All Topics  
Kohath

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Kohath
 
 
  Topics Kohath Topic Home

According to the Torah
Torah

The term "Torah" , or Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch, refers to the entirety of Judaism's founding Halakha and ethical religious texts....
, Kohath was one of the sons of Levi
Levi

Levi/Levy, Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew Levy ??? Tiberian vocalization ; "joining") was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelites of Levites ....
, and the patriarchal founder of the Kohathites
Kohathites

The Kohathites were one of the four main divisions among the Levites in Hebrew Bible times. The Bible claims that the Kohathites were all descended from the eponymous Kohath, a son of Levi, although biblical criticism regard this as a postdictional metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the clan to others in the Israelite...
, one of the four main divisions among the Levites in Biblical
Hebrew Bible

The term Hebrew Bible is a generic reference to those books of the Bible originally written mostly in Biblical Hebrew with some Biblical Aramaic....
 times; in some apocrypha
Apocrypha

Apocrypha are texts of uncertain authenticity, or writings where the authorship is questioned.When used in the specific context of Judeo-Christian theology, the term apocrypha refers to any collection of scriptural texts that falls outside the Biblical canon....
l texts such as the Testament of Levi, and the Book of Jubilees, Levi's wife, Kohath's mother, is named as Milkah, a daughter of Aram
Aram

The term Aram may refer to:In the Bible:* Aram, son of Shem , according to the 'Table of Nations' in Genesis 10* Aram-Naharaim , the land in which the city of Haran lay...
. In the Testament of Levi, Kohath's birth, occurring when Levi was 35 years old, is accompanied by a vision of Kohath being on high in the midst of all the congregation; in the vision, Kohath's name is described as meaning beginning of majesty and instruction, and is portrayed as a prophecy of him being raised above his siblings, but according to biblical scholars
Biblical criticism

Biblical criticism is "the study and investigation of biblical writings that seeks to make discerning and discriminating judgments about these writings." It asks when and where a particular text originated; how, why, by whom, for whom, and in what circumstances it was produced; what influences were at work in its production; what sources we...
, the meaning of Kohath's name is fairly unknown, although it may be related to an Aramaic word meaning obey.

In the Book of Exodus, Kohath is described as having four sons - Amram
Amram

In the Book of Exodus, Amram , is the father of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam and the husband of Jochebed...
, Izhar
Izhar

According to the Torah, Izhar was the father of Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri, and was a son of Kohath and grandson of Levi, consequently being the brother of Amram and uncle of Aaron, Miriam, and Moses....
, Hebron and Uzziel
Uzziel

According to the Torah, Uzziel was the father of Mishael, Elzaphan, and Zithri, and was a son of Kohath and grandson of Levi, consequently being the brother of Amram and uncle of Aaron, Miriam, and Moses....
 - with Amram marrying a woman named Jochebed
Jochebed

According to the Torah, Jochebed was the mother of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam, and the wife of Amram. Jochebed is also described as being related to Amram prior to her marriage to him, although the exact relationship is uncertain; some Greek and Latin manuscripts of the Septuagint state that Jochebed was Amram's father's cousin, and others sta...
, and becoming the biological parents of Moses
Moses

Moses is a Hebrew Bible Hebrews religious leader, lawgiver, prophet, to whom the Mosaic authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed. Also called Moshe Rabbeinu in Hebrew , he is the most important prophet in Judaism, and also an important prophet of Christianity, Islam, the Bah?'? Faith, Rastafari movement, Chrislam and many ot...
, Aaron
Aaron

In the Hebrew Bible, Aaron , or Aaron the Levite , was the brother of Moses. He was the great-grandson of Levi and represented the priestly functions of his tribe, becoming the first Kohen Gadol of the Hebrews....
, and Miriam
Miriam

Miriam was the sister of Moses and Aaron, and the daughter of Amram and Jochebed. She appears first in the book of Exodus in the Hebrew Bible....
; despite some Greek and Latin manuscripts of the Septuagint
Septuagint

