She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “At last, my husband will become attached to me because I have borne three sons for him.” Therefore he was named Levi.

On the third day, when they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords, went into the unsuspecting city, and killed every male.

Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me, making me odious to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. We are few in number; if they unite against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.”

Leah’s sons were Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

Levi’s sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

Simeon and Levi are brothers; their knives are vicious weapons.

Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;

Moses’ Birth and Adoption

Now a man from the family of Levi married a Levite woman.

Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses, and He said, “Isn’t Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, he is on his way now to meet you. He will rejoice when he sees you.

These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their genealogy: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived 137 years.

The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites according to their genealogy.

Aaron’s son Eleazar married one of the daughters of Putiel and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the Levite families by their clans.

And Moses stood at the camp’s entrance and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites gathered around him.

The Levites did as Moses commanded, and about 3,000 men fell dead that day among the people.

Inventory of Materials

This is the inventory for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, that was recorded at Moses’ command. It was the work of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

“Concerning the Levitical cities, the Levites always have the right to redeem houses in the cities they possess.

Whatever property one of the Levites can redeem—a house sold in a city they possess—must be released at the Jubilee, because the houses in the Levitical cities are their possession among the Israelites.

Duties of the Levites

But the Levites were not registered with them by their ancestral tribe.

“Do not register or take a census of the tribe of Levi with the other Israelites.

Appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, all its furnishings, and everything in it. They are to transport the tabernacle and all its articles, take care of it, and camp around it.

Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever it is to stop at a campsite, the Levites are to set it up. Any unauthorized person who comes near it must be put to death.

The Levites are to camp around the tabernacle of the testimony and watch over it, so that no wrath will fall on the Israelite community.”

The tent of meeting is to move out with the Levites’ camp, which is in the middle of the camps. They are to move out just as they camp, each in his place, with their banners.

But the Levites were not registered among the Israelites, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Aaron’s Sons and the Levites

These are the family records of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.