Levi

The Righteous Levi, patriarch of the Old Testament, was the third son of Jacob (Israel), born of his wife Leah, and the ancestor of one of the tribes of Israel, that of the Levites and the priests.

The name Levi comes from a Hebrew word meaning "he will cleave". According to Genesis 29:34, at the birth of Levi his mother Leah said: "Now my husband will be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons". Levi had three sons, Gershon, Kohath and Merari, who became the fathers of the three families of the Levites, and a daughter, Jochebed. Jochebed, who became the wife of Amram, son of Kohath, bore Aaron, Moses and Miriam. According to the apocrypha, Levi's wife was named Milcah, daughter of Aran. Levi died at the age of one hundred and thirty-⁠seven.

The descendants of the tribe of Levi are the Levites, and the descendants of Aaron (Levi's great-⁠grandson) in the male line are the priests. From the Levites and the priests were chosen the servants of the Tabernacle in the wilderness, and later of the Temple in Jerusalem. In the Promised Land each tribe received its portion, except Levi: "At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord, to minister to Him and to bless in His Name, to this day; therefore Levi has no portion or inheritance with his brethren: the Lord is his inheritance, as the Lord your God told him" (Deuteronomy 10:8-9).

The holy Righteous Levi is commemorated on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers, around 3 January, and on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers, around 27 December, both on movable dates, in the new style.