Numbers 16
The Message
The Rebels
16 1-3 Getting on his high horse one day, Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, along with a few Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—rebelled against Moses. He had with him 250 leaders of the congregation of Israel, prominent men with positions in the Council. They came as a group and confronted Moses and Aaron, saying, “You’ve overstepped yourself. This entire community is holy and God is in their midst. So why do you act like you’re running the whole show?”
4 On hearing this, Moses threw himself facedown on the ground.
5 Then he addressed Korah and his gang: “In the morning God will make clear who is on his side, who is holy. God will take his stand with the one he chooses.
6-7 “Now, Korah, here’s what I want you, you and your gang, to do: Tomorrow, take censers. In the presence of God, put fire in them and then incense. Then we’ll see who is holy, see whom God chooses. Sons of Levi, you’ve overstepped yourselves!”
8-11 Moses continued with Korah, “Listen well now, sons of Levi. Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has selected you out of the congregation of Israel to bring you near him to serve in the ministries of The Dwelling of God, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them? He has brought you and all your brother Levites into his inner circle, and now you’re grasping for the priesthood, too. It’s God you’ve ganged up against, not us. What do you have against Aaron that you’re bad-mouthing him?”
12-14 Moses then ordered Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, to appear, but they said, “We’re not coming. Isn’t it enough that you yanked us out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? And now you keep trying to boss us around! Face it, you haven’t produced: You haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, you haven’t given us the promised inheritance of fields and vineyards. You’d have to poke our eyes out to keep us from seeing what’s going on. Forget it, we’re not coming.”
15 Moses’ temper blazed white-hot. He said to God, “Don’t accept their Grain-Offering. I haven’t taken so much as a single donkey from them; I haven’t hurt a single hair of their heads.”
16-17 Moses said to Korah, “Bring your people before God tomorrow. Appear there with them and Aaron. Have each man bring his censer filled with incense and present it to God—all 250 censers. And you and Aaron do the same, bring your censers.”
18 So they all did it. They brought their censers filled with fire and incense and stood at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron did the same.
19 It was Korah and his gang against Moses and Aaron at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. The entire community could see the Glory of God.
20-21 God said to Moses and Aaron, “Separate yourselves from this congregation so that I can finish them off and be done with them.”
22 They threw themselves on their faces and said, “O God, God of everything living, when one man sins are you going to take it out on the whole community?”
23-24 God spoke to Moses: “Speak to the community. Tell them, Back off from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
25-26 Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram. The leaders of Israel followed him. He then spoke to the community: “Back off from the tents of these bad men; don’t touch a thing that belongs to them lest you be carried off on the flood of their sins.”
27 So they all backed away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram by now had come out and were standing at the entrance to their tents with their wives, children, and babies.
28-30 Moses continued to address the community: “This is how you’ll know that it was God who sent me to do all these things and that it wasn’t anything I cooked up on my own. If these men die a natural death like all the rest of us, you’ll know that it wasn’t God who sent me. But if God does something unprecedented—if the ground opens up and swallows the lot of them and they are pitched alive into Sheol—then you’ll know that these men have been insolent with God.”
31-33 The words were hardly out of his mouth when the Earth split open. Earth opened its mouth and in one gulp swallowed them down, the men and their families, all the human beings connected with Korah, along with everything they owned. And that was the end of them, pitched alive into Sheol. The Earth closed up over them and that was the last the community heard of them.
34 At the sound of their cries everyone around ran for dear life, shouting, “We’re about to be swallowed up alive!”
35 Then God sent lightning. The fire cremated the 250 men who were offering the incense.
36-38 God spoke to Moses: “Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, Gather up the censers from the smoldering cinders and scatter the coals a distance away for these censers have become holy. Take the censers of the men who have sinned and are now dead and hammer them into thin sheets for covering the Altar. They have been offered to God and are holy to God. Let them serve as a sign to Israel, evidence of what happened this day.”
39-40 So Eleazar gathered all the bronze censers that belonged to those who had been burned up and had them hammered flat and used to overlay the Altar, just as God had instructed him by Moses. This was to serve as a sign to Israel that only descendants of Aaron were allowed to burn incense before God; anyone else trying it would end up like Korah and his gang.
41 Grumbling broke out the next day in the community of Israel, grumbling against Moses and Aaron: “You have killed God’s people!”
42 But it so happened that when the community got together against Moses and Aaron, they looked over at the Tent of Meeting and there was the Cloud—the Glory of God for all to see.
43-45 Moses and Aaron stood at the front of the Tent of Meeting. God spoke to Moses: “Back away from this congregation so that I can do away with them this very minute.”
They threw themselves facedown on the ground.
46 Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and fill it with incense, along with fire from the Altar. Get to the congregation as fast as you can: make atonement for them. Anger is pouring out from God—the plague has started!”
47-48 Aaron grabbed the censer, as directed by Moses, and ran into the midst of the congregation. The plague had already begun. He put burning incense into the censer and atoned for the people. He stood there between the living and the dead and stopped the plague.
49-50 Fourteen thousand seven hundred people died from the plague, not counting those who died in the affair of Korah. Aaron then went back to join Moses at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. The plague was stopped.
