Le'vis (A£j»('f)> given (1 Esdr. ix, 14) as a proper name, but meaning simply a Levite, as correctly ren- dered in the parallel Hebrew passage (Ezra x, 15).
Le vison, Mop.decai Gujipei-, a learned .Jewish phy- sician and commentator, was born and educated at Ber- lin, where he was fellow-student of the celebrated phi- losopher Moses Mendelssohn. He afterwards removed to London, and was physician in one of the hospitals (1790); was then nominated by Gnstavus HI, of Swe- den, to a professorial chair in Upsala. In 1781 he re- turned to his native place, but left again three years later for Hamburg, where he died February 10. 1797. His works ilhistrativc of the Bible are ^1 Commentary on Ecclesiastes, cahed flbs^a mSTP, dedicated to Gusta- vus III (Hamburg, 1784). This elaborate work is pre- ceded liy live introductions, which respectively treat on tlie import of the book, the appropriateness of its name, Hebrew synonymes, roots, the verb and its inflexions, the names of the Deity, on the design of the Bible, etc. ; wlu reupon follows the Hebrew text with a double com- nuntary : one explains tlie words and their connection, and the other gives an exjiosition of the argument of the hook: — A Treatise on Ilohj Scripture, pnljhshcd at the request of the king of Sweden (Lond. 1770) :— .1 Treatise on tlie Pintateuch, the Prophets, and the Talmud, entitled nb'ba nnr-a rbo (Hamb. I797):— .4 Hebrew Lexicon, called C^'i'l wT :— .4 Work on Jlebreio Sijnohynws, en- titled C'^ST'in "£0 : — and'a Hebrew Grhmmar, called iTmnn "i'lpn """. The last three Avorks have not as yet been published. See Fiirst, Bibliotheca Judaica, ii, 238 sq. ; Kitto, Cyclop. Bibl. Lit. vol. ii, s. v.
Le'vite C^^i^''^, son of Levi, ox simply *^)':i,Lev{, for "I*;', Dent, xii, 18; Judg. xvii, 9, 11 ; xviii, 3; usu- ally in the plur. and with the art, D"i'|ilbn; Sejjt. \tv- Irai), a patronymic title which, besides denoting all the descendants of the tribe of Levi (Exod. vi, 25 , Lev. xxv, 32, etc.; Numb, xxxv, 2; Josh, xxi, 3, 41), is the dis- tinctive title of that portion of it which was set apart for the subordinate offices of the sanctuary', to assist the other and smaller portion of their own tribe, invested with the superior functions of the hierarchy (1 Kings viii, 4; Ezra ii, 70, John i, 19, etc.), and this is the mean- ing which has perpetuated itself. Sometimes, again, it is added as an epithet of the smaller portion of the tribe, and we read of " the priests the Levites". (Josh, iii, 3 ; Ezek. xliv, 15). See Priest. In describing the insti- tution and development of the Levitical order, we shall treat of it in chronological order, availing ourselves largely of the articles in Kitto's and Smith's Dictionaries. I. Fivm the Exode till the Monarchy. — This is the most interesting and important period in the history of the Levitical order, and in describing it we must first of all trace the cause which called it into existence.
1. Origin and Institution of the Levitical Order. The absence of all reference to the consecrated character of the Levites in the book of Genesis is noticeable enough. The prophecy ascribed to .Jacob (Gen. xlix, 5-7) was indeed fulfilled with singular precision, but the terms of the prophecy are hardly such as would have been framed by a later writer, after the tribe had gained its subsequent pre-eminence. The only occasion on which the patriarch of the tribe appears — the massacre of the Shechemites — may indeed have contributed to influence the history of his descendants, by fostering in them the same fierce, wild zeal against all that threat- ened to violate the purity of their race, but generally what strikes us is the absence of all recognition of the later character. In the genealogy of Gen. xlvi, 11, in like manner, the list does not go lower down than the three sons of Levi, and they are given in the order of their birth, not in that which would have corresponded to the official superiority of the Kohathites. There are no signs, again, that the tribe of Levi had any special pre-eminence over the others during the Egyptian bond- age. As tracing its descent from Leah, it would take its place among the six chief tribes sprung from the wives of Jacob, and share with them a recognised supe- riority over those that bore the names of the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah. Within the tribe itself there are some slight tokens that the Kohathites were gaining the first place. The classification of Exod. vi, 16-25 gives to that section of the tribe four clans or houses, while those of Gershon and JMerari have but two each. To it belonged the house of Amram, and "Aaron the Levite" (Exod. iv, 14) is spoken of as one to Avhom the people woidd be sure to listen. He married the daughter of the chief of the tribe of Judah (Exod. vi, 23). The work ac- complished by him, and by his yet greater brotlier, would naturally tend to give prominence to the family and the tribe to which they belonged, but as yet there are no traces of a caste-character, no signs of any intention to establish a hereditary priesthood. L^p to this time the Israelites had worshipped the God of their fathers after their fathers' manner. The first-born of the ])cop]e were the priests of tlie people. The elilest son of eaih house inherited the priestly office. His youth made him, in his father's lifetime, the representative of the jiurity which was connected from the beginning with the thought of worsliip (I^wald, ,1 Iterthiim. p. 273. and corap. Priest). It was apparently with this as their ances- tral worship that tlic Israelites came up out of Egypt. The "young me.n" of the sons of Israel offer sacrifices (Exod. xxiv, 5). They, we may infer, are the priests who remain -with tlie people while Moses ascends the heights of Sinai (xix, 22-24). They represented the truth that tlie wliole people were "a kingdom of priests" (xix, 0). Neither they, nor the '•officers and judges"