לֵוָי
Levite
BDB lists 2 entries for ‘Levite’ fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
Every verse where H3879 appears — 4 distinct verses across 1 book. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Ezra 4 verses
- Ezra 6:16 וְ/לֵוָיֵ֜/א conj + n Gentilic mp det + ptcl def.art The children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy.
- Ezra 6:18 וְ/לֵוָיֵ/א֙ conj + n Gentilic mp det + ptcl def.art They set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses.
- Ezra 7:13 וְ/לֵוָיֵ֗/א conj + n Gentilic mp det + ptcl def.art I make a decree, that all those of the people of Israel, and their priests and the Levites, in my realm, who are minded of their own free will to go to Jerusalem, go with you.
- Ezra 7:24 וְ֠/לֵוָיֵ/א conj + n Gentilic mp det + ptcl def.art Also we inform you, that touching any of the priests and Levites, the singers, porters, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll, on them.
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
“Levite” is the headline sense of the Hebrew name לוי (Lêvîy). It occurs a mere 4 verses across Scripture. More than three-quarters of its appearances fall in Ezra. First canonically at Ezra 6:16, it enters the text early. See 4-verse concordance and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H3879 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 4
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 4 distinct verses.
- 1 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 1 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #3,696
- by frequency
- Top 5000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 3,696 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 4 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Ezra 4 verses 100%
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 4 distinct verses.
- Writings (Ketuvim) 4 verses · 100%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
- King James Version: Levites 4×
- American Standard Version: Levites 4×
- Berean Standard Bible: Levites 4×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Levites 4×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H3879 across 4 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H3879 across 4 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H3879 across 4 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H3879 across 4 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Senses in BDB
The 2 senses BDB distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency or importance). The full entry — with sub-senses — is in the Lexicon Entry tab.
- Levite = see Levi " joined to"
- the descendants of Levi, the 3rd son of Jacob by Leah
Word origin
Derived from לויה (livyâh) (H3880) — wreath.
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
לוי
- (b. h.)
- 1. to join, be connected, v. Piel, a. לְוָיָה.
- 2. (cmp. Sm. Ant. s. v. Nexum) to assume an obligation; to borrow. Shebu. 41ᵇ; Keth. 88ᵃ; B. Bath. 6ᵃ האומר לא לָוִיתִי וכ׳ he who (being sued for a loan duly testified by witnesses) says, ‘I have not contracted any loan’, is considered as admitting that he has not paid. Ḥull. 84ᵃ כגון אנו לווִֹין אוכלין (delicate persons) like ourselves may buy food on credit. B. Mets. 72ᵇ אין לווִֹין על שער וכ׳ (also לוִֹין) you must not borrow money with the choice of repaying in grain at the present price; (another defin., v. Rashi a. l.). Bets. 15ᵇ לְווּ עלי make a loan on my (the Lord’s) account; a. v. fr.—Esp. לווֶֹה, לוֶֹה debtor, opp. to מַלְוֶה creditor. Shebu. 47ᵃ מת ל׳ בחיי מ׳ if the debtor died before the creditor; a. fr.—Pl. לווִֹין. Ib.ᵇ שני מלווין ושני ל׳ two (different) creditors and two debtors.
- , לִי׳
- 1. to order an escort for protection, v. לְוָיָה. Tanḥ. Bal. 12; Num. R. s. 20 ל׳ להם ענני וכ׳ He appointed the clouds of glory to escort them. Sot. 46ᵇ בשביל … של׳ פרעה וכ׳ for the sake of the four steps which Pharaoh ordered his men to escort Abraham &c.
- 2. to escort, to walk a distance with a departing guest; to follow. Sabb. 119ᵇ שני מה"ש מְלַוִּין לו וכ׳ two ministering angels escort man to his house on the Sabbath eve. Sot. l. c. כל שאינו מְלַוֶּה ומִתְלַוֶּה וכ׳ whoever omits to escort a guest or (as a guest) declines an escort, is regarded as if he had shed blood; שאילמלא לִיוּוּהוּ וכ׳ for if the men of Jericho had escorted Elisha &c. Koh. R. to V, 17 ומה מְלַוֵּהוּ וכ׳ and what does escort him (to the grave)? Merits and good deeds; a. fr.
