According to the
Torah, Gershon ( he, גֵּרְשׁוֹן ''Gērǝšôn'') was the eldest of the sons of
Levi, and the patriarchal founder of the
Gershonites The Gershonites were one of the four main divisions among the Levites in Biblical times. The Bible claims that the Gershonites were all descended from the eponymous ''Gershon'' a son of Levi (not to be confused with Moses' son Gershom), although so ...
, one of the four main divisions among the
Levites in
biblical
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
times. The Gershonites were charged with the care of the outer
tabernacle including components such as the tent and its covering, screens, doors, and hangings.
Biblical scholars regard the name as being essentially the same as "
Gershom" ( ''Gēršōm''), which appears to mean "a sojourner there" (גר שם), and it is Gershom rather than Gershon who is sometimes listed in the
Book of Chronicles
The Book of Chronicles ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third sec ...
as a founder of one of the principal Levite factions. The Torah names Gershon's sons as
Libni and
Shimei.
Textual scholars
Textual scholarship (or textual studies) is an umbrella term for disciplines that deal with describing, transcribing, editing or annotating texts and physical documents.
Overview
Textual research is mainly historically oriented. Textual scholars ...
attribute the genealogy to the
Book of Generations, a document originating from a
religiopolitical group similar to that behind the
Priestly source
The Priestly source (or simply P) is perhaps the most widely recognized of the sources underlying the Torah. It is both stylistically and theologically distinct from other material in the Torah, and includes a set of claims that are contradicted b ...
, and at a similar date. According to some biblical scholars, the Torah's genealogy for Levi's descendants is actually an
aetiological
Etiology (pronounced ; alternatively: aetiology or ætiology) is the study of causation or origination. The word is derived from the Greek (''aitiología'') "giving a reason for" (, ''aitía'', "cause"); and ('' -logía''). More completely, e ...
myth reflecting the fact that there were four different groups among the Levites — the Gershonites, the
Kohathites, the
Merarites, and the
Aaronids.
Family tree
Jochebed
According to the Bible, Jochebed (; hbo, יוֹכֶבֶד, translit=Yōḵeḇeḏ, lit=YHWH is glory) was a daughter of Levi and mother of Miriam, Aaron and Moses. She was the wife of Amram, as well as his aunt. No details are given concerning h ...
's position in the family tree of Gershon is uncertain. Some manuscripts of the
Septuagint version of the Torah state that Jochebed was Kohath's cousin, but the
Masoretic Text states that she was Kohath's sister
['']New American Bible
The New American Bible (NAB) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1970. The 1986 Revised NAB is the basis of the revised Lectionary, and it is the only translation approved for use at Mass in the Latin-rite Catholic dioces ...
'', footnote to Exodus 6:20—Amram's aunt—although Jochebed's relationship to Levi is not explicitly stated.
Thus, according to the Septuagint, Gershon's family tree would be as follows:
while according to the Masoretic Text, Gershon's family tree would be as follows:
References
{{reflist
Levites
Book of Numbers people
Tribe of Levi