Merarites

The Merarites were one of the four main divisions among the Levites in Biblical times. The Bible claims that the Merarites were all descended from the eponymous Merari, a son of Levi, although biblical scholars regard this as a postdictional metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the clan to others in the Israelite confederationPeake's commentary on the BibleJewish Encyclopedia; 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.
The Bible ascribes a specific religious function to the Merarites, namely care of the framework - posts, crossbars, courtyard, tent pegs, etc. - of the sanctuary. This differentiation of religious activity between the Merarites and other Levites, in particular the Aaronids, is found only in the Priestly Code, and not in passages that textual scholars attribute to other authorsPeake's commentary on the BibleCheyne and Black, Encyclopedia Biblica.
According to the Book of Joshua, rather than possessing a continuous territory, the Merarites possessed several cities scattered throughout the geographic region of Gilead, as well as in the south of the Galilee, the latter being quite unrealistically distant from the formerRichard Donald Nelson, Joshua a commentary, Westminster John Knox Press (1997):
*in the territory of Reuben: Bezer, Jahazah, Kedemoth, and Mephaath
*in the territory of Gad: Ramoth (in Gilead), Mahanaim, Heshbon, and Jazer
*in the territory of Zebulun: Jokneam, Kartah, Dimnah, and Nahalal
The narrative in Joshua argues that the territory was taken by the Levites right after Joshua's conquest of Canaan, but this cannot be correct, as it is contradicted not only by archaeological evidence, but also by narratives in the Book of Judges, Books of Samuel, and Books of KingsibidIsrael Finkelstein, The Bible Unearthed. The conclusion of most biblical scholars is thus that the whole system of Levite cities, in the Torah and deuteronomic history, is an attempt to explain the fact that important early sanctuaries existed at these locations, and thus were places where members of the priesthood naturally came to reside in large numbers; scholars believe that the priesthood was originally open to any tribe, but gradually became seen as a distinct tribe to themselves - the LevitesPeake's commentary on the bible.
==See also==
*Kohathite
*Gershonite
==Notes and citations==
Category:Torah people