However intelligible may be the notion of a tribe reserved for priestly service, the fact that it does not apply to early biblical history is apparent from the heterogeneous details of the Levitical divisions.
Sheep, rams, bullocks, fowls are given sacrificial salt to lick, and then sacrificed by the priest and deacon, who has the levitical portions of the victim as his perquisite.
The " priestly " traditions of the creation and of the patriarchs mark a very distinct advance upon the earlier narratives, and appear in a further developed form in the still later book of Jubilees, or " Little Genesis," where they are used to demonstrate the pre-Mosaic antiquity of the priestly or Levitical institutions.
And although the Levitical organization, as ascribed to David, is manifestly post-exilic, it is at least certain that many of the Levitical families were of southern origin.
The first hint of the employment of the dog in the pursuit of other animals is given by Oppian in his Cynegetica, who attributes it to Pollux about zoo years after the promulgation of the Levitical law.
