NúmerosCapítulo 16

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Now Korah son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, took action, along with Dathan and Abiram sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, descendants of Reuben.

They rose up against Moses, together with two hundred and fifty men of Israel, leaders of the community, appointed members of the assembly, men of reputation.

They gathered against Moses and Aaron and said to them, "You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you set yourselves above the LORD's assembly?"

When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.

Then he said to Korah and all his followers: "In the morning the LORD will make known who belongs to him and who is holy, and he will bring that one near to himself. The one he chooses he will bring near to himself.

Do this: take censers for yourselves, Korah and all your followers.

Tomorrow put fire in them and lay incense on them before the LORD. The man the LORD chooses will be the holy one. You Levites have gone too far!"

Moses also said to Korah, "Listen now, you Levites!

Is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has set you apart from the rest of the community of Israel and brought you near to himself, to do the work at the LORD's dwelling and to stand before the community and serve them?

He has brought you near, you and all your fellow Levites with you, and now you seek the priesthood as well!

So it is against the LORD that you and all your followers have banded together. And Aaron—what is he, that you should grumble against him?"

Then Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, "We will not come.

Is it not enough that you brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? Must you also lord it over us?

Besides, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? We will not come!"

Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, "Do not accept their offering. I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, nor have I wronged a single one of them."

Then Moses said to Korah, "You and all your followers are to appear before the LORD tomorrow—you and they and Aaron.

Each man is to take his censer and put incense on it—two hundred and fifty censers in all—and present it before the LORD. You and Aaron are each to bring your censer as well."

So each man took his censer, put fire in it, laid incense on it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

When Korah had gathered the whole community against them at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of the LORD appeared to the entire community.

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

"Separate yourselves from this community, and I will consume them in an instant."

But they fell facedown and cried out, "O God, God of the spirits of all flesh, will you be angry with the whole community when only one man sins?"

Then the LORD said to Moses,

"Say to the community: Get away from around the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram."

Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.

He said to the community, "Move back from the tents of these wicked men! Do not touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins."

So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing at the entrances of their tents with their wives, their sons, and their little ones.

Then Moses said, "This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my own idea:

If these men die a natural death and suffer only what usually comes to people, then the LORD has not sent me.

But if the LORD brings about something entirely new—if the ground opens its mouth and swallows them with everything they own, so that they go down alive to the realm of the dead—then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt."

As soon as he finished speaking these words, the ground under them split open.

The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, along with all Korah's men and all their possessions.

They went down alive to the realm of the dead, with everything they owned. The earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly.

At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, "The earth is going to swallow us too!"

And fire came out from the LORD and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense.

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Resumen2

Capítulo 16

Main Theme: Korah’s rebellion against the leadership of Moses and Aaron, and God’s judgment on the rebels.

Content: Korah (a Levite), Dathan, Abiram, and On (from the tribe of Reuben) gather 250 leaders and challenge the authority of Moses and Aaron, claiming that the entire congregation is holy. Moses falls on his face and proposes a test: the rebels are to offer incense before the Lord, so that God will show whom He has chosen. God reveals His glory and intends to destroy the whole congregation, but Moses and Aaron intercede. The earth opens up and swallows Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and their families, while fire from the Lord consumes the 250 who offered incense.

Key Words/Images:

Incense Shovels (מַחְתּוֹת): The instrument used in the test to determine whom God had chosen for priestly service.
The Earth Opens Up: God’s supernatural judgment, showing that the rebellion was against the Lord Himself, not merely against Moses.
"The whole congregation is holy" (רַב־לָכֶם): The rebels’ argument rejecting the divinely appointed order of chosen priests and Levites.
Fire from the Lord: God’s direct intervention that consumes the 250 who unlawfully performed priestly duties.

Contexto histórico

Historical and Cultural Context for Numbers 16

People

Korah (קֹרַח) was a Levite from the Kohathite clan, the same clan to which Aaron and Moses belonged. The Kohathites had a special duty among the Levites—to carry the most holy items of the tabernacle (Num 4:4-15). Korah’s rebellion can be understood as dissatisfaction with the priesthood being restricted to Aaron’s line, while he himself, despite his close kinship, was excluded from this role.

Dathan and Abiram (דָּתָן וַאֲבִירָם), sons of Eliab, were from the tribe of Reuben. As descendants of Jacob’s firstborn son, their participation in the rebellion may reflect frustration over the loss of the birthright—leadership had passed to Levi (the priesthood) and Judah (the kingship). On, son of Pelet (אוֹן בֶּן־פֶּלֶת), is mentioned in verse 1 but then disappears from the narrative; later Jewish tradition (Talmud, Sanhedrin 109b-110a) relates that his wife persuaded him to withdraw. The 250 men who supported the rebellion are described as "princes of the congregation" (נְשִׂיאֵי עֵדָה), showing that this was a revolt by the elite, not from the grassroots of the people.

Events and Customs

The incense test proposed by Moses (vv. 6-7) was a "divine judgment"—a trial in which God himself would decide whom he had chosen. Offering incense was reserved for priests (Exod 30:7-8). Nadab and Abihu died when they offered "strange fire" (Lev 10:1-2), demonstrating the consequences of unauthorized approach to God. By allowing the rebels to burn incense before the Lord, Moses let God himself demonstrate who held legitimate authority.

The form of punishment—the earth opening up and swallowing the rebels—was a "new thing" (בְּרִיאָה, v. 30) that distinguished this judgment from natural deaths. This emphasized that the punishment came directly from God. Fire from the Lord consumed the 250 who burned incense (v. 35), paralleling the fate of Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu (Lev 10:2).

Key Terms

The expression "the whole congregation is holy" (כָל־הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים, v. 3) echoes God’s word in Exodus 19:6 that Israel should be "a kingdom of priests." The rebels’ argument was that if the whole people were holy, there was no need for a separate priesthood. However, they overlooked that God himself had established different roles within the holy community.

"Sheol" (שְׁאוֹל, vv. 30, 33) refers to the realm of the dead or the dwelling place of the departed in Old Testament thought. That the rebels went "down alive into Sheol" underscored the complete and immediate nature of God’s judgment.

The title "God of the spirits of all flesh" (אֵל אֱלֹהֵי הָרוּחֹת לְכָל־בָּשָׂר, v. 22) is a rare designation for God that highlights his sovereignty over all life and his ability to distinguish between individuals—an appeal that he should not punish everyone for one man’s sin.

Personas12

Eliab (Eliab, son of Helon, leader from the tribe of Zebulun)2 Reuben (Leah's son)1 God1 Kehat (Levi's son)1 Izhar1 Aaron6 Pelet1 Abiram5 Dathan5 On1 Korah (Esau's son with Oholibama)9 Moses11

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Palabras clave11

Korah — A Levite who led a rebellion against Moses and Aaron.
Rebellion — The act of opposing authority or control, especially in an organized manner.
Dathan and Abiram — Two Israelites who supported Korah's rebellion against Moses and Aaron.
Earthquake — Sudden and often violent movements in the Earth's crust caused by geological processes.
Open — In this context, it means that the earth splits apart to swallow those involved in the rebellion.
Moses — The leader of the people of Israel and a prophet chosen by God to lead them out of Egypt and into the promised land.
Aaron — Moses' older brother, high priest, and a central figure in the priesthood of the Israelites.
The Lord — Another designation for God, the almighty Creator.
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