The Levite had also been assisting at the Temple and was no less anxious than the priest to get back home. As he approached the place where the man was lying, he too could not see whether he was alive or dead. The Levite, unlike the priest, was not forbidden by the Law to come in contact with a dead body, but if he did he would still have to undergo the same purification and be isolated for seven days.

As he was wondering what to do, he too looked back to see if there was anyone coming on to whom he could shuffle his responsibility and he was relieved to see a traveller with a donkey approaching in the distance. If the victim of the assault were still alive, the donkey would be indispensable for taking him to the inn farther along the road. So the Levite, his conscience eased, passed by on the other side.