Korah’s Rebellion
Numbers 16Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took some men. They rose up before Moses, with some of the children of Israel, two hundred fifty leaders of the congregation, called to the assembly, men of renown. They assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “Y’all done too much! The whole congregation is holy, everyone of them, and YHWH is among them! Why do y’all lift yourselves above YHWH’s assembly?”
When Moses heard this, he fell on his face. He said to Korah and to all his company, “In the morning, YHWH will show who are ʜɪꜱ, and who is holy, and will cause that person to come near to ʜɪᴍ. Even the person ʜᴇ choose, ʜᴇ will cause to come near to ʜɪᴍ. Y’all are to do this: Korah and all his company must take censers, and y’all must put fire in them and put incense on them before YHWH tomorrow. The man whom YHWH chooses will be the one who is holy. Y’all have gone too far, y’all sons of Levi!”
Moses said to Korah, “Y’all listen, you sons of Levi! Is it a small thing to y’all that the God of Israel has separated y’all from the congregation of Israel, to bring y’all near to ʜɪᴍꜱᴇʟꜰ, to do the service of YHWH’s tabernacle, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them. Hᴇ has brought you near, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? Do y’all also seek the priesthood? Therefore, it is you and all your company who have gathered together against YHWH! Who is Aaron that y’all complain about him?”
Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and they said, “We won’t come up! Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, but you must also make yourself a ruler over us? Moreover you haven’t 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 won’t come up.”
Moses was very angry, and said to YHWH, “Don’t respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, neither have I hurt one of them.”
Moses said to Korah, “You and all your company, y’all must go before YHWH, you, and they, and Aaron, tomorrow. Each of y’all is take his censer, put incense on it, and bring his censer before YHWH, 250 censers, and with you and Aaron with his censer.”
They each took his censer, and put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and stood at the door of the Tent of Meeting with Moses and Aaron. Korah assembled all the congregation opposite them to the door of the Tent of Meeting.
YHWH’s glory appeared to all the congregation. YHWH spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “Y’all must separate from among this congregation, so that I may consume them instantly!”
They fell on their faces, and said, “God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, if one man sins, will you be angry with the entire congregation?”
YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “You are to speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Y’all get away from the tent of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram!’”
Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. He spoke to the congregation, saying, “Y’all must move away from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, or y’all will be destroyed with all their sins!”
So they went away from the tent of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side. Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood at the door of their tents with their wives, their sons, and their little ones.
Moses said, “By this y’all will know that YHWH has sent me to do all these works and that they are not from my own mind. If these men die the common death of all men, or if they experience what all men experience, then YHWH hasn’t sent me. But if YHWH makes something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belong to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then y’all will know that these men have despised YHWH.”
As he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split apart. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up with their households, all of Korah’s men, and all their goods. So they, and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol. The earth closed on them, and they perished from among the assembly. All Israel that were around them fled at their cry; for they said, “The earth is going to swallow us too!” Fire came forth from YHWH, and devoured the two hundred fifty men who offered the incense.
YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “You are to tell Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest to take up the censers out of the burning and scatter the fire away from the camp, for they are holy. As for the censers of those who sinned against their own lives, y’all are beat them into plates for a covering of the altar, for they offered them before YHWH. Therefore they are holy. They will be a sign to the children of Israel.”
Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers which those who were burned had offered; and they beat them out for a covering of the altar, to be a memorial to the children of Israel, to the end that no stranger who isn’t of the offspring of Aaron, would come near to burn incense before YHWH, that he not be as Korah and as his company; as YHWH spoke to him by Moses.
But on the next day all the congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, saying, “Y’all have killed YHWH’s people!”
When the congregation was assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they looked toward the Tent of Meeting. Suddenly, the cloud covered it, and YHWH’s glory appeared. Moses and Aaron went to the front of the Tent of Meeting. YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “Y’all must get away among this congregation, so that I may consume instantly!” They fell on their faces.
Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, put fire from the altar in it, lay incense on it, carry it quickly to the congregation, and make atonement for them, because wrath has come out from YHWH! The plague has begun.”
Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the middle of the assembly. The plague had already begun among the people. He put on the incense, and made atonement for the people. He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped. Now those who died by the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, in addition to those who died about the matter of Korah. Aaron returned to Moses to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and the plague was stopped.