Tahath

Tahath is a name carried by both a wilderness encampment and several individuals in the genealogies. The UPDV preserves three distinct uses: a station on Israel's desert itinerary in Numbers, a Kohathite Levite in the priestly descent of 1 Chronicles 6, and two figures in the Ephraimite line of 1 Chronicles 7.

A Wilderness Encampment

In the itinerary of Numbers 33, Tahath appears as a stage between Makheloth and Terah on Israel's wilderness route: "And they journeyed from Makheloth, and encamped in Tahath" (Nu 33:26). The next verse continues the march out of it: "And they journeyed from Tahath, and encamped in Terah" (Nu 33:27). The location is named only by virtue of its place in the travel record; the UPDV gives no other detail beyond its position in the sequence.

A Kohathite in the Levitical Line

Within the Kohathite genealogy of 1 Chronicles 6, Tahath stands among the descendants traced down to the singers appointed for tabernacle service. He is listed alongside Uriel, Uzziah, and Shaul: "Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son" (1Ch 6:24). The same chapter later traces a parallel ascending line through Korah, again placing Tahath in the chain: "the son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah" (1Ch 6:37). The two notices fix Tahath as a Kohathite link between the patriarchal heads of the clan and the Levitical singers descended from them.

Two Ephraimites

In the genealogy of Ephraim, the name Tahath occurs twice in a single verse, marking two separate persons in successive generations: "And the sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son, and Eleadah his son, and Tahath his son" (1Ch 7:20). The first Tahath is the son of Bered; the second, his great-grandson, named after him. The repetition is the only signal in the UPDV that two distinct men of this name belong to the Ephraimite line.