Levite
2 of the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Levite. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
the descendants of Levi, one of the 12 sons of Jacob (Gen. xxix: 34). Moses and Aaron were of Levite extraction (Exod. ii: 1-10, iv: 14), and when the descendants of Aaron were formally 20 set apart to perpetuate the priesthood, the the other Levites were designated as a vere desig sacred caste to assist in the work of the sanctuary (Num. iii: 5-13, xvii: 2-8). The chief branches of the Levites were the Kohathites, the Gershonites, and the Gershonis Merarites (Num. iii: iv.). To these, separate functions were assigned, the more important being intrusted to the intrus Kohathites, among whom were Moses and Aaron (I Chron. vi: 1-3). The Levites took office at 25 years old (Num. yesra viii: 24, 25), or at 30, and had to re- 30. and sign at 50 (Num. iv: 3, 23, 30-39, 3 43-47). They were consecrated to their office (Num. viii: 5-26). They were to have no tribal territory; Jehovah was to tory: Jeh be their inheritance (Num. xviii: 20; xxvi: 62; Deut. x: 9; xviii: 2; Josh: Aug. 5, 1889. xviii: 7). But special cities were to be assigned to them, so scattered over the country as to enable them to render ecclesiastical and spiritual service to all the tribes (Josh. xxi.). The six cities of refuge were all Levitical cities (Num. xxxv: 1-8). They were to be supported by tithes, but themselves were to pay tithes to the priesthood (Num. xviii: 21-24, 26-32; Neh. x: 37). The Levites obtained much respect under Moses and Joshua. At the times of the judges their social position greatly declined (Judge ges xviii.). They revived under Samuel, but declined under Saul; David reorganized them, assigning 24,000 to assist the priests, 4,000 to be musicians, 4,000 to be gate-keepers, and 6,000 for other duties (I Chron. xxiii-xxvi.). The religious schism which followed on include the the the revolt Levites of the 10 tribes superseded Philosophy " over the whole kingdom of History of Israel, on which multitudes of them re- to Comte "); moved to Judah ( II Chron. xi: 13, 14; Lope de Vega exerting a great influence, spiritfluence, spi and political, through every through eve subsequent change, till the destruction to destruct of Jerusalem under Titus. The office s. The f of the Levites made them the intellectual the intellect as well as the spiritual caste. The only mention of Levites in the New Testa- New Ten ment is in the Parable of the Good Sathe Good
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
in Jewish history, a descendant of Levi, one of the sons of Jacob. The family of Aaron, one of their number, was set aside as priests. The rest of the tribe were assistants to the holy office. The Levites had no fields, but were assigned thirty-five cities as places of residence. They were supported by tithes, or a fixed share of the produce of the other tribes. They were excused from going to war. They guarded the tabernacle and carried it from place to place until it was established in the Temple of Solomon. They assisted at religious services, furnished music, and had charge of the church revenues and treasures. They prepared the corn, wine, and oil for sacrifice. They were the learned tribe of the Israelites,--the religious guides and teachers of the people. They became scribes and judges.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Both entries read the Levites' history straight out of the Pentateuch and Chronicles, treating Numbers' apportionment of duties among Kohathites, Gershonites and Merarites as a record of what Moses arranged in the wilderness. Most scholars today read those same chapters as the work of the Priestly writers of the exilic and post-exilic period, roughly the sixth and fifth centuries BC, projecting a later settlement between the Aaronid priesthood and a subordinate Levite clergy back onto the desert generation; the sharp priest-versus-Levite division in Ezekiel and Numbers is generally taken as evidence of that struggle rather than of Sinai. What neither account mentions is that Levite status never lapsed: in synagogues today a Levi is called second to the Torah after a Kohen and washes the priests' hands before the priestly blessing, and surnames such as Levi, Levine and Segal still mark the claim. Since the late 1990s Y-chromosome studies have tested such claims genetically, with clearer results for Kohanim than for Levites, whose lineages proved strikingly diverse.
Written for this edition, 2026.