-
Genesis 46:11
The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
-
Exodus 6:16-19
These are the descendants of Levi, as listed in their family records: The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.( Levi lived to be 137 years old.)The descendants of Gershon included Libni and Shimei, each of whom became the ancestor of a clan.The descendants of Kohath included Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.( Kohath lived to be 133 years old.)The descendants of Merari included Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, as listed in their family records.
-
Numbers 15:5-23
For each lamb offered as a burnt offering or a special sacrifice, you must also present one quart of wine as a liquid offering.“ If the sacrifice is a ram, give a grain offering of four quarts of choice flour mixed with a third of a gallon of olive oil,and give a third of a gallon of wine as a liquid offering. This will be a pleasing aroma to the Lord.“ When you present a young bull as a burnt offering or as a sacrifice to fulfill a vow or as a peace offering to the Lord,you must also give a grain offering of six quarts of choice flour mixed with two quarts of olive oil,and give two quarts of wine as a liquid offering. This will be a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.“ Each sacrifice of a bull, ram, lamb, or young goat should be prepared in this way.Follow these instructions with each offering you present.All of you native born Israelites must follow these instructions when you offer a special gift as a pleasing aroma to the Lord.And if any foreigners visit you or live among you and want to present a special gift as a pleasing aroma to the Lord, they must follow these same procedures.Native born Israelites and foreigners are equal before the Lord and are subject to the same decrees. This is a permanent law for you, to be observed from generation to generation.The same instructions and regulations will apply both to you and to the foreigners living among you.”Then the Lord said to Moses,“ Give the following instructions to the people of Israel.“ When you arrive in the land where I am taking you,and you eat the crops that grow there, you must set some aside as a sacred offering to the Lord.Present a cake from the first of the flour you grind, and set it aside as a sacred offering, as you do with the first grain from the threshing floor.Throughout the generations to come, you are to present a sacred offering to the Lord each year from the first of your ground flour.“ But suppose you unintentionally fail to carry out all these commands that the Lord has given you through Moses.And suppose your descendants in the future fail to do everything the Lord has commanded through Moses.
-
Numbers 24:1-25
By now Balaam realized that the Lord was determined to bless Israel, so he did not resort to divination as before. Instead, he turned and looked out toward the wilderness,where he saw the people of Israel camped, tribe by tribe. Then the Spirit of God came upon him,and this is the message he delivered:“ This is the message of Balaam son of Beor, the message of the man whose eyes see clearly,the message of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open:How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob; how lovely are your homes, O Israel!They spread before me like palm groves, like gardens by the riverside. They are like tall trees planted by the Lord, like cedars beside the waters.Water will flow from their buckets; their offspring have all they need. Their king will be greater than Agag; their kingdom will be exalted.God brought them out of Egypt; for them he is as strong as a wild ox. He devours all the nations that oppose him, breaking their bones in pieces, shooting them with arrows.Like a lion, Israel crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to arouse her? Blessed is everyone who blesses you, O Israel, and cursed is everyone who curses you.”King Balak flew into a rage against Balaam. He angrily clapped his hands and shouted,“ I called you to curse my enemies! Instead, you have blessed them three times.Now get out of here! Go back home! I promised to reward you richly, but the Lord has kept you from your reward.”Balaam told Balak,“ Don’t you remember what I told your messengers? I said,‘ Even if Balak were to give me his palace filled with silver and gold, I would be powerless to do anything against the will of the Lord.’ I told you that I could say only what the Lord says!Now I am returning to my own people. But first let me tell you what the Israelites will do to your people in the future.”This is the message Balaam delivered:“ This is the message of Balaam son of Beor, the message of the man whose eyes see clearly,the message of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open:I see him, but not here and now. I perceive him, but far in the distant future. A star will rise from Jacob; a scepter will emerge from Israel. It will crush the heads of Moab’s people, cracking the skulls of the people of Sheth.Edom will be taken over, and Seir, its enemy, will be conquered, while Israel marches on in triumph.A ruler will rise in Jacob who will destroy the survivors of Ir.”Then Balaam looked over toward the people of Amalek and delivered this message:“ Amalek was the greatest of nations, but its destiny is destruction!”Then he looked over toward the Kenites and delivered this message:“ Your home is secure; your nest is set in the rocks.But the Kenites will be destroyed when Assyria takes you captive.”Balaam concluded his messages by saying:“ Alas, who can survive unless God has willed it?Ships will come from the coasts of Cyprus; they will oppress Assyria and afflict Eber, but they, too, will be utterly destroyed.”Then Balaam left and returned home, and Balak also went on his way.
