They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, “You take too much on yourself, since all the congregation are holy, everyone of them, and Yahweh is among them! Why do you lift yourselves up above Yahweh’s assembly?”
When Moses heard it, he fell on his face. He said to Korah and to all his company, “In the morning, Yahweh will show who are his, and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to him. Even him whom he shall choose, he will cause to come near to him. Do this: have Korah and all his company take censers, put fire in them, and put incense on them before Yahweh tomorrow. It shall be that the man whom Yahweh chooses, he shall be holy. You have gone too far, you sons of Levi!”
Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi! Is it a small thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do the service of Yahweh’s tabernacle, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them; and that he has brought you near, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? Do you seek the priesthood also? Therefore you and all your company have gathered together against Yahweh! What is Aaron that you complain against him?”
Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; and they said, “We won’t come up! Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, but you must also make yourself a prince over us? Moreover you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We won’t come up.”
Moses was very angry, and said to Yahweh, “Don’t respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, neither have I hurt one of them.”
Moses said to Korah, “You and all your company go before Yahweh, you, and they, and Aaron, tomorrow. Each man take his censer and put incense on it, and each man bring before Yahweh his censer, two hundred fifty censers; you also, and Aaron, each with his censer.”
They each took his censer, and put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and stood at the door of the Tent of Meeting with Moses and Aaron. Korah assembled all the congregation opposite them to the door of the Tent of Meeting. Yahweh’s glory appeared to all the congregation.
Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment!”
They fell on their faces, and said, “God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?”
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get away from around the tent of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram!’ ”
Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him. He spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins!”
So they went away from the tent of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side. Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood at the door of their tents with their wives, their sons, and their little ones.
Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that Yahweh has sent me to do all these works; for they are not from my own mind. If these men die the common death of all men, or if they experience what all men experience, then Yahweh hasn’t sent me. But if Yahweh makes a new thing, and the ground opens its mouth, and swallows them up with all that belong to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall understand that these men have despised Yahweh.”
As he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split apart. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up with their households, all of Korah’s men, and all their goods. So they, and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol. The earth closed on them, and they perished from among the assembly. All Israel that were around them fled at their cry; for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!” Fire came out from Yahweh, and devoured the two hundred fifty men who offered the incense.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv3, 5, 7, 10, 13, 14, 16, 19, 22, 26, 28, 30 Or let it suffice you: meaning, to have abused…
Or let it suffice you: meaning, to have abused them thus long.
All are alike holy: therefore none ought to be preferred above others: thus the wicked reason against God’s ordinance.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 Num 16:3 And they gathered themselves together against Moses…
Num 16:3 And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, [Ye take] too much upon you, 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?
Ver. 3. Against Moses and against Aaron.] They were against both magistracy and ministry, as our late levellers, and would have brought in anarchy, that every man might offer his own sacrifice, and do that which is good in his own eyes: Regnum Cyclopicum.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 35 They, i.e. either Korah, and the two hundred and…
They, i.e. either Korah, and the two hundred and fifty princes, which may seem probable by comparing this with Num 16:12,25,27, where we find Dathan and Abiram in another place, even in their tents, whither it is likely they were gone by consent to form and strengthen their party there, while Korah and the rest went to Moses. Or, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and the rest, who were all together when Moses spake those words, Num 16:5-7; but after that Dathan and Abiram retired to their tents, and then Moses sent for Korah and the Levites, who had more special and more colourable pretences to the priesthood, and treats with them apart, and speaks what is mentioned Num 16:8-11; and then having dispatched them, he sends for Dathan and Abiram, Num 16:12, that he might reason the case with them also apart.
Against Aaron, to whom the priesthood was confined, and against Moses, both because this was done by his order, and because before Aaron’s consecration Moses appropriated it to himself. For whatever they intended, they seem not now directly to strike at Moses for his supreme civil government, but only for his interest and influence in the disposal of the priesthood, as may appear by the whole context, and particularly by Num 16:5,10,15, &c.
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Ye take too much upon you, by perpetuating the priesthood in yourselves and family, with the exclusion of all others from it. Are holy; a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, as they are called Exo 19:6; a people separated to the service of God, and therefore no less fit to present themselves before God, and to offer sacrifice and incense for themselves, than you are.