- 1. to join the company of, to associate. Midr. Till. to Ps. CIV, 26 (play on לויתן, ib.) כל מי שמִתְלַוֶּה עמהן עתיד להיעשות וכ׳ whosoever joins them (the Romans) will be made sport of with them in future days. Ib. כל מי שמתלוה עמהן עתיד הקב"ה וכ׳ him who joins them (the scholars), the Lord will cause to rejoice with them &c.; Yalk. ib. 862. Gen. R. s. 63, end; Yalk. ib. 111 שנתלוה עמו קלונו וכ׳ the disgrace of starvation was made his companion. Tanḥ. Vayishl. 3 להִתְלַוּוֹת לו to be his escort; a. fr.
- 2. to be escorted, to accept escort. Sot. l. c., v. supra.
- 1. to escort. Ber. 18ᵃ ואם הִלְוָהוּ if he does escort him (the dead).
- 2. to lend. EX. R. s. 31 מַלְוֶה ברבית lends on interest; מ׳ שלא ברבית without interest. Ib. שלא יַלְווּ וכ׳ that they must not lend &c. Ib. ראו כמה הִלְוֵיתִי ואיני … ומה הִלְוְותָה הארץ וכ׳ see how much I lend (to man,) without taking interest, and what the earth lends &c. B. Mets. V, 1 המלוה סלע בחמשה וכ׳ he who lends a Sela to get five Denars in return. Ib. 62ᵇ הַלְוֵינִי מנה lend me a Maneh.—B. Kam. 94ᵇ מַלְיֵי רבית (a. ברבית) those who lend on interest; B. Mets. 62ᵃ; a. fr.—מַלְוֶה creditor, v. supra.
לְוִי
- 1. to join, cling to. Targ. II Sam. XX, 2 (h. text דבק).
- 2. to join a caravan, travel with.—Ḥull. 7ᵃ ההוא טייעא דלווה בהדייהו an Arab that had been travelling with them.
- 3. to escort, v. infra.
- to escort. Targ. Y. II, Gen. XXVIII, 12 דִּילַוָּון (Y. I והינון לָוָון).—Gen. R. s. 48, end לַוֵּי, v. אֲכַל I. Tosef. Keth. VII, 6 לַוֵּי דִּילַוּוּנָךְ (ed. Zuck. לְוִי, Var. דילוין לך, read: דִילַוּוּן) escort (the dead) that people may escort thee; Y. ib. VII, 31ᵇ bot. לווי דילוון (not לוויי); Bab. ib. 72ᵃ דלַוַּאי יְלַוּוּנֵיח him who escorted, people will escort; a. e.
- same. Targ. Gen. XII, 20. Ib. O. XVIII, 16 לאַלְווֹאֵיהוֹן ed. Berl. (some ed. לאַלְוָיוּתְהוֹן; Y. לאַלְוָאֵיהוֹן; h. text לשלחם); a. e.—Sot. 40ᵇ אַלְוֵיה לר׳ וכ׳ walked with R. A. (on dismissing him) from &c.; Ber. 31ᵃ אַלְוְיֵיה; a. fr.
לְוַי
- , v. אַלְוַאי
לְוָי
- , v. לְוָוי
לֵוִי
- (b. h.) pr. n. Levi,
- 1. the son of Jacob, progenitor of the tribe of Levi. Gen. R. s. 19, a. e. עמד ל׳ וכ׳ Levi arose and brought her (the Shekhinah) down &c. Ex. R. s. 1; a. fr.
- 2. שבט ל׳, or ל׳ the tribe of Levi; בן ל׳ or ל׳ a Levite. Yoma 26ᵃ דאתי משבט ל׳ a descendant of the tribe of Levi.—Hor. III, 8 כהן קודם לל׳ ל׳ וכ׳ a priest goes before a Levite (in religious privileges), a Levite before an Israelite. Gitt. V, 8. Ib. VIII, 5 בת ל׳ if she is the daughter of a Levite. Arakh. IX, 8; a. fr.—Pl. לְוִיִּים, לְוִיִּם Levites. Ḥull. I, 6; a. fr.
