L² e f 16:1-19-. Sin of Korah and company.
g 16:-19. Glory of Yahaveh manifested.
h 16:20-35. Punishment.
i 16:36-40. Memorial - Censers.
e f 16:41. Sin of the congregation.
g 16:42,43. Glory of Yahaveh manifested.
h 16:44-50. Punishment.
i 17:1-13. Memorial - Rods.
f j l 1-3. Conspirator' sin.
m 4. Moses' prostration.
n 5-11. Address to Korah, &c.
k 12-. Message to Dathan and Abiram.
j l -12-14. Conspirator's reply.
m 15. Moses' prayer.
n 16-19-. Address to Korah, &c.Numbers 16)
1: Now (see note on "while", 15:32) Korah (Heb. = baldness. First cousin to Moses and Aaron.6:8. 1 Chron. 6:2,3. These three associated, because encamped
together on the south side. Cp. 2:10 and 3:29), the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan (= belonging to a fountain) and Abiram (= father of height, i.e. lofty), the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:
2: And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the appointed assembly, famous in the assembly, men of renown:
3: And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, "You take too much upon you, seeing all the appointed assembly are holy (set apart), every one of them, and the Lord is among them: why then lift do you up yourselves above the assembly of the Lord"
4: And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face:
5: And he spoke to Korah and to all his company, saying, "Even tomorrow the Lord will show who are His, and who is set apart; and will cause him to come near to Him: even him whom He has chosen will he cause to come near to Him.
6: This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company;
7: And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the Lord
tomorrow: and it shall be that the man whom the Lord does choose, he shall be set apart: you all take too much
upon you, all you sons of Levi."
8: And Moses said to Korah, "Hear, I pray you, all you sons of Levi:
9: Seem it but a small thing to you, that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel,
to bring you near to Himself to do the service of the dwelling place of the Lord, and to stand before the
congregation to minister to them?
10: And He has brought you near to Him, and all your brethren the sons of Levi with you: and seek you all the
priesthood also?
11: For which cause both you and all your company are gathered together against the Lord: and Aaron, who is he
that you all murmur against him?"
12: And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, "We will not come up:
13: Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land that flows with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except you make yourself altogether a prince over us?
14: Moreover you have not brought us into a land that flows with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of
fields and vineyards: will you put out the eyes of these men? (= "do you think they are blind?") we will not come up." (i.e. to worship Yahaveh)
15: And Moses was very wroth, and said to Yehovah, " Respect not You their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them."
16: And Moses said to Korah, "Be you and all your company before the Lord, you, and they, and Aaron, tomorrow (i.e. telling them you be there):
17: And take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring you all before the Lord every man his
censer, two hundred and fifty censers (a lot of prayers going up); you also, and Aaron, each of you his censer.
18: And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them (note 3 kinds of fire here, v.18 = strange fire; v.35 = judicial fire; 4:46 = sacrificial fire. Cp. Lev. 9:24 and 10:1,2), and laid incense thereon, and stood in the entrance of the tent of the congregation with Moses and Aaron (making a stand).
19: And Korah gathered all the congregation against them (there trouble in the church) to the entrance of the tent of the congregation:
and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.
h o 20-22. Conspirators. Threat to consume.
p 23-27. Message to the People.
p 28-30. Message to conspirators.
o 31-35. Conspirators. Threat carried out.
20: And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
21: "Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. (Moses is not the only one mad)
22: And they fell upon their faces, and said, "O GOD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be wroth with all the congregation?" (God had given them fair warning)
23: And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
24: Speak to the congregation, saying, 'Get you up from about the habitation of each (i.e separately, in v.26 plural "tents") of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (children of Rueben).
25: And Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.
26: And he spoke to the congregation, saying, "Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men
(Heb. råsh’å, in the sense of restless activity of fallen nature; where it refers to the activity of impious and ungodly, or robbers), and touch nothing of theirs, lest you all be consumed (= taken in) in all their sins."
27: So they (= and Korah and his sons among them. Cp. 26:11) got up from the habitation of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons (i.e the sons of dathan and Abiram, not of Korah. Cp. 26:11. Ps. 106:17. See v.32), and their little children.
28: And Moses said, "Hereby you all shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind. (this is how you can tell this is the real thing)
29: If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the Lord has not sent me.
30: But if the Lord make a new thing (Heb. "create a creation", for emphasis, throwing light on Gen.1:1. Cp. Isa. 45:7; 48:6,7), and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that pertains to them (i.e. Dathan and Abiram. Cp. v.27. Korah's sons had obeyed the command; cp. 26:11), and they go down alive into the pit (=the abyss, see Mic.7. Heb. Sheôl. See also v.33. The first occ. of the word is in Gen. 37:35, where it is rendered "grave". It occ. 65 times in Hebrew of the Old Testament; and only by studying each passage by itself can the student hope to gather the Biblical usage of the word. All heathen or traditional usages are not only worthless, but mischievous. As meaning "The grave", it is to be distinguished from keber, a grave, or burying place: and bôr, a pit, generally hewn in the rock, hence used of a cistern or a dungeon, &c, when dry, see note on the word "well" in Gen.21:19); then you all shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord.
31: And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clove asunder that was under them:
32: And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained to
Korah (these did not include Korah's son, see 26:11), and all their goods.
33: They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the grave (Heb. sheôl = the grave, not "a" grave, but all graves viewed as one. They went alive with all their cattle, tents, and goods. All sank into the earth), and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the assembly.
34: And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, "Lest the earth swallow us up also."
35: And there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense (plus the 14,700 of v.49).
36: And the the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
37: "Speak to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning (i.e. from among those that were burnt), and scatter you the fire (cp. v.7, not accepted by the Lord (Yehovah)) yonder; for they are set apart (see Ex. 3:5).
38: The censers of these sinners against their own souls (selves), let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the Lord, therefore they are set apart: and they shall be a sign to the sons of Israel."
39: And Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers,
wherewith they that were burnt had broght near; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar:
40: To be a memorial to the sons of Israel (cp. 17:10, 1 Cor. 10:11. Hence history rehearsed in Deut. 11:6-8. Note the 2 memorials added to the tabernacle through Korah's rebellion, the plate [36-40], and Aaron's rod [17:1-13]), that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the Lord; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the Lord said to him (or with regard thereto) by the hand of Moses.
41: But on the next day all the assembly of the sons of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, "You have killed the People of the Lord."
42: And it came to pass, when the assembly was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked
toward the tent of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared.
43: And Moses and Aaron came before the tent of the congregation.
44: And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
45: "Get you up from among this assembly, that I may consume them as in a moment." And they fell upon their
faces.
46: And Moses said to Aaron, "Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go
quickly to the congregation, and make an atonement for them (see Ex.29:33): for there is wrath gone out from the Lord; the plague is begun."
47: And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and, behold, the plague was
begun among the People: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people.
48: And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.
49: Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred (this with the 250 of v.35 = 14,950 = 13 x 1,150. The #13 is the number of rebellion), beside them that died about the matter of Korah.
50: And Aaron returned to Moses to the entrance of the tent of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.