Kohathites

Biblical Text

The Kohathites were a Levite clan descended from Kohath, the second son of Levi (Exodus 6:16-18). The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Amram was the father of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam (Exodus 6:20; 1 Chronicles 6:3).

Numbers 3 divides them into four families. It counts 8,600 males from a month old and upward, assigns them to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, and names Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as their chief (Numbers 3:27-30).

Duties

The Kohathites were placed in charge of the ark of the covenant, the table, the lampstand, the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary (Numbers 3:31). When the camp set out, Aaron and his sons first covered the holy objects, and only then did the Kohathites come in to carry them. This duty came with a warning that they would die if they touched the holy things or looked on them even for a moment (Numbers 4:15-20). The men from thirty to fifty years old who performed this service numbered 2,750 (Numbers 4:36). The Gershonites and the Merarites received wagons, but the Kohathites did not, because they were to bear the holy objects on their shoulders (Numbers 7:9).

The office of priest was given only to the descendants of Aaron. Thus, even among the Kohathites, there was a distinction between the priests and the ordinary Levites. The rebellion of Korah, the son of Izhar, against Moses and Aaron (Numbers 16) arose over this distinction. On that occasion Moses asked Korah, "and seek ye the priesthood also?" (Numbers 16:10).

After the Settlement in Canaan

After the entry into Canaan, the descendants of Aaron received thirteen cities from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. The rest of the Kohathites received ten cities from the tribes of Ephraim and Dan and the half-tribe of Manasseh (Joshua 21:4-5).

David at first had the ark of the covenant transported on a cart, and in the process Uzzah died (2 Samuel 6:3-7). When the ark was moved the second time, David had the Levites carry it on their shoulders, as Moses had commanded (1 Chronicles 15:13-15).

Chronicles also records other activities of the Kohathites:

• Heman, a Kohathite, is introduced as a singer (1 Chronicles 6:33).
• Some of them were in charge of the showbread (1 Chronicles 9:32).
• In the time of Jehoshaphat, the Kohathites and the Korahites praised God with a loud voice (2 Chronicles 20:19).
• They took part in the reforms of Hezekiah and Josiah (2 Chronicles 29:12; 34:12).

The psalms attributed to the sons of Korah in the Book of Psalms also come from this clan's line of descent.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

The New Testament does not mention the Kohathites directly. In the Christian interpretive tradition, however, the situation of those who could neither see nor touch the holy objects is often read in contrast with the teaching of Hebrews that believers may enter the holiest with boldness by the blood of Christ (Hebrews 10:19-22).

Interpretations and Debated Points

• The genealogy of Samuel: 1 Chronicles 6 places Samuel within the Kohathite genealogy, whereas 1 Samuel 1:1 introduces his father Elkanah as a man of the hill country of Ephraim. One view, noting that the Kohathites received cities in the territory of Ephraim, regards him as a Levite who lived in Ephraim; another holds that the Chronicler later incorporated Samuel into the Levitical genealogy.
• Homiletical application: The image of the holy objects borne on the shoulders is sometimes interpreted as a picture of the dedication of those who hold church office, and the coverings of the holy objects are sometimes read as types of Christ. These are interpretations at the level of preaching and application, not statements made directly by the text.