Was Obed-Edom (the Gittite) a Gentile who became a Levite or was he already a Levite when he received the ark?

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I don't find a strong biblical basis for believing Obed-Edom the Gittite was a Gentile who became a Levite. However, critical scholars suggest the Levites as a class were generally local priests who were adopted into Israel rather than being literally descended from Levi.

The biblical arguments in favor Obed-edom being a non-Israelite are primarily his names. Obed-Edom means "servant [of] edom/red" and Gittite may indicate residence in Gath, famed as the Philistine home town of Golitath.

Here are the problems with this evidence:

1. He is listed as a descendant of Levites in 1 Chronicles 15:

6 Then David spoke to the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their relatives as the singers, with musical instruments, harps, lyres, and cymbals, playing to raise sounds of joy. 17 So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel, and from his relatives, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and from the sons of Merari their relatives, Ethan the son of Kushaiah, 18 and with them their relatives of the second rank... Mikneiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel, the gatekeepers. (2 Chron 15)

2. His name does not imply that he was an Edomite or a Philistine.

Rabbinical tradition holds that his name "Obed" means "the servant who honors God in the right way." Edom, meanwhile, implies that his family served God's altars in what was called "Edom" (red-land) prior to his move to Gath. This would indicate the lands east of the Jordan River characterized by red earth, from whence the later nation-state of Edom derived its name. Tribal areas where Levites served east of the Jordan include Manasseh, Gad and Reuben. In other words, Obed maybe have served in the land called Edom but he was not an Edomite.

Similarly his apparent residence in Gath is no argument against his birth as a Levite, since two towns named Gath are listed as Levitical cities in Joshua 19, namely Gath-rimmon and Gath-hepher. Even if his residence were in the Philistine Gath, this does not preclude the possibility that he supervised sacrifices to the Israelites' deity at shrines nearby, a short distance from Judah. See large map of the Levitical cities

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Critical view

On the other hand, biblical critics posit the idea that the Levites were not actually lineal descendants of Levi but were non-Israelite priests adopted into service after the emergence of the Israelite confederacy:

... The reason for the Levites' not receiving an inheritance with the other tribes is that they were actually already living in the land when the Aaronic priesthood migrated to Canaan. In this scenario they would represent the native proto-Israelite traditions of worship at local shrines and high places, while the Aaronic priesthood represented the "Jerusalem only" tradition...

Thus, if we go strictly by the Bible, Obed-Edom was a lineal Levite whose family may have served God's altars in the "redlands" and who himself may have resided in one of the Levitical towns known as Gath. If we take the view of some historians of religion, then he - along with virtually all the "Levites" - could have been a non-Israelite who was adopted into service at the tabernacle after the establishment of the Israelite monarchy.

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