Education in the in ancient Israel began in the home under the father. Once a child reached the age of six, education continued in the home of a rabbi and continued until age fifteen. If they wanted to go beyond this level of Jewish schooling, they selected a rabbi to follow who tested them and, if accepted, they followed him copying him in words and behavior for the next 15 years. They and were called talmidim. At age 30 they began their own ministry.

[1] Discipleship vs Talmidim. Koinonia Institute, http://www.khouse.org/articles/2005/616, 4/21/2019.

[2] Lawrence, Nathan, Who were the Levites and what did they do? https://hoshanarabbah.org/blog/2016/06/06/who-were-the-levites/