Numbers 16:31

31 And while these words were on his lips, the earth under them was parted in two;

Numbers 16:31 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 16:31

And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all
these things
As soon as he had finished his discourse, which was addressed to the congregation, and, according to Josephus ^F21, after a long prayer to God, which that writer gives at large; immediately so it was,

that the ground clave asunder that [was] under them;
on which they stood, not from any natural cause, as by subterranean volcano, forcibly making their way and bursting the earth, and so getting vent, which has been thought to be the cause of earthquakes; but this was by the immediate hand and almighty power of God, and came to pass just as Moses suggested it would, and as soon as he had uttered his words, which made it the more observable.

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FOOTNOTES:

F21 Antiqu. l. 4. c. 3. Sect. 2.

Numbers 16:31 In-Context

29 If these men have the common death of men, or if the natural fate of all men overtakes them, then the Lord has not sent me.

30 But if the Lord does something new, opening the earth to take them in, with everything which is theirs, and they go down living into the underworld, then it will be clear to you that the Lord has not been honoured by these men.

31 And while these words were on his lips, the earth under them was parted in two;

32 And the earth, opening her mouth, took them in, with their families, and all the men who were joined to Korah, and their goods.

33 So they and all theirs went down living into the underworld, and the earth was shut over them, and they were cut off from among the meeting of the people.