Gershon

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This page is about the Old Testament son of Levi. For the firstborn son of Moses, see Gershom. For other uses of Gershon, see Gershon (disambiguation).

According to the Torah, Gershon was the eldest of the sons of Levi^[1], and the patriarchal founder of the Gershonites, one of the four main divisions among the Levites in Biblical times; biblical scholars regard the name as being essentially the same as Gershom^[2] (Hebrew: גֵּרְשֹׁם, Standard Gerəšom Tiberian Gērəšōm), which appears to mean a sojourner there (גר שם), and it is Gershom rather than Gershon who is sometimes listed by the Book of Chronicles, as a founder of one of the principle Levite factions^[3]. The torah names Gershon's sons as Libni and Shimei ^[4].

Textual scholars attribute the genealogy to the Book of Generations, a document originating from a similar religiopolitical group and date to the priestly source^[5]. According to 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 Gershonites, Kohathites, Merarites, and Aaronids^[6][7]; according to biblical scholars, Levite was originally just a job title, deriving from the Minaean word lawi'u meaning priest, rather than having been the name of a tribe^[8]

[edit] Family tree

Jochebed's position in the family tree of Gershon is uncertain. Some Greek and Latin manuscripts of the Septuagint version of the Torah stating that Jochebed was Kohath's cousin^[9], but the masoretic text states that she was Kohath's sister^[10] - 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:

Levi

(unnamed)

(unnamed)

Gershon

Kohath

Merari

Jochebed

Amram

Izhar

Hebron

Uzziel

Miriam

Aaron

Moses

while according to the masoretic text, Gershon's family tree would be as follows:

Levi

(unnamed)

Gershon

Kohath

Merari

Jochebed

Libni

Shimei

Amram

Izhar

Hebron

Uzziel

Miriam

Aaron

Moses

[edit] References