-
Nehemiah 11:1-12
The leaders of the people were living in Jerusalem, the holy city. A tenth of the people from the other towns of Judah and Benjamin were chosen by sacred lots to live there, too, while the rest stayed where they were.And the people commended everyone who volunteered to resettle in Jerusalem.Here is a list of the names of the provincial officials who came to live in Jerusalem.( Most of the people, priests, Levites, Temple servants, and descendants of Solomon’s servants continued to live in their own homes in the various towns of Judah,but some of the people from Judah and Benjamin resettled in Jerusalem.) From the tribe of Judah: Athaiah son of Uzziah, son of Zechariah, son of Amariah, son of Shephatiah, son of Mahalalel, of the family of Perez.Also Maaseiah son of Baruch, son of Col hozeh, son of Hazaiah, son of Adaiah, son of Joiarib, son of Zechariah, of the family of Shelah.There were 468 descendants of Perez who lived in Jerusalem— all outstanding men.From the tribe of Benjamin: Sallu son of Meshullam, son of Joed, son of Pedaiah, son of Kolaiah, son of Maaseiah, son of Ithiel, son of Jeshaiah.After him were Gabbai and Sallai and a total of 928 relatives.Their chief officer was Joel son of Zicri, who was assisted by Judah son of Hassenuah, second in command over the city.From the priests: Jedaiah son of Joiarib; Jakin;and Seraiah son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, the supervisor of the Temple of God.Also 822 of their associates, who worked at the Temple. Also Adaiah son of Jeroham, son of Pelaliah, son of Amzi, son of Zechariah, son of Pashhur, son of Malkijah,
-
Numbers 23:6-23
So Balaam returned and found the king standing beside his burnt offerings with all the officials of Moab.This was the message Balaam delivered:“ Balak summoned me to come from Aram; the king of Moab brought me from the eastern hills.‘ Come,’ he said,‘ curse Jacob for me! Come and announce Israel’s doom.’But how can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I condemn those whom the Lord has not condemned?I see them from the cliff tops; I watch them from the hills. I see a people who live by themselves, set apart from other nations.Who can count Jacob’s descendants, as numerous as dust? Who can count even a fourth of Israel’s people? Let me die like the righteous; let my life end like theirs.”Then King Balak demanded of Balaam,“ What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies. Instead, you have blessed them!”But Balaam replied,“ I will speak only the message that the Lord puts in my mouth.”Then King Balak told him,“ Come with me to another place. There you will see another part of the nation of Israel, but not all of them. Curse at least that many!”So Balak took Balaam to the plateau of Zophim on Pisgah Peak. He built seven altars there and offered a young bull and a ram on each altar.Then Balaam said to the king,“ Stand here by your burnt offerings while I go over there to meet the Lord.”And the Lord met Balaam and gave him a message. Then he said,“ Go back to Balak and give him my message.”So Balaam returned and found the king standing beside his burnt offerings with all the officials of Moab.“ What did the Lord say?” Balak asked eagerly.This was the message Balaam delivered:“ Rise up, Balak, and listen! Hear me, son of Zippor.God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?Listen, I received a command to bless; God has blessed, and I cannot reverse it!No misfortune is in his plan for Jacob; no trouble is in store for Israel. For the Lord their God is with them; he has been proclaimed their king.God brought them out of Egypt; for them he is as strong as a wild ox.No curse can touch Jacob; no magic has any power against Israel. For now it will be said of Jacob,‘ What wonders God has done for Israel!’
