Talk:Levite

Reliability of claims to status
Removed the following unsourced material to this page:


 * It should be noted that the destruction of Jerusalem’s temple and all lineage records in 70 C.E. forced the cessation of services of the divinely appointed Levitical priesthood, and there is now no way to establish who could legally and properly act as such priests.

The problem with this statement is not what it says, but that (a) it is presented as fact in "Wikipedia's" voice, and (b) it is unsourced. It is clearly disputed. The article on Kohen states that a number of communities maintained records long after the destruction of the Temple, the article on the Temple Institute says that it is gathering and developing Kohen lineage records as part of its activities, and many Orthodox people believe that reliable Kohanim could be deteremined. The statement is listed under the views of Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism, and if this is what they believe on the subject, it should be noted (and sourced) as their opinion (rather than as fact). --Shirahadasha 16:16, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

This article claims there is a dna test to identify the Lineage of Aaron https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/49932/dna-studies-prove-existence-of-biblical-priestly-class-health-and-science/ Zerostatetechnologies (talk) 04:55, 7 February 2019 (UTC)

Please note also that under the descendents section I removed Jesus of Nazareth because he was not descended of the Tribe of Levi but of Judah. In the Book of Hebrews it details why He is a Priest-King, because to be a King He had to be of Judah's line but to be an Aaronic High Priest He'd have to have been born of Levi's line - which is not true, Hebrews states He is not of the Levitical Priesthood but rather after the Order of Melchizadek - which was before Levi and Aaron. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.234.18.178 (talk) 16:37, 28 June 2008 (UTC)

First-born sons
I read somewhere that first-born sons in the Jewish (or Judeo-Christian) tradition were de facto considered to be Levites. I'm not sure about this, but it would be interesting to gather more information about the role of first-born sons in monotheistic and/or abrahamic religions. ADM (talk) 11:47, 15 March 2009 (UTC)

The first borns were assigned temple duty until the golden calf incident, thereafter this was reassigned to the Levites, the only current remnant of this is that prior to the priestly blessings during prayer, if a Cohen needs his hands washed and there are no levites to attend, to this a first born could do so. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.184.165.74 (talk) 16:49, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

Priests of Leviathan/ Nahushtan?
I have seen recent scholarship indicating the origins of the Levitic priesthood in the priesthoods of Leviathan or Nahushtan. Has someone more qualified than I heard of this? WjtWeston (talk) 06:32, 13 March 2012 (UTC)

Archaeology: Grena
I'm very uneasy about the reference to Grena's work with LMLK seals and the connection with Levites. The section says:
 * Levites and priests may have been responsible for stamping the LMLK seals on Judean storage jars during the reign of Hezekiah (ca. 700 BC). The associated personal seals on the same jars may have represented various courses of Levites overseeing the proper production of 10 percent for tithing in the same manner that modern authorities on kashruth (mashgihim) approve kosher food and wine (Grena, 2004, pp. 75–6).

The problem is that Grena advances this as pure hypothesis - it has next to no foundation, as he himself admits, just the lack of title on all but a few of the seals (some 400 seals). Nobody at all has accepted this. Grena is entitled to make suggestions like this, but I think he'd be among the first to feel cautious about elevating a suggestion to the position of encyclopediac acceptance. (Incidentally, he can be contacted by email if anyone would like to get his own thoughts). PiCo (talk) 16:13, 17 September 2012 (UTC)

Is Leavitt a levitical name?
Christians and Mormons haven't existed forever. Were the Leavitts in Livet-en-Ouche, france, originally Levites? Has any one of had their genes tested? Kshlomo (talk) 06:55, 24 January 2017 (UTC)
 * Have a source for this theory?GreyShark (dibra) 08:24, 24 January 2017 (UTC)

The Tribe of Levi is 'lost' but Levites aren't?
Could there be an explanation of this? Thanks. 105.227.13.241 (talk) 17:59, 27 May 2017 (UTC)


