into a tablet and, while still wet, it was imprinted by means of a stylus forming wedge-shaped (cuneiform) characters. These tablets were often enclosed in clay envelopes. In the case of contracts, the text was sometimes repeated on the envelope. The envelopes were sealed and then baked in a kiln or dried in the sun to make them hard and durable.

Letter writing was often done by professional scribes. As in the Persian court, such scribes were usually on hand to take down official government correspondence. (Esther 8:9; Ezra 4:8) Scribes were also to be found in the marketplaces near city gates, where they could be engaged by the populace to write letters and to record business transactions.

Letters were sometimes delivered by messengers (2 Ki. 19:14), runners (2 Chron. 30:6), or couriers. (Esther 3:13; 8:14) Postal service itself seems to have been restricted to official correspondence down to Roman times. So average persons had to rely on traveling acquaintances or merchants to deliver their letters.

Anciently, letters of recommendation were also used. However, the apostle Paul did not need such letters to or from the Christians at Corinth to prove that he was a minister. He had aided them to become Christians and therefore could say: “You yourselves are our letter, inscribed on our hearts and known and being read by all mankind.”—2 Cor. 3:1-3.

In the first century C.E., letters from Paul, James, Peter, John, Jude and the governing body in Jerusalem contributed to the growth and the preservation of the unity and cleanness of the Christian congregation.—Acts 15:22-31; 16:4, 5; 2 Cor. 7:8, 9; 10:8-11.

LETUSHIM

(Le·tuʹshim) [perhaps, hammered, sharpened, or, oppressed].

A name appearing among the descendants of Abraham through Dedan, one of his sons by Keturah. (Gen. 25:3) This name has the plural Hebrew ending im, as do the names Asshurim and Leummim appearing in the same text. Because of this, many scholars believe that a tribe or people is meant. In view of their relationship to Dedan, this tribe likely located in the Arabian Peninsula, but precise identification is impossible.—See MIZRAIM.

LEUMMIM

(Le·umʹmim) [peoples, nations, or, perhaps, hordes].

A name appearing at Genesis 25:1-3 along with Asshurim and Letushim, all being descendants of Abraham and Keturah through their son Dedan. The use of the plural Hebrew ending (im) in the name Leummim may indicate that it represents a tribe or people. Specific identification of this Dedanite tribe is not possible. It has been suggested, however, that they inhabited some part of Arabia, likely in the vicinity generally assigned to Dedan.—See MIZRAIM.

LEVELING INSTRUMENT

A device used in making surfaces level or at right angles to a plumb line. The “leveling instrument” (Heb., mish·qeʹleth or mish·qoʹleth) was employed by carpenters, stonemasons and other craftsmen of ancient times to achieve horizontal accuracy when building walls and various structures, while the plummet was used to assure vertical accuracy. Egyptian masons seem to have employed a level shaped like the letter “A” with a short plumb line suspended from the apex. It indicated that the surface on which it was placed was level evidently when the hanging line coincided with a center mark on the crossbar. The Scriptures furnish no description of leveling instruments, however, and they refer to this device only in figurative ways.

A leveling instrument may be used to construct a building properly or to test its fitness for preservation. Jehovah foretold that he would apply to wayward Jerusalem “the measuring line applied to Samaria and also the leveling instrument applied to the house of Ahab.” God had measured and found Samaria and the house of King Ahab to be morally bad or crooked, resulting in their destruction. Likewise, God would judge Jerusalem and its rulers, exposing their wickedness and bringing about the destruction of that city. These events actually occurred in 607 B.C.E. (2 Ki. 21:10-13; 10:11) Through Isaiah the various wicked braggarts and rulers of the people in Jerusalem were apprized of their coming calamity and of Jehovah’s declaration: “I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the leveling instrument.” The standards of true justice and genuine righteousness would reveal who were really God’s servants and who were not, resulting either in preservation or destruction.—Isa. 28:14-19.

LEVI

(Leʹvi) [adherence; joined].

1. Jacob’s third son by his wife Leah, born in Paddan-aram. (Gen. 35:23, 26) At his birth Leah said: “Now this time my husband will join himself to me, because I have borne him three sons.” The boy was therefore called Levi, the meaning of this name evidently being linked with Leah’s hope for a new bond of affection between her and Jacob. (Gen. 29:34) Levi became the father of Gershon (Gershom), Kohath and Merari, founders of the three principal divisions of the Levites.—Gen. 46:11; 1 Chron. 6:1, 16.

Levi, along with his brother Simeon, took drastic action against the defilers of their sister Dinah. (Gen. 34:25, 26, 31) This expression of violent anger was cursed by Jacob, who foretold that Levi’s descendants would be scattered in Israel, a prophecy that was fulfilled when the Levites were indeed scattered throughout forty-eight Levite cities in the territories of Israel’s various tribes in the land of Canaan. (Gen. 49:7; Josh. 21:41) Levi accompanied Jacob into Egypt and died there at 137 years of age.—Ex. 1:1, 2; 6:16; see LEVITES.

2. An ancestor of Jesus Christ who is referred to as “the son of Symeon” in the genealogy of Jesus recorded by Luke. He is listed in the line between David and Zerubbabel.—Luke 3:27-31.

3. The “son of Melchi,” who is the second person preceding Heli (Mary’s father) in Luke’s genealogy of Jesus.—Luke 3:23, 24.

4. A tax collector (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27, 29) who became an apostle of Jesus Christ and was otherwise known as Matthew.—Matt. 9:9; 10:2-4; see MATTHEW.

LEVIATHAN

[Heb., liw·ya·thanʹ].

This Hebrew word occurs six times in the Bible. It is believed to come from a root word meaning “twist,” “coil” or “wind”; hence the name indicates something that is “wreathed” or “gathered into folds.” The word is transliterated in most Bible translations.

Since, with the exception of Job 3:8, the references mention water in connection with it, Leviathan appears to signify some form of aquatic creature, of great proportions and strength, although not necessarily of one specific kind. Psalm 104:25, 26 describes it as cavorting in the sea where ships travel, and for this reason many suggest that the term here applies to some type of whale. Though whales are rare in the Mediterranean, they are not unknown there and parts of two whale skeletons can be found in one museum at Beirut in Lebanon. An American Translation here says “crocodile” instead of Leviathan. Additionally, the word “sea [yam]” by itself is not determinative inasmuch as in Hebrew it can refer to a large inland body of water, such as the Sea of Galilee or Sea of Chinnereth (Num. 34:11; Josh. 12:3), or even to the river Nile (Isa. 19:5; Nah. 3:8) or the Euphrates.—Jer. 51:36.

The description of “Leviathan” at Job 41:1-34 aptly fits the crocodile, and the “sea” of verse 31 may refer to a river such as the Nile or another body of fresh water. It should be noted, however, that some crocodiles, as the Indian Estuarine crocodiles, are found along the seacoast and at times go out into the sea some distance from land.—See CROCODILE.

Psalm 74 describes God’s record of salvation for his people, and verses 13 and 14 refer symbolically to his deliverance of Israel from Egypt. Here the term