The Gershonites were one of the four main divisions among the

Levites Levites (or Levi) (, he, ''Lǝvīyyīm'') are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew de ...

in Biblical times. The Bible claims that the Gershonites were all descended from the

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

ous ''

Gershon According to the Torah, Gershon ( he, גֵּרְשׁוֹן ''Gērǝšôn'') was the eldest of the sons of Levi, and the patriarchal founder of the Gershonites, one of the four main divisions among the Levites in biblical times. The Gershonites wer ...

'' a son of

Levi Levi (; ) was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's third son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi (the Levites, including the Kohanim) and the great-grandfather of Aaron, Moses and ...

(not to be confused with Moses' son Gershom), although some

biblical scholars Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible (the Old Testament and New Testament).''Introduction to Biblical Studies, Second Edition'' by Steve Moyise (Oct 27, 2004) pages 11–12 For ...

regard this as a postdictional

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wi ...

providing an

aetiology 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 ...

of the connectedness of the clan to others in the Israelite confederation. '' Peake's Commentary on the Bible''''Jewish Encyclopedia'' The Bible lists 2 major family divisions of the Gershonites, the Libnites and the Shimeites (Numbers 3:21). The Bible ascribes a specific religious function to the Gershonites, namely care of the curtains, hangings, and ropes of the sanctuary. This differentiation of religious activity between the Gershonites and other Levites, in particular the Aaronids, is found only in the

Priestly Code The Priestly Code (in Hebrew ''Torat Kohanim'', תורת כהנים) is the name given, by academia,The book of Leviticus: composition and reception - Page 55 Rolf Rendtorff, Robert A. Kugler, Sarah Smith Bartel - 2003 "Research agrees that its r ...

, and not in passages that textual scholars attribute to other authors. According to the Book of Joshua, rather than possessing a continuous territory, the Gershonites possessed several cities scattered throughout the geographic regions of Galilee and

Bashan Bashan (; he, הַבָּשָׁן, translit=ha-Bashan; la, Basan or ''Basanitis'') is the ancient, biblical name used for the northernmost region of the Transjordan during the Iron Age. It is situated in modern-day Syria. Its western part, now ...

: *in the territory of

Manasseh Manasseh () is both a given name and a surname. Its variants include Manasses and Manasse. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Ezekiel Saleh Manasseh (died 1944), Singaporean rice and opium merchant and hotelier * Jacob Manasseh (die ...

Golan Golan ( he, גּוֹלָן ''Gōlān''; ar, جولان ' or ') is the name of a biblical town later known from the works of Josephus (first century CE) and Eusebius (''Onomasticon'', early 4th century CE). Archaeologists localize the biblical ...

, and Beeshterah *in the territory of

Issachar Issachar () was, according to the Book of Genesis, the fifth of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's ninth son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Issachar. However, some Biblical scholars view this as an eponymous metaphor providing ...

: Kishon, Dabareh,

Jarmuth Jarmuth, Hebrew: Yarmut (יַרְמוּת), was the name of two cities in the land of Canaan.Lemche (2010), p160 The Douai-Rheims version of the Bible has an alternative spelling, Jaramoth. Jarmuth near Beit Shemesh Jarmuth was an Amorite ci ...

, and

En-gannim Anem or Anim was a Levitical city in Israel allocated to the Gershonites, according to the Hebrew Bible, from the land of the tribe of Issachar () (6:58 in some Bibles). In the parallel location in the Book of Joshua, the name ''En-gannim'' or ''E ...

*in the territory of

Asher Asher ( he, אָשֵׁר ''’Āšēr''), in the Book of Genesis, was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Zilpah (Jacob's eighth son) and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Asher. Name The text of the Torah states that the name of ''Asher' ...

Mishal Mishal is a village in south-western Yemen. It is located in the Abyan Governorate Abyan ( ar, أَبْيَن ) is a governorate of Yemen. The Abyan region was historically part of the Fadhli Sultanate. It was a base to the Aden-Abyan Isla ...

, Abdon, Helkath, and

Rehob Tel Rehov ( he, תל רחוב) or Tell es-Sarem ( ar, تل الصارم), is an archaeological site in the Bet She'an Valley, a segment of the Jordan Valley, Israel, approximately south of Beit She'an and west of the Jordan River. It was occupi ...

*in the territory of

Naphtali According to the Book of Genesis, Naphtali (; ) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Bilhah (Jacob's sixth son). He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Naphtali. Some biblical commentators have suggested that the name ''Naphtali'' ...

Kedesh Kedesh (alternate spellings: Cadesh, Cydessa) was an ancient Canaanite and later Israelite settlement in Upper Galilee, mentioned few times in the Hebrew Bible. Its remains are located in Tel Kedesh, 3 km northeast of the modern Kibbutz M ...

, Hammoth-dor, and Kartan

Notes and citations

{{reflist Hebrew Bible people Levites

See also

Notes and citations