Numbers 16:1-15

Korah's Rebellion

1 Now ¹Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and ²Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men.

2 And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men.

3 ³They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, ⁴"You have gone too far! For ⁵all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?"

4 When Moses heard it, ⁶he fell on his face,

5 and he said to Korah and all his company, "In the morning the LORD will show ⁷who is his,^[a] and who is ⁸holy, and will bring him near to him. The one ⁹whom he chooses he will ¹⁰bring near to him.

6 Do this: take ¹¹censers, Korah and all his company;

7 put fire in them and put incense on them before the LORD tomorrow, and the man whom the LORD chooses shall be the holy one. ¹²You have gone too far, sons of Levi!"

8 And Moses said to Korah, "Hear now, you sons of Levi:

9 is it ¹³too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has ¹⁴separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the LORD and to stand before the congregation to minister to them,

10 and that he has brought you near him, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also?

11 Therefore it is against the LORD that you and all your company have gathered together. What is ¹⁵Aaron that you grumble against him?"

12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and they said, "We will not come up.

13 Is it ¹⁶a small thing that you have brought us up out of ¹⁷a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also ¹⁸make yourself a prince over us?

14 Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up."

15 And Moses was very angry and said to the LORD, ¹⁹"Do not respect their offering. ²⁰I have not taken one donkey from them, and I have not harmed one of them."

Read Chapter Compare

Numbers 16:1-15 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 16

This chapter gives an account of a sedition of Korah and others against Moses and Aaron, Nu 16:1-4, with whom Moses expostulates, and shows the unreasonableness of their clamour against Aaron, Nu 16:5-11; sends for Dathan and Abiram, who were in the confederacy, but refused to come, which greatly angered Moses, Nu 16:12-15; orders Korah and his company to appear before the Lord the next day, with Aaron, to have the controversy decided, Nu 16:16-18; when all the congregation gathered together would have been, consumed had it not been for the intercession of Moses and Aaron, Nu 16:19-22; and who, being separated from the rebels by the command of the Lord, some of the rebels were swallowed up in the earth, and others destroyed by fire from heaven, Nu 16:23-35; and their censers were made a covering for the altar, as a memorial of their sin, Nu 16:36-40; on which there was a new insurrection of the people, which brought a plague upon them, and destroyed 14,700 persons, and which was stopped at the intercession of Aaron, Nu 16:41-50.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 20

1. Numbers 27:3; Ex. 6:16, 18, 21; Jude 11
2. Numbers 26:9
3. Psalms 106:16-18
4. ver. 7
5. See Exodus 19:6
6. Numbers 14:5; Numbers 20:6
7. [2 Timothy 2:19]
8. ver. 3
9. Numbers 17:5; 1 Samuel 2:28; Psalms 105:26; [Exodus 28:1]
10. Numbers 3:10; Leviticus 10:3; Psalms 65:4; Ezekiel 40:46; Ezekiel 44:15, 16
11. Leviticus 10:1
12. ver. 3
13. ver. 13; 1 Samuel 18:23; Isaiah 7:13; [Ezekiel 16:20]
14. Numbers 8:14; Deuteronomy 10:8
15. Exodus 16:8; [1 Corinthians 3:5]
16. ver. 9
17. See Exodus 3:8
18. Exodus 2:14; Acts 7:27, 35
19. [Genesis 4:4, 5]
20. 1 Samuel 12:3; [Acts 20:33; 2 Corinthians 7:2]

Footnotes 1

[a]. Septuagint The Lord knows those who are his

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.