Chapter Sixteen

The rebellion of Korah, Dathan, Abiram, Abunam, and 250 prominent men of Israel. – Punishment of the rebels.

Numbers 16:1. Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and Abunam, the son of Paleth, the sons of Reuben, Numbers 16:2. rose up against Moses, and with him were two hundred fifty men from the children of Israel, leaders of the community, those called to the assembly, prominent men. Fear from the reports of the spies about the land of Canaan, the failure of their unauthorized invasion into the forbidden territory, and the impending wandering through the deserts they had already traversed produced in the people a general loss of spirit, and at the same time extreme dissatisfaction with their circumstances. The influence of Moses weakened; with the weakening of this influence, discipline also weakened. Taking advantage of such a condition in the people, the Levite Korah, together with the most prominent Reubenites Dathan, Abiram, and Abunam, formed a conspiracy with the aim of producing a fundamental change in the ecclesiastical-civil organization of the community. Soon 250 “prominent” men joined the conspirators. The conspiracy was covered by the lofty idea of the holiness of all the people. “Enough!” the conspirators said to Moses and Aaron. “The entire community is holy, and the Lord is among all of us! Why then do you set yourselves above all the people of the Lord?” The danger of the mutiny was apparent: this was not a fleeting uprising of people deprived of water or food – an uprising that would pass as quickly as it arose. The fundamental principles of the social-ecclesiastical organization of the people were put before the judgment of the stirred-up masses. In the event of the success of the conspiracy as planned by its instigators, the disorganized Jewish masses faced a serious danger: some of the Jews would probably have returned to Egypt, to the Egyptian pots of meat; some would have perished in the deserts; and some would have assimilated with the native inhabitants of Canaan. From this we understand the terrible punishment that fell upon the instigators of the movement, which was meant to bring their allies to their senses.

Numbers 16:16. And Moses said to Korah: Be you and all your community before the Lord tomorrow, you and they and Aaron; “And all your community,” that is, all your supporters. Num 16:36-50. – in the Hebrew text are assigned to chapter 17.

Numbers 16:36. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Numbers 16:37. Tell Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, to gather the censers from the fire of those consumed, and scatter the fire far and wide; for they have been hallowed, The command is given not to Aaron, because the high priest must not become defiled by contact with the dead under any circumstances (Lev 21:11).

Numbers 16:38. the censers of these sinners, with their own lives, and let them be made into sheets as a covering for the altar, since they presented them before the Lord and they became hallowed; and they shall be a sign for the children of Israel. The censers, having been brought (though unlawfully) before the Lord, were sanctified by this offering and therefore their material could not be used for ordinary purposes.

Numbers 16:41. On the next day the entire community of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, saying: You have killed the people of the Lord. The murmuring of the people on the day following the miraculous sign in favor of the divine election of Moses and Aaron testifies palpably to the breadth and seriousness of the conspiracy. The “plague” that followed (Num 16:46) is an act of punishment and instruction.

Numbers 16:47. And Aaron took as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly, and the plague had begun among the people. And he put incense on the fire and made atonement for the people; Numbers 16:48. and stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped. Another clear confirmation of the divinely-given law through Moses, by which only those chosen for service to Him could burn incense before the Lord. Incense brought by unworthy hands was accompanied by destruction, but incense brought lawfully by an ordained person was accompanied by salvation for the people. The high priest Aaron, who stood before the people, may be regarded as a type of the great High Priest, the advocate of humans before God.