(fl. 19th-16th cent BCE)
Israelite, third son of Jacob and Leah. He was the founder of the tribe of Levites. He and Simeon, his brother, killed the men of Shechem who raped their sister, Dinah (Genesis 34); because of this act they were rebuked by Jacob, who foretold that their descendents would be scattered throughout Israel (Genesis 49:7).
Dictionary of Jewish Biography. Dan Cohn-Sherbok.