According to the
Torah
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
, Izhar () was the father of
Korah
Korah ( he, ''Qōraḥ''; ar, قارون ''Qārūn''), son of Izhar, is an individual who appears in the Book of Numbers of the Hebrew Bible and four different verses in the Quran, known for leading a rebellion against Moses. Some older Englis ...
,
Nepheg, and
Zichri, and was a son of
Kohath
According to the Torah, Kehath ( he, קְהָת, ''Qəhāṯ'') or Kohath was one of the sons of Levi and the patriarchal founder of the Kehathites, one of the four main divisions of the Levites in biblical times. In some apocryphal texts, such as ...
and grandson 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 M ...
, consequently being the brother of
Amram
In the Book of Exodus, Amram (; ) is the husband of Jochebed and father of Aaron, Moses and Miriam.
In the Bible
In addition to being married to Jochebed, Amram is also described in the Bible as having been related to Jochebed prior to th ...
and uncle of
Aaron
According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...
,
Miriam
Miriam ( he, מִרְיָם ''Mīryām'', lit. 'Rebellion') is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus.
The Tor ...
, and
Moses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
. No further details of his life are given by the Bible, and according to 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 ...
the genealogy for Levi's descendants is actually an
aetiological myth
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of Narrative, narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or Origin myth, origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not Objectivity (philosophy), ...
, reflecting popular perception of the connections between different Levite factions.
Despite twice listing Izhar as being among the sons of Kohath, 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 ...
subsequently goes on to state, only a few verses later, that it was the (previously unmentioned) son of Kohath named ''Amminadab'' that became the father of Korah. However these were prominent clan names and not always direct sons as expected in Western genealogies. Later in the Book of Chronicles, ''Amminadab'' is given as the name of the leader of the ''Uzzielites'', a clan which the biblical genealogy proclaims as being descended from
Uzziel
According to the Torah, Uzziel ( he, עֻזִּיאֵל, ''ʿUzzîʾēl''; meaning '' El is my strength'' or ''God is my strength'') was the father of Mishael, Elzaphan, and Zithri, and was a son of Kohath and grandson of Levi, consequently be ...
, Izhar's brother.
References
{{Reflist
Levites
Book of Exodus people
Tribe of Levi