As for the rest of the descendants of Levi: - 1 Chronicles 24:20a

Today's Scripture Reading (September 15, 2022): 1 Chronicles 24

My family tree is a bit twisted. My paternal grandparents were related to each other; they were eighth cousins. They met on a bridge over a stream close to my Grandfather's childhood home. I am unsure if they realized that they were distantly related in that first moment of meeting. But my paternal Grandmother never had to change her name when she married him; she already possessed my Grandfather's last name, Mullen, and she remained a Mullen all of her life.

According to family lore, the marriage of these eighth cousins was one of the prime reasons why my Great-Uncle, Grandpa's brother, left the area at the urging of his wife. My Great-Aunt didn't want her children falling into the same trap and was sure that if they stayed in the area, where apparently almost half the people possessed the Mullen last name, that some of her children might marry an eighth cousin, or possibly, an even closer relative.

The reality is that when I try to figure out my paternal family tree, how someone is related to me has to be examined through both limbs of my grandparent's ancestry. And these people are related to me twice. I am in contact with some of these distant cousins, but most are more closely related to me through my Grandmother's ancestry than my Grandfather's. But it is an intriguing exercise.

First Chronicles gives us an interesting picture of the Levites and how they were divided for the task of caring for the Tabernacle during the days of King David. And as the Chronicler indicates "the rest of the descendants of Levi," he is actually talking about the descendants of Kohath, the son of Levi, who were not descended from the lines of Moses and Aaron. But not all of Kohath's descendants were to be excluded. And how that is explained is a matter of examining Levi's family tree. Jochebed was a daughter of Levi. But she married Amram, Kohath's son, and Levi's grandson. That meant that Jochebed married her nephew, and Jochebed and Amram were the parents of Miriam, Aaron, and Moses. And so, the descendants of Amram, the son of Kohath, were included in the previously mentioned divisions. "The rest of the descendants of Levi" included all the descendants of Kohath, with the singular exception of the descendants of Amram, the son of Kohath.

It was probably not lost on Moses as he received the law that a portion of that law denounced his parents' marriage. After this, a marriage between an aunt and nephew would be forbidden according to the Mosaic Law. Eighth cousins could still marry and have children, but not relatives who were separated by only one link in the generational tree. The very union that gave life to Moses would not be tolerated by the generations that followed Moses.

Today's Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 25