-
1 Chronicles 6 1-1 Chronicles 6 2
The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.The descendants of Kohath included Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
-
Joshua 21:1-45
Then the leaders of the tribe of Levi came to consult with Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of the other tribes of Israel.They came to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan and said,“ The Lord commanded Moses to give us towns to live in and pasturelands for our livestock.”So by the command of the Lord the people of Israel gave the Levites the following towns and pasturelands out of their own grants of land.The descendants of Aaron, who were members of the Kohathite clan within the tribe of Levi, were allotted thirteen towns that were originally assigned to the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.The other families of the Kohathite clan were allotted ten towns from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half tribe of Manasseh.The clan of Gershon was allotted thirteen towns from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.The clan of Merari was allotted twelve towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.So the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s command to Moses and assigned these towns and pasturelands to the Levites by casting sacred lots.The Israelites gave the following towns from the tribes of Judah and Simeonto the descendants of Aaron, who were members of the Kohathite clan within the tribe of Levi, since the sacred lot fell to them first:Kiriath arba( that is, Hebron), in the hill country of Judah, along with its surrounding pasturelands.( Arba was an ancestor of Anak.)But the open fields beyond the town and the surrounding villages were given to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.The following towns with their pasturelands were given to the descendants of Aaron the priest: Hebron( a city of refuge for those who accidentally killed someone), Libnah,Jattir, Eshtemoa,Holon, Debir,Ain, Juttah, and Beth shemesh— nine towns from these two tribes.From the tribe of Benjamin the priests were given the following towns with their pasturelands: Gibeon, Geba,Anathoth, and Almon— four towns.So in all, thirteen towns with their pasturelands were given to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.The rest of the Kohathite clan from the tribe of Levi was allotted the following towns and pasturelands from the tribe of Ephraim:Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim( a city of refuge for those who accidentally killed someone), Gezer,Kibzaim, and Beth horon— four towns.The following towns and pasturelands were allotted to the priests from the tribe of Dan: Eltekeh, Gibbethon,Aijalon, and Gath rimmon— four towns.The half tribe of Manasseh allotted the following towns with their pasturelands to the priests: Taanach and Gath rimmon— two towns.So in all, ten towns with their pasturelands were given to the rest of the Kohathite clan.The descendants of Gershon, another clan within the tribe of Levi, received the following towns with their pasturelands from the half tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan( a city of refuge for those who accidentally killed someone) and Be eshterah— two towns.From the tribe of Issachar they received the following towns with their pasturelands: Kishion, Daberath,Jarmuth, and En gannim— four towns.From the tribe of Asher they received the following towns with their pasturelands: Mishal, Abdon,Helkath, and Rehob— four towns.From the tribe of Naphtali they received the following towns with their pasturelands: Kedesh in Galilee( a city of refuge for those who accidentally killed someone), Hammoth dor, and Kartan— three towns.So in all, thirteen towns with their pasturelands were allotted to the clan of Gershon.The rest of the Levites— the Merari clan— were given the following towns with their pasturelands from the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam, Kartah,Dimnah, and Nahalal— four towns.From the tribe of Reuben they received the following towns with their pasturelands: Bezer, Jahaz,Kedemoth, and Mephaath— four towns.From the tribe of Gad they received the following towns with their pasturelands: Ramoth in Gilead( a city of refuge for those who accidentally killed someone), Mahanaim,Heshbon, and Jazer— four towns.So in all, twelve towns were allotted to the clan of Merari.The total number of towns and pasturelands within Israelite territory given to the Levites came to forty eight.Every one of these towns had pasturelands surrounding it.So the Lord gave to Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there.And the Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had solemnly promised their ancestors. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the Lord helped them conquer all their enemies.Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true.
-
1 Chronicles 6 16-1 Chronicles 6 19
The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.The descendants of Gershon included Libni and Shimei.The descendants of Kohath included Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.The descendants of Merari included Mahli and Mushi. The following were the Levite clans, listed according to their ancestral descent:
-
Numbers 26:57-58
This is the record of the Levites who were counted according to their clans: The Gershonite clan, named after their ancestor Gershon. The Kohathite clan, named after their ancestor Kohath. The Merarite clan, named after their ancestor Merari.The Libnites, the Hebronites, the Mahlites, the Mushites, and the Korahites were all subclans of the Levites. Now Kohath was the ancestor of Amram,
