The Levites and the Kohens: The Patriarchal High Priests of Judaism
The Levites and the Kohens: The Patriarchal High Priests of Judaism The Levites are members of the Hebrew tribe of Levi. They, and their tribe, are named after Levi, the third son of Jacob, and Leah. In the past, the Levites were entrusted with religious responsibilities at the Temple of Jerusalem. They were selected for the job, partly due to their lineage, and partly due to an incident that occurred shortly after the Jewish Exodus from Egypt. A subset of the Levites, the Kohanim (or Kohens), served as the priests of the Tabernacle. Normally, the Levites assisted and cooperated with the Koha...