The Lord is among them, by his tabernacle and cloud, the tokens of his special and gracious presence, and therefore ready to receive all their sacriiiccs and services from their own hands.
Wherefore lift ye up yourselves; thou, Moses, by prescribing what laws thou pleasest about the priesthood, and confining it to thy brother; and thou, Aaron, by usurping it as thy peculiar privilege?
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv12, 23, 35 Here is, I. The insolence of Dathan and Abiram,…
Here is, I. The insolence of Dathan and Abiram, and their treasonable remonstrance. Moses had heard what Korah had to say, and had answered it; now he summons Dathan and Abiram to bring in their complaints (Num 16:12); but they would not obey his summons, either because they could not for shame say that to his face which they were resolved to say, and then it is an instance of some remains of modesty in them; or, rather, because they would not so far own his authority, and then it is an instance of the highest degree of impudence. They spoke the language of Pharaoh himself, who set Moses at defiance, but they forgot how dearly he paid for it. Had not their heads been wretchedly heated, and their hearts hardened, they might have considered that, if they regarded not these messengers, Moses could soon in God's name send messengers of death for them. But thus the God of this world blinds the minds of those that believe not. But by the same messengers they send their articles of impeachment against Moses; and the charge runs very high. 1. They charge him with having done them a great deal of wrong in bringing them out of Egypt, invidiously calling that a land flowing with milk and honey, Num 16:13. Onions, and garlick, and fish, they had indeed plenty of in Egypt, but it never pretended to milk and honey; only they would thus banter the promise of Canaan. Ungrateful wretches, to represent that as an injury to them which was really the greatest favour that ever was bestowed upon any people! 2. They charge him with a design upon their lives, that he intended to kill them in the wilderness, though they were so well provided for. And, if they were sentenced to die in the wilderness, they must thank themselves. Moses would have healed them, and they would not be healed. 3. They charge him with a design upon their liberties, that he meant to enslave them, by making himself a prince over them. A prince over them! Was he not a tender father to them? nay, their devoted servant for the Lord's sake? Had they not their properties secured, their order preserved, and justice impartially administered? Did they not live in ease and honour? And yet they complain as if Moses's yoke were heavier than Pharaoh's. And did Moses make himself a prince? Far from it. How gladly would he have declined the office at first! How gladly would he have resigned it many a time since! And yet he is thus put under the blackest characters of a tyrant and a usurper. 4. They charge him with cheating them, raising their expectations of a good land, and then defeating them (Num 16:14): Thou hast not brought us, as thou promisedst us, into a land that floweth with milk and honey; and pray whose fault was that? He had brought them to the borders of it, and was just ready, under God, to put them in possession of it; but they thrust it away from them, and shut the door against themselves; so that it was purely their own fault that they were not now in Canaan, and yet Moses must bear the blame. Thus when the foolishness of man perverteth his way his heart fretteth against the Lord, Pro 19:3. 5. They charge him in the general with unfair dealing, that he put out the eyes of these men, and then meant to lead them blindfold as he pleased. The design of all he did for them was to open their eyes, and yet they insinuate that he intended to put out their eyes, that they might not see themselves imposed upon. Note, The wisest and best cannot please every body, nor gain the good word of all. Those often fall under the heaviest censures who have merited the highest applause. Many a good work Moses had shown them from the Father, and for which of these do they reproach him?
II. Moses's just resentment of their insolence, Num 16:15. Moses, though the meekest man, yet, finding God reproached in him, was very wroth; he could not bear to see a people ruining themselves for whose salvation he had done so much. In this discomposure,
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1. He appeals to God concerning his own integrity; whereas they basely reflected upon him as ambitious, covetous, and oppressive, in making himself a prince over them, God was his witness, (1.) That he never got any thing by them: I have not taken one ass from them, not only not by way of bribery and extortion, but not by way of recompence or gratuity for all the good offices he had done them; he never took the pay of a general, or the salary of a judge, much less the tribute of a prince. He got more in his estate when he kept Jethro's flock than when he came to be king in Jeshurun. (2.) That they never lost any thing by him: Neither have I hurt any one of them, no, not the least, no, not the worst, no, not those that had been most peevish and provoking to him: he never abused his power to the support of wrong. Note, Those that have never blemished themselves need not fear being slurred by others: when men condemn us we may be easy, if our own hearts condemn us not.
