BibleWay
⌕

← People

Person · Tribe of Levi

Kohath

Levi's son living at the time of Egypt and Wilderness

Kohath, son of Levi, was the ancestor of Moses and Aaron.

🗺 Places mentioned alongside Kohath on the map →

Also known as Kohathite

Kohath was the second son of Levi and grandson of Israel (or 'Jacob') (Gen.46.11). He went to Egypt with Jacob's household (Gen.46.11) and his descendants were counted in the census of Israel (Exo.6.16,18; Num.3.17,19). The Kohathites became one of the major clans of the Levites (Num.3.27). They were responsible for the care of the most holy things of the tabernacle (Num.3.29-31; 4.4,15). The Kohathites were given towns to live in among the tribes of Ephraim, Dan and Manasseh (Jos.21.5,20,26). Notable descendants of Kohath included Moses, Aaron, and the priestly line (Exo.6.18,20), as well as the musician Heman (1Ch.6.33). The Kohathites remained faithful Levites throughout Israel's history (1Ch.9.32; 2Ch.20.19; 29.12; 34.12).

Family

Father
Levi
Siblings
GershonMerariJochebed
Children
AmramIzharHebronUzziel

Connections

Part of: Moses and his circle

Korah and Moses: cousins in rebellion

FamilyStated in the text

Korah son of Izhar and Moses and Aaron sons of Amram were first cousins, both grandsons of Kohath. Korah challenged Moses and Aaron's exclusive leadership together with Dathan and Abiram of Reuben; the ground swallowed the rebels. Korah's sons did not die, and the "sons of Korah" later appear as temple singers.

KorahAaron's adversaryMosesSon of AmramAaronHigh PriestIzharSon of KohathAmramMoses' fatherKohathLevi's son
Where the text shows it: Exod 6:18-21 — Kohath fathered Amram and Izhar; Izhar fathered KorahNum 16:1-3 — Korah, Dathan and Abiram challenge Moses and AaronNum 16:31-35 — The earth swallows the rebels; fire consumes 250Num 26:10-11 — Korah's sons did not die

Sources: Exod 6:18-21 · Num 16:1-3 · Num 16:31-35 · Num 26:10-11

More background: search Wikipedia ↗

Bible dictionary

Kohath Easton Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897)

Assembly, the second son of Levi, and father of Amram (Gen. 46:11). He came down to Egypt with Jacob, and lived to the age of one hundred and thirty-three years (Ex. 6:18).

Read the full entry →

Kohath Smith Smith’s Bible Dictionary (1863)

(assembly), second of the three sons of Levi, from whom the three principal divisions of the Levites derived their origin and their name. (Genesis 46:11; Exodus 6:16) In the journeyings of the tabernacle of the sons of Kohath (Kohathites) had charge of the most holy portions of the vessels. (Numbers 4:1) ... Of the personal history of Kohath we know nothing, except that he came down to Egypt with Levi and Jacob, (Genesis 46:11) that his sister was Jochebed, (Exodus 6:20) and that he lived to the age of 133 years. (Exodus 6:18) (B.C. about 1491.)

Read the full entry →

Kohath Hitchcock Hitchcock’s Bible Names Dictionary (1869)

congregation; wrinkle; bluntness

Read the full entry →

Kohath Hastings Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible (1898)

KO'HATH (assembly), second son of Levi; ancestor of the great Kohathite family of the priests. He lived 133 years. Gen 46:11; Ex 6:16, 1 Sam 30:18; Num 3:17, Gen 1:27; Num 26:57-58; Josh 21:5, Ruth 4:20, Acts 11:26; 1 Chr 6:1.

Read the full entry →

Kohath Schaff Schaff’s Dictionary of the Bible

KO'HATH (assembly), second son of Levi; ancestor of the great Kohathite family of the priests. He lived 133 years. Gen 46:11; Ex 6:16, 1 Sam 30:18; Num 3:17, Gen 1:27; Num 26:57-58; Josh 21:5, Ruth 4:20, Acts 11:26; 1 Chr 6:1.

Read the full entry →

Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.

Where Kohath appears

42 verses in 6 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H6955

Genesis1
Exodus2
Numbers16
Joshua5
1 Chronicles15
2 Chronicles3

Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.