What happened to the tribe of Levi during the captivity?

Question:

When the northern kingdom went into Assyrian captivity, that left the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. What happened to the tribe of Levi? Did they go into captivity as well?

Answer:

The tribe of Levi's inheritance was scattered among the other tribes. Thus, you would expect the Levites to be taken into captivity along with the members of the other tribes who were captured. After Assyria had taken all the Israelites away from the northern tribes, he replaced the people with people from other areas of his empire (II Kings 17:24). However, God sent lions to harass these foreigners (II Kings 17:25). The king of Assyria thought that the lions were due to local gods not being appeased, so had a priest, who had been captured, to return to the area and teach the people how to worship the God there (II Kings 17:26-28). Priests come from the tribe of Levi, so we know some of Levi had been carried off into captivity.

By the way, this is how the Samaritans came about.

Question:

Thank you for your response. Would it be the case then that although there was a tribe of Levi, those who were priests of that tribe were scattered throughout the other tribes in order to perform the ceremonial tasks which only they could perform (such as offering the yearly sacrifice for sins)?

Answer:

While the priests were members of the tribe of Levi, all Levites were not priests. While some sacrifices could be offered locally, the sacrifices for the major events, such as the Day of Atonement, could only be offered at the site of the tabernacle and later at the temple. One of the primary duties that fell to the tribe of Levi was that they served as the nation's judges. It was for easy access why the cities of refuge were scattered on each side of the Jordan River. I suspect that some of the other duties also needed ready access to the Levites. See What were the priest and Levite's duties? for more details.

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