Levites, a body of men divided into courses, the servants of the priests in the worship of the Temple of Jerusalem; they were not permitted to enter the sanctuary or serve at the altar, their duties being limited to keeping watch over the Temple, slaying the victims, and making other preparations for the sacred services.
Definition taken from The Nuttall Encyclopædia, edited by the Reverend James Wood (1907)
Levirite Law * Levitical Degrees