Korah's Rebellion

Biblical Text and Narrative

The account is recorded in Numbers 16 and continues in chapter 17 with the episode of Aaron's rod that budded. Korah, a great-grandson of Levi and grandson of Kohath, joined with Dathan and Abiram of the descendants of Reuben, On the son of Peleth, and 250 leaders of the congregation to oppose Moses and Aaron. They protested, "Seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?" (Numbers 16:3).

Moses proposed that on the following day each man come forward with a censer so that it might be seen whom the LORD would choose. Dathan and Abiram refused his summons. The ground split open and swallowed the men who belonged to Korah, along with the households of Dathan and Abiram, and the 250 men offering incense were consumed by fire that came out from the LORD. Their bronze censers were made into plates covering the altar as a memorial. The next day, when the congregation murmured against Moses and Aaron, a plague broke out. When Aaron took a censer and stood between the dead and the living, the plague was stayed; the text records that 14,700 people died in it (Numbers 16:49).

Background

During the wilderness period, the service of the tabernacle was entrusted to the Levites, while the priesthood was given exclusively to the descendants of Aaron. Korah belonged to the Kohathites, who were responsible for carrying the furnishings of the tabernacle. Moses' question to him, "Seek ye the priesthood also?" (Numbers 16:10), indicates that Korah's grievance centered on the priesthood. Dathan and Abiram, by contrast, complained that Moses had brought them out into the wilderness in order to make himself a prince over them (Numbers 16:13). For this reason, some critical scholars hold that two narratives, one of a religious rebellion and one of a political rebellion, have been woven together.

Significance Elsewhere in Scripture

Numbers 26:11 records, "Notwithstanding the children of Korah died not." The superscriptions of Psalms 42, 44–49, 84–85, and 87–88 bear the designation "the sons of Korah." Deuteronomy 11:6 and Psalm 106:16–18 also recall the event. In the New Testament, Jude 1:11 warns concerning false teachers that they "perished in the gainsaying of Core." The words of 2 Timothy 2:19, "The Lord knoweth them that are his," are understood to reflect the Septuagint text of Numbers 16:5.

Interpretation and Points of Discussion

• Many churches read this passage as a warning against the pride that sets itself against the offices and order God has established.
• Korah's claim that "all the congregation are holy" appears on the surface to resemble Exodus 19:6 and the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. For this reason, some interpreters locate the focus of the passage not in the claim of equality itself but in the attempt to seize for oneself the priesthood that God had appointed.
• Some also caution against using this passage as grounds for silencing legitimate criticism within the church.
• The Mishnah tractate Avot cites Korah and his company as an example of a dispute "not for the sake of Heaven." A Jewish tradition portraying Korah as a man of great wealth is also known, though this detail does not appear in the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, this passage is frequently used in sermons on spiritual authority, murmuring and complaint, and order within the community. In preaching on the Psalms, the fact that the sons of Korah, descendants of a rebel, became psalmists who led worship is sometimes presented as an example of grace.