For as long as the I’ve been studying the Bible, the Levitical tribe was always associated with the priesthood. While it’s true that not all the Levites were priests, all the priests that served underneath the Old Covenant were from the tribe of Levi.
But why is that?
When you start from the beginning (as we have with this running commentary on the Bible), you notice that the tribe of Levi doesn’t have the most glamorous beginnings. Though they’re near the front of the birth order of the sons of Jacob, they also defiled themselves through the massacre of the Shechemites in Genesis 34.
Because of this, when Jacob eventually dies, he curses both Simeon and Levi, telling them that they will be “scattered” in Israel (Genesis 49:5-7). For Simeon, this is essentially a death sentence; they’re not blessed by Moses in Deuteronomy 33 and are only given a few cities in Israel. Eventually, they are assimilated into the tribe of Judah.
In Levi’s case, this actually becomes a blessing. Since they are the priestly tribe, their “scattering” throughout Israel means they can minister to all the peoples. They have no country-wide inheritance, though, taking forty-eight cities instead as their inheritance.
Why is Levi honored whereas Simeon is cursed? According to most scholars, their transition happens here at the base of Mount Sinai. According to Exodus 32:28, they are the only tribe that doesn’t take part in the golden calf worship.
Instead, Moses calls on them to execute all the ringleaders of the idol worship, which results in over 3,000 deaths. Moses seems to confirm this position when he mentions in Deuteronomy 10:8 that God singled out the Levites “at this time” to serve as priests to Him.
Other people see an issue with this timeline, since God specifically calls out the sons of Aaron as being priests to Him earlier in the book of Exodus (Exodus 28:1). If God ordained it to Moses on the mountain, then why does their actions at the base of Mount Sinai (presumably after God calls out the Levites in Exodus 28) give them the honor of priesthood?
You can argue this in a couple of ways. First, God knew what the Levites were going to do and thus gave them the priesthood in anticipation of the event. That seems reasonable, but in my opinion, it opens the door for a whole host of issues down the road.
Second, you could argue that while Aaron and his sons were chosen in Exodus 28, the tribe of Levi as a whole is honored in Exodus 32. That’s indeed the case; while the direct lineage of Aaron was the priestly line, all of Levi served the people and the Tabernacle in some capacity. The Gershomites, Kohathites, and Merarites were all part of the tribe of Levi that served in a non-priestly capacity.
It could be either one of those reasons, neither of them, both, or something else entirely. But what do you think? How do you reconcile this seeming timeline issue in Exodus 32? Email me at brady@coffeeandaBible.com and let me know!
