Page "Merari" Paragraph 1

Textual scholars attribute the genealogy to the Book of Generations, a document originating from a similar religiopolitical group and date to the priestly source.

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 Gershonites, Kohathites, Merarites, and Aaronids ; 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.