Lähtö EgyptistäRebel leaderProminent Reubenitec. 1400 BC
Abiram, son of Eliab from the tribe of Reuben, was a central figure in the great rebellion against the leadership of Moses and Aaron during the wilderness journey. Together with his brother Dathan, he joined the Levite Korah's revolt, where On ben Pelet is also mentioned at the outset. While Korah challenged the exclusivity of the Aaronic priesthood, Dathan and Abiram directed their opposition against Moses' political authority. They accused Moses of leading the people away from Egypt's abundance only to rule over them in the wilderness, and they refused to obey his summons. As divine judgment, the earth opened up and swallowed Abiram, Dathan, and their families alive. This dramatic event became a powerful warning example in Israel's collective memory about the seriousness of rebelling against the order God has established.
Abiram joined with Korah, Dathan, and On son of Pelet in rebelling against the leadership of Moses and Aaron. They challenged the existing order, claiming that the entire congregation was holy and that Moses and Aaron had exalted themselves above the Lord's assembly.
1Now 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.
2They 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.
3They 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 sent for Dathan and Abiram, they refused to come. They accused Moses of having brought them out of a land flowing with milk and honey—ironically meaning Egypt—only to let them die in the wilderness, and charged him with seeking to rule over them.
14Besides, 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!"
Abiram and Datan stood defiantly at the entrance to their tents together with their wives, sons, and little children when the final judgment was about to fall.
27So 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.
God judged the rebels by opening the earth and swallowing Abiram, Datan, and their families along with everything they owned. They went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them.
Abiram's fate was remembered as a serious warning against rebellion against God's appointed leaders. The event is mentioned later in the books of Moses and in the Psalms as an example of God's righteous judgment on those who challenge His order.
6and what he did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab son of Reuben, when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their households, their tents, and every living thing that belonged to them, in the midst of all Israel.