Numbers 16:1 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Numbers 16:1
Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Izhar
יִצְהָ֥רyitz.Har
H3324
Jitshar · proper noun, a man's name
son
בֶּןben-
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Kohath
קְהָ֖תke.Hat
H6955
Kehath · proper noun, a man's name
son
בֶּןben-
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Levi
לֵוִיLêvîy
H3878
Levi
Dathan
וְדָתָ֨ןve.da.Tan
H1885
Dathan · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
Abiram
וַאֲבִירָ֜םva.'a.vi.Ram
H48
Abiram · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
sons
בְּנֵ֧יbe.Nei
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Eliab
אֱלִיאָ֛ב'e.li.'Av
H446
Eliab · proper noun, a man's name
On
וְא֥וֹןve.'on
H203
On · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
son
בֶּןben-
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Peleth
פֶּ֖לֶתPe.let
H6431
Peleth · proper noun, a man's name
sons
בְּנֵ֥יbe.Nei
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Reuben
רְאוּבֵֽןre.'u.Ven
H7205
Reuben · proper noun, a man's name
took
וַיִּקַּ֣חvai.yi.Kach
H3947
to take (in the widest variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Jude 1:11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying…
Exodus 6:21 And the sons of Izhar; Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri.
Deuteronomy 11:6 And what he did unto Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben: how the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and the…
Genesis 49:3-4 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
Exodus 6:18 And the sons of Kohath; Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel: and the years of the life of Kohath were an hundred thirty and three years…
Numbers 26:9-10 And the sons of Eliab; Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. This is that Dathan and Abiram, which were famous in the congregation, who strove aga…
Numbers 27:3 Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company o…
1 Chronicles 5:1-2 Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Numbers 16:1-11
Here is, I. An account of the rebels, who and what they were, not, as formerly, the mixed multitude and the dregs of the people, who are therefore never named, but men of distinction and quality, that made a figure. Korah was the ring-leader: he formed and headed the faction; therefore it is called the gainsaying of Korah, Jde 1:11. He was cousin-german to Moses, they were brothers' children, yet the nearness of the relation could not restrain him from being insolent and rude to Moses. Think it not strange if a man's foes be those of his own house. With him joined Dathan and Abiram, chief men of the tribe of Reuben, the eldest son of Jacob. Probably Korah was disgusted both at the preferment…
Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi,.... A great grandson of Levi's, and own cousin to Moses and Aaron, being brothers children; for Amram the father of Moses and Aaron, and Izhar the father of Korah, were own brothers, both of them the sons of Kohath, and Amram the eldest, and Izhar the next, Exodus 6:16; this man is mentioned first, being the contriver, and plotter, and ringleader of the following sedition, and which is called "the gainsaying of Core", Jde 1:11; when this was made is not certain; Aben Ezra thinks this affair happened in the wilderness of Sinai, when the firstborn were exchanged, and the Levites were separated for holy service, Numbers 3:1; but,…
Now Korah, the son of Izhar. The impious conspiracy is here related of a few men, but these of the highest rank, whose object was to subvert and destroy the divinely-appointed priesthood. They make their attack, indeed, upon Moses, and accuse him of ruling unjustly; for thus it is that turbulent persons are carried away without reason or discrimination; but, the only cause why they are set against him is because they suppose him to be the originator of the priesthood, as we easily collect from his reply. For he does not command them to stand forth, in order that they may decide respecting the political government or chieftainship, but that it may be made plain whether God acknowledges them a…
Dictionary and topics
Aaron — The eldest son of Amram and Jochebed, a daughter of Levi (Ex. 6:20). Some explain the name as meaning mountaineer, others mountain of strength, illuminator. He was born in Egypt three years before…
Abiram — Father of height; i.e., “proud.” (1.) One of the sons of Eliab, who joined Korah in the conspiracy against Moses and Aaron. He and all the conspirators, with their families and possessions (except…
Dathan — Welled; belonging to a fountain, a son of Eliab, a Reubenite, who joined Korah (q.v.) in his conspiracy, and with his accomplices was swallowed up by an earthquake (Num. 16:1; 26:9; Deut. 11:6; Ps.…
Eliab — To whom God is father. (1.) A Reubenite, son of Pallu (Num. 16:1, 12; 26:8, 9; Deut. 11:6). (2.) A son of Helon, and chief of the tribe of Zebulun at the time of the census in the wilderness (Num.…
Izhar — Oil, one of the sons of Kohath, and grandson of Levi (Ex. 6:18, 21; Num. 16:1).