 * The 12 tribes are sometimes counted as including Levi, but then Yosef appears and his 2 sons "disappear." Since the land allocations among the 12 tribes didn't include Levi - not overlooking the cities of refuge - the tribe of Levi was not among the "lost" tribes. Pi314m (talk) 07:57, 17 July 2018 (UTC)


 * Ten lost tribes is a myth - this is a misquote of the Bible, referring to exiled Israelite tribes by Assyrians. The tribe of Judah and parts of other three tribes remained in Judea - Levi, Benjamin and Simeon. Furthermore, many of tribe of Benjamin returned with the Judeans from the Babylonian exile. Finally, Samaritans claim descent from men of Ephraim and Menasse tribesmen of the tribe of Joseph who remained in the land, so the "lost" ones remain seven (Dan, Naftali, Zerubbabel, Gad, Reuben, Asher and Issacar).GreyShark (dibra) 21:08, 17 July 2018 (UTC)


 * I believe that you mean Zebulon (son of Jacob / Tribe descended from that son), not Zerubbabel (one of the people leading the construction of the pre-Herodian Second Temple) [Ezra 3:2]. Also, according to the predominant Jewish account, there most certainly are ten lost tribes (Reuben, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulon, Dan, Naftali, Gad, Asher, Ephraim, and Menashe) [See Artscroll "Akdamus" and a preponderance of other sources]. -NotThatGuy (talk · contribs) 06:45, 27 April 2022 (UTC)

Tribe Names vs Cultural/Religious Identity?
If a Hebrew who is from the Tribe of Levi or Benjamin is written about in modern times, why are they referred to as Jews? Wouldn't they be Levites or Benjaminites? I lived in Brooklyn, NY on Kingston Avenue right across the street from the famous Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters. I know that the word Jew doesn't just refer to religion, but culture, genetic inheritance (from the Mother) and the name comes from the Tribe of Judah. Judaism though is the religion. So are the Levites and Benjaminites referred to as Jews because they follow Judeism or is there another reason they are referred to as Jews? Zerostatetechnologies (talk) 04:51, 7 February 2019 (UTC)
 * What happened after the conclusion of the Jewish-Roman Wars is that the Judean population was reduced from a dominant population of 5-10 million to a tiny minority of tens of thousands in the whole Mediterranean region (mostly Galilee, and some in diasporic Hispania, Italia, Greece), as well as the more dominant Babylonian community of perhaps 100,000 strong. According to Josephus Flavius, in the aftermath of the First Jewish-Roman War exiles of Judah and Benjamin tribes resided in Hispania. Levites existed in several isolated communities in the Mesopotamia until very recently, such as the Urfalim. However, in most disaporic Israelite communities, the Judeans being a solid majority absorbed the Simeon and Benjamin tribes, whereas Levi and Cohen retaining its paternal ancestry tradition due to religious significance, but still intermixed with Judeans in most cases. It seems that today, after the Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries and the mix of Jewish sub-groups in Israel, the cases of pure Levites are non-existent any more, rather bring of mixed Judean-Levite heritage (Judean by mother and Levite by father keeps the Levite/Cohanic status). As for Samaritans, they have 4 surviving families: 3 from the tribe of Joseph and one Cohanic family (from the tribe of Levi); the Benjaminite family went extinct a century ago.GreyShark (dibra) 18:05, 9 February 2019 (UTC)

Horowitz and Epstein myths
There is no evidence supporting the claim that the Horowitz and Epstein families are descended from "Zerahiah Ha-Levi of Sepharad." Of course, you will find countless sources making this claim. But it is the 19th century equivalent of "fake news." There is a recent study on Horowitz and it is clear that the claim was invented in the late 19th century. See https://avotaynuonline.com/2016/03/does-the-horowitz-family-from-bohemia-really-descend-from-the-benvenisti-halevy-family-from-spain/ Randols (talk) 23:13, 14 May 2019 (UTC)Randy Schoenberg
 * It is well sourced. Per WP:POV you can bring sources claiming otherwise, but one blog post cannot undermine plenty of other sources.GreyShark (dibra) 13:31, 25 September 2019 (UTC)