Under the Law, the Levites were charged with seeing that the people received public instruction. (Le 10:11; De 17:10, 11; 2Ch 17:7-9)

He read the Law and organized the Levites for the performance of their duties of “explaining the law to the people,” “putting of meaning into it,” and “giving understanding in the reading,” thereby “instructing the people.”​—Ne 8:1-9.