Numbers 16

This chapter belongs to the wilderness-journey section of Numbers. Following Numbers 15, which contains regulations concerning offerings, the Sabbath, and the fringes on garments, it recounts a rebellion that arose within Israel. The account leads into Numbers 17, in which Aaron's rod buds. The Hebrew Bible numbers 16:36–50 as 17:1–15.

Outline

• Verses 1–3 Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On rise up with 250 leaders against Moses and Aaron, claiming that "all the congregation are holy, every one of them."
• Verses 4–11 Moses falls on his face and then proposes that censers be used to show whom God has chosen. He rebukes the Levites for seeking the priesthood as well.
• Verses 12–15 Dathan and Abiram refuse to come when summoned and denounce Moses, calling Egypt "a land that floweth with milk and honey."
• Verses 16–22 When the company stands with their censers at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, the glory of the LORD appears. Moses and Aaron fall on their faces and intercede for the whole congregation.
• Verses 23–35 After the congregation moves away from the tents of the rebels, the ground splits open and swallows them. Fire comes out from the LORD and consumes the 250 men who were offering incense.
• Verses 36–40 Eleazar hammers the bronze censers into broad plates to cover the altar as a memorial.
• Verses 41–50 The next day the congregation murmurs, and a plague breaks out. Aaron takes his censer, stands between the dead and the living, and makes atonement, and the plague is stopped. Those who died in the plague number 14,700.

Key Verses

• Numbers 16:3 "All the congregation are holy, every one of them" – a verse that expresses the rebels' justification.
• Numbers 16:22 "Shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?" – a verse that shows the intercession of Moses and Aaron.
• Numbers 16:48 "And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed" – a verse that reveals the atoning role entrusted to the high priest.

Characters and Places

• Korah: A great-grandson of Levi, grandson of Kohath, and son of Izhar. He led the rebellion.
• Dathan and Abiram: Sons of Eliab, of the tribe of Reuben.
• On: The son of Peleth, named only in verse 1.
• Moses and Aaron: The leaders against whom the rebellion was directed.
• Eleazar: The priest, son of Aaron, who gathered up the censers.
• Tabernacle of the congregation: The tabernacle where the glory of God appeared.

Points for Reflection

• Verse 32 records that "all the men that appertained unto Korah" were swallowed up. However, Numbers 26:11 states that the children of Korah did not die. The "sons of Korah" named in the superscriptions of the Psalms are their descendants.
• The text does not explain why On disappears from the rest of the narrative. A rabbinic tradition relates that his wife persuaded him to withdraw from the rebellion, but this is not found in the biblical text.
• The chapter is read from several perspectives. Some interpretations focus on the order established by God and the distinctiveness of the priestly office. Others treat it as a question of leadership authority. Another tradition reads Aaron's intercession as a type foreshadowing the intercession of Jesus Christ.
• In the New Testament, Jude 1:11 cites "the gainsaying of Core" as an example of false teachers. Many interpreters see 2 Timothy 2:19, "The Lord knoweth them that are his," as connected to the Septuagint text of Numbers 16:5.

In the Korean Church

This chapter is frequently cited in sermons that emphasize obedience to pastoral authority. At the same time, some criticize such use as a means of silencing legitimate concerns raised within the church. The scene of Aaron standing between the dead and the living is used in sermons on intercession and atonement.