The Levites, *ra-wo, λᾶός / λαοί - A new proposal for lexical and historical relationship

The hypothesised relations between Mycenaean Greece and the Near East, especially Canaan in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age, have led some scholars to propose Greek etymologies for a number of terms attested in the Hebrew Bible. This raises the question about possible vehicles for such cultural interrelations. To this end, this article advances the hypothesis that the Levites, a group featured in the biblical tradition, may have originated in the group that referred to itself in Greek as *ra-wo / λαοί.