Numbers 16
Names of God Bible
Korah’s Rebellion
16 Korah (son of Izhar), Dathan and Abiram (sons of Eliab), and On (son of Peleth) dared to challenge Moses.[a] (Korah was a descendant of Kohath and Levi. Dathan, Abiram, and On were descendants of Reuben.) 2 These four men were joined by 250 Israelite men, well-known leaders of the community, chosen by the assembly. 3 They came together to confront Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You’ve gone far enough! Everyone in the whole community is holy, and Yahweh is among them. Why do you set yourselves above Yahweh’s assembly?”
4 As soon as Moses heard this, he bowed with his face touching the ground. 5 Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “In the morning Yahweh will show who belongs to him, who is holy, and who it is that he will allow to come near him. Only the person Yahweh chooses will be allowed to come near him. 6 Korah, you and all your followers must do this tomorrow: Take incense burners, 7 and put burning coals and incense in them in Yahweh’s presence. Then Yahweh will choose the man who is holy. You’ve gone far enough!”
8 Moses also said to Korah, “Listen, you Levites! 9 Isn’t it enough for you that the Elohim of Israel has separated you from the rest of the community of Israel? Yahweh has brought you near himself to do the work for his tent and stand in front of the community to serve them. 10 He has brought you and all the other Levites near himself, but now you demand to be priests. 11 So you and all your followers have joined forces against Yahweh! Who is Aaron that you should complain about him?”
12 Then Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab. But they said, “We won’t come! 13 Isn’t it enough that you brought us out of a land flowing with milk and honey only to kill us in the desert? Do you also have to order us around? 14 Certainly you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us any fields and vineyards to own. Do you think you can still pull the wool over our eyes? We won’t come.”
15 Moses became angry and said to Yahweh, “Don’t accept their offering. I haven’t taken anything from them, not even a donkey. And I haven’t mistreated any of them.”
16 Moses said to Korah, “Tomorrow you and all your followers must come into Yahweh’s presence. Aaron will also be there with you. 17 Each man will take his incense burner and put incense in it. They will offer all 250 incense burners to Yahweh. Then you and Aaron offer your incense burners.”
18 So each man took his incense burner, put burning coals and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 19 When Korah had gathered all his followers—those who opposed Moses and Aaron—at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of Yahweh appeared to the whole group.
20 Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, 21 “Move away from these men, and I’ll destroy them in an instant.” 22 Immediately, they bowed with their faces touching the ground and said, “O El, you are the Elohim who gives the breath of life to everyone! If one man sins, will you be angry with the whole community?”
23 Then Yahweh said to Moses, 24 “Tell the community: Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
25 Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the leaders of Israel followed him. 26 He said to the community, “Move away from the tents of these wicked men. Don’t touch anything that belongs to them, or you’ll be swept away because of all their sins.” 27 So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing at the entrances to their tents with their wives and children.
28 Moses said, “This is how you will know that Yahweh sent me to do all these things and that it wasn’t my idea: 29 If these men die like all other people—if they die a natural death—then Yahweh hasn’t sent me. 30 But if Yahweh does something totally new—if the ground opens up, swallows them and everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive to their graves—then you’ll know that these men have treated Yahweh with contempt.”
31 As soon as he had finished saying all this, the ground under them split, 32 and the earth opened up to swallow them, their families, the followers of Korah, and all their property. 33 They went down alive to their graves with everything that belonged to them. The ground covered them, and so they disappeared from the assembly. 34 All the Israelites around them ran away when they heard their screams. They thought the ground would swallow them, too.
35 Fire came from Yahweh and consumed the 250 men who were offering incense.[b]
36 Then Yahweh said to Moses, 37 “Tell Eleazar, son of the priest Aaron, to take the incense burners out of the fire and scatter the coals and incense somewhere else, because the incense burners have become holy. 38 The incense burners of these men who sinned and lost their lives are holy, because they were offered to Yahweh. Hammer them into thin metal sheets to cover the altar. This will be a sign to the Israelites.”
39 So the priest Eleazar took the bronze incense burners which had been brought by those who had been burned to death. The incense burners were then hammered into thin metal sheets to cover the altar, 40 following the command that Yahweh had given through Moses. The bronze-covered altar will remind Israel that no one but a descendant of Aaron can come near to burn incense to Yahweh. Everyone else will die like Korah and his followers.
41 The next day the whole community of Israel complained to Moses and Aaron. They said, “You have killed Yahweh’s people.” 42 The community came together to confront Moses and Aaron. When they turned toward the tent of meeting, they saw the smoke covering it, and the glory of Yahweh appeared.
43 Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting. 44 Yahweh said to Moses, 45 “Get away from these people, and let me destroy them in an instant!” Immediately, they bowed with their faces touching the ground.
46 Moses said to Aaron, “Take your incense burner, put burning coals from the altar and incense in it, and go quickly into the community to make peace with the Lord for the people. Yahweh is showing his anger; a plague has started.”
47 Aaron took his incense burner, as Moses told him, and ran into the middle of the assembly, because the plague had already begun among the people. He put incense on the incense burner to make peace with the Lord for the people. 48 He stood between those who had died and those who were still alive, and the plague stopped. 49 Still, 14,700 died from the plague in addition to those who had died because of Korah. 50 By the time Aaron came back to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the plague had stopped.
Footnotes
- Numbers 16:1 The beginning of verse 2 (in Hebrew) has been placed in verse 1 to express the complex Hebrew sentence structure more clearly in English.
- Numbers 16:35 Numbers 16:36–50 in English Bibles is Numbers 17:1–15 in the Hebrew Bible.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.