The Septuagint , or simply "LXX", is the Koine Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, translated in stages between the 3rd century BC and 1st century BC in Alexandria....
 version of the Torah stating that Jochebed was Kohath's cousin, the masoretic text
Masoretic Text

The Masoretic Text is the Hebrew language text of the Jewish Bible . It defines not just the Development of the Jewish Bible canon, but also the precise letter-text of the biblical books in Judaism, as well as their niqqud and cantillation for both public reading and private study....
 states that she was Kohath's sister - Amram's aunt
Incest

Incest refers to any sexual activity between closely related persons that is illegal or socially taboo. The type of sexual activity and the nature of the relationship between persons that constitutes a breach of law or social taboo vary with culture and jurisdiction....
 - although Jochebed's relationship to Levi is not explicitly stated.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Kohath'
Start a new discussion about 'Kohath'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


According to the Torah
Torah

The term "Torah" , or Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch, refers to the entirety of Judaism's founding Halakha and ethical religious texts....
, Kohath was one of the sons of Levi
Levi

Levi/Levy, Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew Levy ??? Tiberian vocalization ; "joining") was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelites of Levites ....
, and the patriarchal founder of the Kohathites
Kohathites

The Kohathites were one of the four main divisions among the Levites in Hebrew Bible times. The Bible claims that the Kohathites were all descended from the eponymous Kohath, a son of Levi, although biblical criticism regard this as a postdictional metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the clan to others in the Israelite...
, one of the four main divisions among the Levites in Biblical
Hebrew Bible

The term Hebrew Bible is a generic reference to those books of the Bible originally written mostly in Biblical Hebrew with some Biblical Aramaic....
 times; in some apocrypha
Apocrypha

Apocrypha are texts of uncertain authenticity, or writings where the authorship is questioned.When used in the specific context of Judeo-Christian theology, the term apocrypha refers to any collection of scriptural texts that falls outside the Biblical canon....
l texts such as the Testament of Levi, and the Book of Jubilees, Levi's wife, Kohath's mother, is named as Milkah, a daughter of Aram
Aram

The term Aram may refer to:In the Bible:* Aram, son of Shem , according to the 'Table of Nations' in Genesis 10* Aram-Naharaim , the land in which the city of Haran lay...
. In the Testament of Levi, Kohath's birth, occurring when Levi was 35 years old, is accompanied by a vision of Kohath being on high in the midst of all the congregation; in the vision, Kohath's name is described as meaning beginning of majesty and instruction, and is portrayed as a prophecy of him being raised above his siblings, but according to biblical scholars
Biblical criticism

Biblical criticism is "the study and investigation of biblical writings that seeks to make discerning and discriminating judgments about these writings." It asks when and where a particular text originated; how, why, by whom, for whom, and in what circumstances it was produced; what influences were at work in its production; what sources we...
, the meaning of Kohath's name is fairly unknown, although it may be related to an Aramaic word meaning obey.

In the Book of Exodus, Kohath is described as having four sons - Amram
Amram

In the Book of Exodus, Amram , is the father of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam and the husband of Jochebed...
, Izhar
Izhar

According to the Torah, Izhar was the father of Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri, and was a son of Kohath and grandson of Levi, consequently being the brother of Amram and uncle of Aaron, Miriam, and Moses....
, Hebron and Uzziel
Uzziel

According to the Torah, Uzziel was the father of Mishael, Elzaphan, and Zithri, and was a son of Kohath and grandson of Levi, consequently being the brother of Amram and uncle of Aaron, Miriam, and Moses....
 - with Amram marrying a woman named Jochebed
Jochebed

According to the Torah, Jochebed was the mother of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam, and the wife of Amram. Jochebed is also described as being related to Amram prior to her marriage to him, although the exact relationship is uncertain; some Greek and Latin manuscripts of the Septuagint state that Jochebed was Amram's father's cousin, and others sta...
, and becoming the biological parents of Moses
Moses

