter them in Israel" (Genesis 49:7). This prophecy came true, but not necessarily as the curse, it was intended to be. When Moses found the Israelites worshipping the golden calf in Exodus 32, he called, "'Who is on the LORD'S side? Come to me.' And all the sons of Levi gathered around him" (Exodus 32:26). He then instructed them to kill their brethren responsible for turning away from God. Three thousand Israelites died that day (Exodus 32:27–28). Moses explained, "Today you have been ordained for the service of the LORD, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day" (Exodus 32:29). Thus, the family trait of violent anger was harnessed in zeal for the LORD. In Deuteronomy 10:8–9, Moses further explained, "The LORD set apart the tribe of Levi… Therefore Levi has no portion or inheritance with his brothers. The LORD is his inheritance." Instead of their own plot of land, the Levites were to be given cities in each portion of the different tribes' land. In these cities, they would act as priests between God and each tribe, acting as judges and settling disputes (Deuteronomy 21:5). Thus the Levites were scattered throughout Israel, just as Jacob had predicted.