³⁴ Then she became pregnant a third time and gave birth to another son. He was named Levi,^[a] for she said, “Surely this time my husband will feel affection for me, since I have given him three sons!”

²⁶ So he stood at the entrance to the camp and shouted, “All of you who are on the Lord’s side, come here and join me.” And all the Levites gathered around him.

²⁷ Moses told them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Each of you, take your swords and go back and forth from one end of the camp to the other. Kill everyone—even your brothers, friends, and neighbors.” ²⁸ The Levites obeyed Moses’ command, and about 3,000 people died that day.

²⁹ Then Moses told the Levites, “Today you have ordained yourselves^[a] for the service of the Lord, for you obeyed him even though it meant killing your own sons and brothers. Today you have earned a blessing.”

⁸ Moses said this about the tribe of Levi:

² “Bring your relatives of the tribe of Levi—your ancestral tribe—to assist you and your sons as you perform the sacred duties in front of the Tabernacle of the Covenant.^{[a] 3} But as the Levites go about all their assigned duties at the Tabernacle, they must be careful not to go near any of the sacred objects or the altar. If they do, both you and they will die. ⁴ The Levites must join you in fulfilling their responsibilities for the care and maintenance of the Tabernacle,^[b] but no unauthorized person may assist you.

The Birth of Moses

2 About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married.

¹¹ The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

²³ The sons of Leah were Reuben (Jacob’s oldest son), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

²⁵ But three days later, when their wounds were still sore, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, who were Dinah’s full brothers, took their swords and entered the town without opposition. Then they slaughtered every male there,