Levi

Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah (Gen. xxix. 34). He is conspicuous through the part he took with his brother Simeon in the slaughter of the inhabitants of Shechem (Gen. xxxiv.). Jacob pronounced this curse on them both, that they should be scattered among Israel (Gen. xlix. 7). In Egypt the House of Levi had divided itself into three families, those of Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. At the distribution of Palestine no tribal territory was allotted to them, but only forty-eight scattered cities. In the Pentateuch they are set apart as the servants of the sanctuary, but they might not perform any priestly function, the priesthood being reserved for one Levitical family, that of Aaron. The history of the Levites has been matter of controversy. Some have assumed that Levi is simply the eponymous ancestor of the Levitical caste, and unsuccessful efforts have been made to deny that Levi was originally a tribe at all. See Wellhausen's History of Israel (1885).