2. He begs of God to plead his cause, and clear him, by showing his displeasure at the incense which Korah and his company were to offer, with whom Dathan and Abiram were in confederacy. Lord, says he, Respect not thou their offering. Herein he seems to refer to the history of Cain, lately written by his own hand, of whom it is said that to him and his offering God had not respect, Gen 4:5. These that followed the gainsaying of Korah walked in the way of Cain (these are put together, Jde 1:11), and therefore he prays that they might be frowned upon as Cain was, and put to the same confusion.
III. Issue joined between Moses and his accusers. 1. Moses challenges them to appear with Aaron next morning, at the time of offering up the morning incense, and refer the matter to God's judgment, Num 16:16, Num 16:17. Since he could not convince them by his calm and affectionate reasoning, he is ready to enter into bonds to stand God's award, not doubting but that God would appear, to decide the controversy. This reference he had agreed to before (Num 16:6, Num 16:7), and here adds only one clause, which bespeaks his great condescension to the plaintiffs, that Aaron, against whose advancement they excepted, though now advanced by the divine institution to the honour of burning incense within the tabernacle, yet, upon this trial, should put himself into the place of a probationer, and stand upon the level with Korah, at the door of the tabernacle; nay, and Moses himself would stand with them, so that the complainant shall have all the fair dealing he can desire; and thus every mouth shall be stopped. 2. Korah accepts the challenge, and makes his appearance with Moses and Aaron at the door of the tabernacle, to make good his pretensions, Num 16:18, Num 16:19. If he had not had a very great stock of impudence, he could not have carried on the matter thus far. Had not he lately seen Nadab and Abihu, the consecrated priests, struck dead for daring to offer incense with unhallowed fire? and could he and his accomplices expect to fare any better in offering incense with unhallowed hands? Yet, to confront Moses and Aaron, in the height of his pride he thus bids defiance to Heaven, and pretends to demand the divine acceptance without a divine warrant; thus wretchedly is the heart hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. They took every man his censer. Perhaps these were some of the censers which these heads of families had made use of at their family-altars, before this part of religious service was confined to the priesthood and the altar in the tabernacle (and they would bring them into use and reputation again); or they might be common chafing-dishes, which were for their ordinary use. Now to attend the solemn trial, and to be witness of the issue, one would have thought Moses should have gathered the congregation against the rebels, but it seems Korah gathered them against Moses (Num 16:19), which intimates that a great part of the congregation sided with Korah, were at his beck, and wished him success, and that Korah's hopes were very high of carrying the point against Aaron; for, had he suspected the event, he would not have coveted to make the trial thus public: but little did he think that he was now calling the congregation together to be the witnesses of his own confusion! Note, Proud and ambitious men, while they are projecting their own advancement, often prove to have been hurrying on their own shameful fall.
IV. The judgment set, and the Judge taking the tribunal, and threatening to give sentence against the whole congregation. 1. The glory of the Lord appeared, Num 16:19. The same glory that appeared to instal Aaron in his office at first (Lev 9:23) now appeared to confirm him in it, and to confound those that oppose him, and set up themselves in competition with him. The shechinah, or divine Majesty, the glory of the eternal Word, which ordinarily dwelt between the cherubim within the veil, now was publicly seen over the door of the tabernacle, to the terror of the whole congregation; for, though they saw no manner of similitude, yet probably the appearances of the light and fire were such as plainly showed God to be angry with them; as when he appeared, Num 14:10. Nothing is more terrible to those who are conscious of guilt than the appearances of divine glory; for such a glorious Being must needs be a formidable enemy. 2. God threatened to consume them all in a moment, and, in order to that, bade Moses and Aaron stand from among them, Num 16:21. God thus showed what their sin deserved, and how very provoking it was to him. See what a dangerous thing it is to have fellowship with sinners, and in the least to partake with them. Many of the congregation, it is likely, came only for company, following the crowd, or for curiosity, to see the issue, yet not coming, as they ought to have done, to bear their testimony against the rebels, and openly to declare for God and Moses, they had like to have been all consumed in a moment. If we follow the herd into which the devil has entered, it is at our peril.