Moses is a Hebrew Bible Hebrews religious leader, lawgiver, prophet, to whom the Mosaic authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed. Also called Moshe Rabbeinu in Hebrew , he is the most important prophet in Judaism, and also an important prophet of Christianity, Islam, the Bah?'? Faith, Rastafari movement, Chrislam and many ot...
, Aaron
Aaron

In the Hebrew Bible, Aaron , or Aaron the Levite , was the brother of Moses. He was the great-grandson of Levi and represented the priestly functions of his tribe, becoming the first Kohen Gadol of the Hebrews....
, and Miriam
Miriam

Miriam was the sister of Moses and Aaron, and the daughter of Amram and Jochebed. She appears first in the book of Exodus in the Hebrew Bible....
; despite some Greek and Latin manuscripts of the Septuagint
Septuagint

The Septuagint , or simply "LXX", is the Koine Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, translated in stages between the 3rd century BC and 1st century BC in Alexandria....
 version of the Torah stating that Jochebed was Kohath's cousin, the masoretic text
Masoretic Text

The Masoretic Text is the Hebrew language text of the Jewish Bible . It defines not just the Development of the Jewish Bible canon, but also the precise letter-text of the biblical books in Judaism, as well as their niqqud and cantillation for both public reading and private study....
 states that she was Kohath's sister - Amram's aunt
Incest

Incest refers to any sexual activity between closely related persons that is illegal or socially taboo. The type of sexual activity and the nature of the relationship between persons that constitutes a breach of law or social taboo vary with culture and jurisdiction....
 - although Jochebed's relationship to Levi is not explicitly stated. The Book of Numbers
Book of Numbers

The Book of Numbers, , is the fourth book of the Torah, the Tanakh, and the Old Testament. In the Greek language Septuagint it is called Arithmoi, or Numbers....
 states that during the lifetime of his grandson, Kohath ended up with 8,600 descendants

Textual scholars
Textual criticism

Textual criticism is a branch of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification and removal of transcription errors in the Writing of manuscripts....
 attribute the genealogy to the Book of Generations
Book of generations

The Book of generations is an hypothesized text that the modern documentary hypothesis claims was used by torah redactor of the torah to connect up parts of the priestly source and the JE....
, a document originating from a similar religiopolitical group and date to the priestly source
Priestly source

The Priestly Source is posited as the most recent of the four chief sources of the Torah, as postulated by the long-established "standard" Wellhausen formulation of the Documentary Hypothesis ....
. According to some biblical scholars, the Torah's genealogy for Levi's descendants is actually an aetiological myth reflecting the fact that there were four different groups among the levites - the Gershonite
Gershonite

The Gershonites were one of the four main divisions among the Levites in Hebrew Bible times. The Bible claims that the Gershonites were all descended from the eponymous Gershon, a son of Levi, although biblical criticism regard this as a postdictional metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the clan to others in the Israel...
s, Kohathites, Merarite
Merarite

The Merarites were one of the four main divisions among the Levites in Hebrew Bible times. The Bible claims that the Merarites were all descended from the eponymous Merari, a son of Levi, although biblical criticism regard this as a postdictional metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the clan to others in the Israelites;...
s, and Aaronids; Aaron - the eponymous ancestor of the Aaronids - couldn't be portrayed as a brother to Kohath, as the narrative about the birth of Moses (brother of Aaron), which textual scholars attribute to the earlier Elohist
Elohist

The Elohist is one of four sources of the Torah described by the Documentary Hypothesis. Its name comes from the term it uses for God: Elohim. It portrays a God who is less anthropomorphic than YHWH of the earlier Jahwist source ....
 source, specifies that his parents were both Levites. Biblical scholars suspect that the Elohist account offers both matrilinial and patrilinial descent from Levites in order to magnify the religious credentials of Moses.

According to the masoretic text, Kohath's family tree would be as follows:

See also

  • Kohathites
    Kohathites

    The Kohathites were one of the four main divisions among the Levites in Hebrew Bible times. The Bible claims that the Kohathites were all descended from the eponymous Kohath, a son of Levi, although biblical criticism regard this as a postdictional metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the clan to others in the Israelite...