- 3. name of several Amoraim, esp. Levi, or L. bar Sisi, disciple of R. Jehudah han-Nasi (v. Fr. M’bo, p. 110ᵇ). Y. Yeb. XII, 13ᵃ top. Pes. 76ᵇ; a. fr.
- 4. (law) a fictitious name. B. Bath. 43ᵇ; a. fr.
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 4 distinct written forms H3879 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
| Form | Parsing | Example | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| וְ/לֵוָיֵ/א֙ | Particle, Definite Article | Ezra 6:18 | 1 |
| וְ/לֵוָיֵ֗/א | Particle, Definite Article | Ezra 7:13 | 1 |
| וְ/לֵוָיֵ֜/א | Particle, Definite Article | Ezra 6:16 | 1 |
| וְ֠/לֵוָיֵ/א | Particle, Definite Article | Ezra 7:24 | 1 |
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H3879, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derives from
Shares the same root
Compare all same-root words → They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Bible dictionary
Public-domain dictionary articles matched to this entry by name (Levite). A biblical name can be shared by more than one person or place, so an article may treat several.
Easton's Bible Dictionary · M. G. Easton, 1897
A descendant of the tribe of Levi (Ex. 6:25; Lev. 25:32; Num. 35:2; Josh. 21:3, 41). This name is, however, generally used as the title of that portion of the tribe which was set apart for the subordinate offices of the sanctuary service (1 Kings 8:4; Ezra 2:70), as assistants to the priests.
When the Israelites left Egypt, the ancient manner of worship was still observed by them, the eldest son of each house inheriting the priest's office. At Sinai the first change in this ancient practice was made. A hereditary priesthood in the family of Aaron was then instituted (Ex. 28:1). But it was not till that terrible scene in connection with the sin of the golden calf that the tribe of Levi stood apart and began to occupy a distinct position (Ex. 32). The religious primogeniture was then conferred on this tribe, which henceforth was devoted to the service of the sanctuary (Num. 3:11-13). They were selected for this purpose because of their zeal for the glory of God (Ex. 32:26), and because, as the tribe to which Moses and Aaron belonged, they would naturally stand by the lawgiver in his work.
The Levitical order consisted of all the descendants of Levi's three sons, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari; whilst Aaron, Amram's son (Amram, son of Kohat), and his issue constituted the priestly order.
The age and qualification for Levitical service are specified in Num. 4:3, 23, 30, 39, 43, 47.
They were not included among the armies of Israel (Num. 1:47; 2:33; 26:62), but were reckoned by themselves. They were the special guardians of the tabernacle (Num. 1:51; 18:22-24). The Gershonites pitched their tents on the west of the tabernacle (3:23), the Kohathites on the south (3:29), the Merarites on the north (3:35), and the priests on the east (3:38). It was their duty to move the tent and carry the parts of the sacred structure from place to place. They were given to Aaron and his sons the priests to wait upon them and do work for them at the sanctuary services (Num. 8:19; 18:2-6).
As being wholly consecrated to the service of the Lord, they had no territorial possessions. Jehovah was their inheritance (Num. 18:20; 26:62; Deut. 10:9; 18:1, 2), and for their support it was ordained that they should receive from the other tribes the tithes of the produce of the land. Forty-eight cities also were assigned to them, thirteen of which were for the priests "to dwell in", i.e., along with their other inhabitants. Along with their dwellings they had "suburbs", i.e., "commons", for their herds and flocks, and also fields and vineyards (Num. 35:2-5). Nine of these cities were in Judah, three in Naphtali, and four in each of the other tribes (Josh. 21). Six of the Levitical cities were set apart as "cities of refuge" (q.v.). Thus the Levites were scattered among the tribes to keep alive among them the knowledge and service of God. (See PRIEST.)
Classic public-domain reference works; full attribution on Sources.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 4 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 4 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
