Focus on Levi: The introduction to 1 Chronicles 1–9 pointed out a ring structure in these genealogies whose centerpiece is the present section. That the genealogy of Levi occupies such a central place in the Chronicler’s presentation should not escape the specific attention of the reader. Not only does it function centrally in the genealogical literary construction; it also functions centrally in the ideological framework with which the Chronicler probably worked. The whole Jerusalemite cult—with all its officials and institutions—was based on Levitical descent. The prominence of this genealogy, therefore, from the start signals the reader that the Chronicler is working from a cultic perspective. The cult forms a central notion in the identity construction he is negotiating here. Whoever w…