Levi

Levi was a son of Jacob and the traditional ancestor of the tribe of Levi. The story of violence at Shechem is attached to Levi and Simeon, while later tradition gives the Levites priestly and religious functions.

Levi was born in Paddan Aram. Biblical tradition makes Levi a son of Jacob and Leah and an ancestor of the Levites; although the story of Shechem condemns his violence alongside Simeon, later Israelite tradition associates his descendants with priestly and temple service.

Anita Diamant’s The Red Tent places Levi among Dinah’s brothers in Jacob’s household and in the family conflict surrounding Shechem. The novel reimagines that biblical episode from Dinah’s perspective, so Levi’s participation in the retaliatory violence is seen not as an isolated heroic act but as part of the rupture that destroys her place within her family. The treatment is literary expansion of scripture rather than independent historical biography.