Editing Levite (section)

{{Infobox ethnic group
|group      = Levites
|native_name=לויים
|native_name_lang=he
|population = ~500,000–600,000 worldwide{{efn|Levites comprise a subgroup of about 4% of world Jewry.<ref name=bradman>Bradman et al. 1999.</ref> Combined with [[Kohen|Kohanim]], who are also Levites, the subgroup forms roughly 8% of the Jewish population worldwide,<ref name=bradman /> or about 1–1.1 million. Levites also comprise one of the four surviving families of Samaritans, where they serve the role of [[Samaritan High Priest|High Priests]] due to the fact that the last Samaritan High Priest Cohanic family went extinct in the 17th century.<ref name=Ireton>{{cite web|title=The Samaritans – A Jewish Sect in Israel: Strategies for Survival of an Ethno-religious Minority in the Twenty First Century|author=Sean Ireton|publisher=Anthrobase|year=2003 |access-date=2007-11-29|url=http://www.anthrobase.com/Txt/I/Ireton_S_01.htm}}</ref>}}
|region1    = {{flag|Israel}}
|pop1       = 240,000
|region2    = {{USA}}
|pop2       = 200,000
|region3    = {{flag|France}}
|pop3       = 16,000
|region4    = {{flag|Canada}}
|pop4       = 12,000
|region5    = {{flag|India}}
|pop5       = 3,000
|languages = Vernacular:<br/>[[Modern Hebrew|Hebrew]], [[English language|English]] and numerous other languages in the [[Jewish diaspora]]<br/> Historical:<br/>[[Biblical Hebrew]], [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]]
|religions = [[Judaism]], [[Samaritanism]]
|related   = other [[Jews]], [[Samaritans]]
|footnotes = Total percentage of Levites among Jews is about 4%.
}}

'''Levites''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|iː|v|aɪ|t}} {{respell|LEE|vyte}}; {{langx|he|לְוִיִּם|Lǝvīyyīm}}) or '''Levi'''<ref>{{cite web |title=Levite synonyms, Levite antonyms|url=https://www.freethesaurus.com/Levite|website=freethesaurus.com|quote=Synonyms for Levite ...  noun a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi … the branch that provided male assistants to ...}}</ref> are [[Jewish]] males who claim [[Patrilineality|patrilineal]] descent from the [[Tribe of Levi]].<ref>"Membership in the Levites is determined by paternal descent." {{cite web |url=http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=24469 |title= Medical Definition of Levite |access-date= 2017-02-19}}</ref> The Tribe of Levi descended from [[Levi]], the third son of [[Jacob (Bible)|Jacob]] and [[Leah]]. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew [[definite article]] "{{lang|he|ה}}" ''Ha-'' ('the') plus ''Levi'' ('Levite'), is not conclusive regarding being a Levite; a titular use of '''HaLevi''' indicates being a Levite. The daughter of a Levite is a {{Transliteration|he|[[#Bat Levi|''Bat Levi'']]}} (''Bat'' being Hebrew for 'daughter').

The Tribe of Levi served particular religious duties for the Israelites and had political (administering cities of refuge) and educational responsibilities as well. In return, the [[landed tribe]]s were expected to support the Levites with a [[tithe]] ({{bibleverse|Numbers|18:21–25}}), particularly the tithe known as the [[First tithe]], ''ma'aser rishon''. The [[Kohen|Kohanim]], a subset of the Levites, were the priests, who performed the work of holiness in the Temple. The Levites, referring to those who were not Kohanim, were specifically assigned to:
* Singing<ref>{{cite web |title=The Holy Temple Music |url=http://www.nigun.info/hamikdash.html |quote=tractate Arachin (11a) that oral music was never to be uttered by anyone other than a Levite}}</ref> and/or playing music in the Temple
* Serving as guards
* Carrying{{efn|a Levite assigned to one area was punishable by death for encroaching on one of the other two areas. Kohathites who carried the holy items could not look at the ark or they died, since they were not descendants of Aaron Numbers 4.17-20|date=September 2023}}

When [[Joshua]] led the [[Israelites]] into the land of [[Canaan]] ({{bibleverse||Joshua|13:33|63}}), the Sons of Levi were the only Israelite tribe that received cities but were not allowed to be landowners "because the Lord the God of Israel Himself is their inheritance" ({{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|18:2|63}}).<ref>Joshua 13:33, cited in {{CathEncy|wstitle=Levites}}</ref>

In modern times, Levites are integrated in Jewish communities, but keep a distinct status. There are estimated 300,000 Levites among [[Ashkenazi Jewish]] communities,<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1038/s41598-017-14761-7|title = The genetic variation in the R1a clade among the Ashkenazi Levites' y chromosome|year = 2017|last1 = Behar|first1 = Doron M.|last2 = Saag|first2 = Lauri|last3 = Karmin|first3 = Monika|last4 = Gover|first4 = Meir G.|last5 = Wexler|first5 = Jeffrey D.|last6 = Sanchez|first6 = Luisa Fernanda|last7 = Greenspan|first7 = Elliott|last8 = Kushniarevich|first8 = Alena|last9 = Davydenko|first9 = Oleg|last10 = Sahakyan|first10 = Hovhannes|last11 = Yepiskoposyan|first11 = Levon|last12 = Boattini|first12 = Alessio|last13 = Sarno|first13 = Stefania|last14 = Pagani|first14 = Luca|last15 = Carmi|first15 = Shai|last16 = Tzur|first16 = Shay|last17 = Metspalu|first17 = Ene|last18 = Bormans|first18 = Concetta|last19 = Skorecki|first19 = Karl|last20 = Metspalu|first20 = Mait|last21 = Rootsi|first21 = Siiri|last22 = Villems|first22 = Richard|journal = Scientific Reports|volume = 7|issue = 1|page = 14969|pmid = 29097670|pmc = 5668307|bibcode = 2017NatSR...714969B}}</ref> and a similar number among [[Sephardim|Sephardic]] and [[Mizrahim|Mizrahi]] Jews combined. The total percentage of Levites among the wider Jewish population is about 4%.
[[File:Levites reading the law to the people.jpg|thumb|A Levite reads the Law to the people (1873 illustration)]]
Most scholars view the [[Torah]] as projecting the origins of the Levites into the past to explain their role as landless cultic functionaries.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Leuchter
| first = Mark
| title = Who Were the Levites?
| website = TheTorah.com
| year = 2017
| url = https://thetorah.com/article/who-were-the-levites
}}</ref>