person · also Gershonite · Gershom · Gershomite
Gershon
גֵּרְשׁוֹן
Gershon was the firstborn son of Levi and the ancestor of the Gershonite Levites, who were responsible for the tabernacle curtains, coverings, and related duties.
- verses
- 34
- first named
- Genesis 46:11
- last named
- 2 Chronicles 29:12
- period
- Egypt and Wilderness
- tribe
- Levi
Description
Who was Gershon?
Gershon was the firstborn son of Levi, the third son of Israel (or 'Jacob') (Gen.46.11; Exo.6.16). He had two sons, Libni and Shimei, who became the heads of the Gershonite Levite clans (Exo.6.17; Num.3.18, 21; 1Ch.6.17, 20). The Gershonites were one of the three main divisions of the Levites, along with the Kohathites and Merarites (Num.3.17; 1Ch.6.1, 16).
During the wilderness wanderings, the Gershonites were responsible for the tabernacle curtains, coverings, screens, and related duties (Num.3.25-26; 4.24-28). They were counted in the census of the Levites (Num.3.22; 4.38-41) and were given wagons and oxen to transport their assigned parts of the tabernacle (Num.7.7).
In the division of the Promised Land, the Gershonites were allocated thirteen cities across the territories of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and eastern Manasseh (Jos.21.6, 27-33; 1Ch.6.62, 71-76). Notable Gershonites include Asaph, a prominent musician and psalmist in King David's court (1Ch.6.39-43), and Jahath, a Levite leader during the reign of King Hezekiah (2Ch.29.12).
The Gershonites played a significant role in the transportation, setup, and maintenance of the tabernacle, and later in the music and worship of the temple. Their dedicated service, along with that of the other Levite clans, was essential to the proper functioning of Israel's religious life.
Relations
Direct connections
Every entity the graph places in a stated relation with this one, grouped by the kind of link. Each relation is authored once and its inverse derived, so both ends always agree. Rows marked “registry” come from the identity spine rather than from a verse, and a row marked “which bearer is the source’s decision” is one where the name could have meant more than one person. The last group is not a relation at all — it counts the events two entities stand in together.
The 10 best-attested of 23 are drawn. All 23 are listed below.
Associated with
Child of
- LeviregistryExodus 6:16Numbers 3:171 Chronicles 6:1 +3
Father of
Parent of
Sibling of
Took part in
Stands in the same events as
- Kohath3 events
- Merari3 events
- Manasseh2 events
- Bashan2 events
- Naphtali2 events
- Asher2 events
- Issachar2 events
- Kedesh2 events
- Ashtaroth2 events
- Golan2 events
- Hammath2 events
- David1 event
and 12 more, ordered by how many events they share.
Places
Where this happens
The places the claims about this person reach, drawn where the gazetteer locates them. A point is where a row puts them and never where tradition does; no line joins two points, because the rows state where and not in what order.
Read it
Where to read it
Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — 34, across 6 books. The name is written 37 times in them.
Onward
Where this page goes
Not the direct relations above — these are one hop further out, ranked so that a rare shared connection outweighs a common one. Descriptions by STEPBible TIPNR.
Where they appear
Chapter by chapter
Atlas's reading of each chapter this person appears in, in canonical order. One line per chapter, and each leads to the whole of it.
Sources