Izhar

Biblical Record

Izhar was a grandson of Levi and a son of Kohath. The four sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, and they are listed in this order in Exodus 6:18, Numbers 3:19, and 1 Chronicles 6:2, 6:18, and 23:12. (In the Korean Bible, Chronicles uses a variant spelling of Kohath's name.) According to Exodus 6:20, Amram was the father of Moses and Aaron. Izhar was therefore the uncle of Moses and Aaron.

Exodus 6:21 lists the sons of Izhar as Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. Numbers 16:1 introduces Korah, who gathered a company in the wilderness and rose up against Moses and Aaron, as "the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath." In 1 Chronicles 23:18, Shelomith the son of Izhar appears as a chief. First Chronicles 24:22 mentions Shelomoth and his son Jahath; Shelomoth appears to be a variant form of the name of the same person.

Scripture records no words or deeds of Izhar himself. His name appears only in genealogies and in references to his family line.

The Izharite Family

Numbers 3:27 names "the family of the Izeharites" as one of the four families that made up the Kohathites. In the wilderness, the Kohathites were responsible for the furnishings of the sanctuary, including the ark, the table, the candlestick, and the altars (Numbers 3:31).

The Izharites also appear in 1 Chronicles 26:23, which describes the organization of the Levites in the time of David. According to verse 29 of the same chapter, Chenaniah of the Izharites and his sons "were for the outward business over Israel." They served as officers and judges who administered affairs outside the temple.

Significance in Scripture

Izhar is remembered chiefly through his son Korah. Korah's rebellion is recorded in Numbers 16, and in the New Testament Jude 1:11 also refers to "the gainsaying of Core" (Korah). Izhar's own name, however, does not appear in the New Testament.

Numbers 26:11 records, "Notwithstanding the children of Korah died not." First Chronicles 6:33–38 traces the genealogy of Heman, who was in charge of song in the time of David, back through Korah and Izhar to Levi. The Psalms whose superscriptions attribute them to "the sons of Korah" (Psalms 42, 44–49, 84–85, and 87–88) are also connected with this family.

Interpretation and Issues

• In 1 Chronicles 6:22, Amminadab appears as a son of Kohath, followed by his son Korah. Some interpreters regard Amminadab as another name for Izhar, while others attribute the difference to the process of textual transmission, among other views.
• According to Numbers 3:30, the chief of the Kohathites was Elizaphan, the son of Uzziel, the youngest brother. Some interpretations in Jewish tradition reportedly explain Korah's rebellion as arising from resentment over this appointment. The text, however, does not state the motive for the rebellion directly, nor does it record any role played by Izhar in the episode.
• The Hebrew form of the name is Yitshar. Because it has the same form as the word for olive oil, it is sometimes interpreted as meaning "oil" or "shining one."

In the Korean Church

Sermons and Sunday school lessons focused on Izhar are relatively rare. He is typically introduced only briefly, as the father of Korah and the uncle of Moses, when Korean churches treat the account of Korah's rebellion in Numbers 16 or the psalms of the sons of Korah.