Numbers 16:22

22 But they fell on their faces and said, "O God, 1God of the spirits of all flesh, 2when one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?"

Numbers 16:22 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 16:22

And they fell upon their faces
That is, Moses and Aaron, in order to deprecate the wrath of God, and beseech him to avert the threatened judgment; and so the Targum of Jonathan has it,

``they bowed themselves in prayer upon their faces;''
and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh;
the Maker of all men, as of their bodies, which are flesh, so of their souls or spirits, which are immaterial and immortal; hence he is called "the Father of spirits", ( Hebrews 12:9 ) , who, as the Targum, puts the spirit in the bodies of men; or, as others, who knows the spirits of men; their thoughts, as Jarchi, the inward frames and dispositions of their minds; who knows who have sinned, and who not; and whether their sins proceed from weakness, and being misled, or whether from a malevolent disposition, presumption, and self-will: shall one man sin:
meaning Korah, who was the ringleader: and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?
who, through ignorance and weakness, and by artifice and imposition, are drawn in to join with him; the plea is much the same with that of Abraham, ( Genesis 18:25 ) .

Numbers 16:22 In-Context

20 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
21 "Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly."
22 But they fell on their faces and said, "O God, God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?"
23 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
24 "Speak to the congregation, saying, 'Get back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.' "

Cross References 2

  • 1. Numbers 27:16
  • 2. Genesis 18:23-32; Leviticus 4:3
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