Way before Levi Strauss became the brand most identified with clothing fit for the frontier or the wild west, its founder’s biblical namesake populated the frontier towns of Canaan. The Levites are the last tribe to be settled, as according to Moses’ instructions - they are to be land-less, a tribe of spiritual providers not tethered to specific locations but in service to the people, wherever they are.
But that’s just one version, in today’s chapter they do get to settle down —- although not their own territory. The chapter includes a detailed list of each of the cities they are to receive, scattered all through the tribal lands:
כֹּ֚ל עָרֵ֣י הַלְוִיִּ֔ם בְּת֖וֹךְ אֲחֻזַּ֣ת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל עָרִ֛ים אַרְבָּעִ֥ים וּשְׁמֹנֶ֖ה וּמִגְרְשֵׁיהֶֽן׃
All the towns of the Levites within the settlements of the Israelites came to 48 towns, with their adjoining pastures.
Some of the towns are quite central. Even Caleb gives up Hebron, the city he conquered from the giants to be handed over to the local Levites. Why are the Levites actually so important?
The special status that this tribe has, and what exactly their origin and duties were is still a matter of debate. The official story, more or less, is that this was the tribe that joined Moses - himself a Levite - to fight the golden calf heretics and thus establish themselves as Adonai’s squad. Another origin story has them replacing the firstborns of Israel as the designated substitutes for sacred services. Over time they are designated as the technicians of the sacred in the Jerusalem temple. But that’s later - at the time of the settlement in Canaan, unlike the other tribes who receive lands and farm for a living, the Levites get to be in charge of the refuge cities - not very glamorous - and possibly provide religious services per local needs. Their lands are not exactly theirs, but are more like today’s notion of Parsonage - communal owned residence that is lived in by presiding clergy.
is it possible that like so many other layers revealed in the Book of Joshua - the Levites are actually locals who’ve been co-opted into the Israelite narrative?
Prof.Mark Leuchter suggests that the origin of the Levites is indeed linked to the local customs and Canaanite norms - later adopted as Israelite and woven into the narrative as one of the 12 tribes:
“An important clue to the origin of the Levites is reflected in the meaning of the word “Levite” (Hebrew lewi), which comes from Hebrew root ל-ו-ה, meaning “connect” or “attach”; lewi literally means “one who is connected/attached.” But connected or attached to what? I suggest that it means ‘attached to local cult centers.’ Both archaeology and anthropology suggest that population groups in early Israel settled around regional shrines or sanctuaries housing powerful priestly clans.Especially in the northern-central highlands of Canaan (the most densely populated area in early Israel), different communities were bound together by these sanctuaries and their priesthoods, sharing common festivals, sacrifices and mythological traditions... Dedicating sons (only younger sons, since firstborns inherited the land) to the priesthood of Levites would have provided some relief for struggling families, allowing family resources to go further within the household, but also assuring that the son given over to priestly service would benefit from the security of the sanctuary, its priestly staff, and resources...It would only be during a later period that the Levites would begin to tribalize, at which point traditions about a common “ancestor,” Levi, were incorporated into the traditions about Jacob and his sons.”
Chapter 21 ends with the euphoric statement that with the establishment of the Levite towns - the conquest and settlement project is complete. Well, not exactly, but whoever wrote this book wants us to tune into the narrative of national cohesion, symmetry and symbolism, as the 12 tribes settle down and the next chapter looms near. The Levites, whatever their origin and original role, will grow in stature and power overtime, but the mystery, like their name, will linger.
Image: Vintage Levi’s Ad. Gender of two jeans wearing horseback riders is ambiguous.
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Duh. carefully chosen...:)
It was Malcolm Gladwell in his book "The Tipping Point," who made the case that "connectors" are a vital force in creating new social (economic) movements. So perhaps the Levites, for the very formation of tribal localities and structures has the danger of silo'd partitions. Therefore we have the formal and perhaps theoretical establishment of a group whose function is to connect, which is perhaps one of the more mundane aspects of these "technicians of the sacred". And when I look at what is going on in our country today, I see how vital the role of connectors is.
And it is not only people who do this work, but forms as well, ministries and books and projects in the arts. Eg: Storahtelling.