Korah — Ice, hail. (1.) The third son of Esau, by Aholibamah (Gen. 36:14; 1 Chr. 1:35). (2.) A Levite, the son of Izhar, the brother of Amram, the father of Moses and Aaron (Ex. 6:21). The institution of the…
On — Light; the sun, (Gen. 41:45, 50), the great seat of sun-worship, called also Bethshemesh (Jer. 43:13) and Aven (Ezek. 30:17), stood on the east bank of the Nile, a few miles north of Memphis, and…
Passover — The name given to the chief of the three great historical annual festivals of the Jews. It was kept in remembrance of the Lord’s passing over the houses of the Israelites (Ex. 12:13) when the first…
Peleth — Swiftness. (1.) A Reubenite whose son was one of the conspirators against Moses and Aaron (Num. 16:1). (2.) One of the sons of Jonathan (1 Chr. 2:33).
Dathan · A conspirator against Moses — A conspirator against Moses
Num 16:1-2
The authors of the rebellion were Korah the Levite, a descendant of the Kohathite Izhar, who was a brother of Amram, an ancestor (not the father) of Aaron and Moses (see at Exo 6:18), and three Reubenites, viz., Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, of the Reubenitish family of Pallu (Num 26:8-9), and On, the son of Peleth, a Reubenite, not mentioned again. The last of these (On) is not referred to again in the further course of this event, either because he played altogether a subordinate part in the affair, or because he had drawn back before the conspiracy came to a head. The persons named took (יקּח), i.e., gained over to their plan, or persuaded to join them, 250 distinguished me…
Another rebellion called for a clear delineation of the duties of priests and Levites. This power struggle was a more serious challenge than any of the previous rebellions against God’s authority (ch 11; 12:1-15; 14:1-45). As in all of these historical episodes, the coconspirators protested relatively minor issues and questioned the actions of their leaders, but Moses reminded them that they were really rebelling against God. Once again, the Israelites suffered the deadly consequences of their rebellion.
Rashi on Numbers 16:1
ויקח קרח — This section is beautifully expounded in the Midrash of Rabbi Tanchuma.
ויקח קרח lit., AND KORAH TOOK — He betook himself on one side with the view of separating himself from out of the community so that he might raise a protest regarding the priesthood to which Moses had appointed his brother. This is what Onkelos means when he renders it by ואתפלג — “he separated himself” from the rest of the community in order to maintain dissension. Similar is, (Job 15:12) “Why doth thy heart take thee aside (יקחך)”, meaning, it takes you aside to separate you from other people (Midrash Tanchuma, Korach 2). — Another explanation of ויקח קרח is: he attracted (won over) the chiefs of the Sanhed…
Levites, The · Punishment of Korah and others of, for offering incense — Punishment of Korah and others of, for offering incense
On · 2. A lea — 2. A lea
Peleth · 1. A Reubenite — 1. A Reubenite
Priests · Punishment for invading the office of — Punishment for invading the office of
Reuben · His children — His children
Reuben, The Tribe Of · Remarkable persons of: Dathan, Abiram, and On — Remarkable persons of: Dathan, Abiram, and On
Self-Exaltation · .Korah, Dathan, and Abiram — .Korah, Dathan, and Abiram
Treason · .Of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram against Moses and Aaron — .Of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram against Moses and Aaron
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