V. The humble intercession of Moses and Aaron for the congregation, Num 16:22. 1. Their posture was importuning: they fell on their faces, prostrating themselves before God, as supplicants in good earnest, that they might prevail for sparing mercy. Though the people had treacherously deserted them, and struck in with those that were in arms against them, yet they approved themselves faithful to the trusts reposed in them, as shepherds of Israel, who were to stand in the breach when they saw the flock in danger. Note, If others fail in their duty to us, this does not discharge us from our duty to them, nor take off the obligations we lie under to seek their welfare. 2. Their prayer was a pleading prayer, and it proved a prevailing one. Now God would have destroyed them if Moses had not turned away his wrath (Psa 106:23); yet far be it from us to imagine that Moses was more considerate or more compassionate than God in such a case as this: but God saw fit to show his just displeasure against the sin of sinners by the sentence, and at the same time to show his gracious condescension to the prayers of the saints, by the revocation of the sentence at the intercession of Moses. Observe in the prayer, (1.) The title they give to God: The God of the spirits of all flesh. See what man is; he is a spirit in flesh, a soul embodied, a creature wonderfully compounded of heaven and earth. See what God is; he is the God of the spirits of all mankind. He forms the spirit, Zac 12:1. He fathers it, Heb 12:9. He has an ability to fashion it (Psa 33:15), and authority to dispose of it, for he has said, All souls are mine, Eze 18:4. They insinuate hereby that though, as the God of the spirits of all flesh, he might in sovereignty consume this congregation in a moment, yet it was to be hoped that he would in mercy spare them, not only because they were the work of his own hands, and he had a propriety in them, but because, being the God of spirits, he knew their frame, and could distinguish between the leaders and the led, between those who sinned maliciously and those who were drawn in by their wiles, and would make a difference accordingly in his judgments. (2.) The argument they insist on; it is much the same with that which Abraham urged in his intercession for Sodom (Gen 18:23): Wilt thou destroy the righteous with the wicked? Such is the plea here: Shall one man sin and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation? Not but that it was the sin of them all to join in this matter, but the great transgression was his that first hatched the treason. Note, Whatever God may do in sovereignty and strict justice, we have reason to hope that he will not destroy a congregation for the sin of one, but that, righteousness and peace having kissed each other in the undertaking of the Redeemer, mercy shall rejoice against judgment. Moses knew that all the congregation must perish in the wilderness by degrees, yet he is thus earnest in prayer that they might not be consumed at once, and would reckon it a favour to obtain a reprieve. Lord, let it alone this year.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv3–35 And they gathered themselves together against Moses, and against…
And they gathered themselves together against Moses, and against Aaron,.... They met together by appointment, and went up in a body to Moses and Aaron:
and said unto them, ye take too much upon you; the one to be king, and the other to be priest; for they imagined that Moses took the civil government into his hands, and Aaron the priesthood, of themselves, without any call of God to either; but the contrary is most certain, Heb 3:2; the Israelites, those of the other tribes besides Levi and Reuben, thought that Moses took too much upon him of his own head, to take the Levites instead of the firstborn, and confer a dignity on his own brethren, the sons of Kohath, who were near akin to him, and on all the sons of Levi, as Aben Ezra observes; and the Levites they conspired against him, because they were given to Aaron and his sons; and Dathan and Abiram entered into a conspiracy, as the same writer thinks, because he had removed the birthright from Reuben their father, and had given it to Joseph; for it is probable they suspected him, because of Joshua his minister; and Jarchi conjectures that Korah was angry because Moses had conferred the government of the Kohathites on Elizaphan, the son of Uzziel, the youngest son of Kohath, when he himself, Korah, was the eldest son of an elder son of Kohath: or "it is", or "let it be enough for you" (m); or more than enough, as Jarchi; it is sufficient that you have had the government, both in things civil and religious, so long as you have; it is time to give it up to others, who are as well qualified as yourselves. The time past may suffice for the exercise of your despotic and arbitrary power; though it seems to be chiefly levelled against Aaron, and his priesthood, which they thought Moses had conferred on his brother of himself, any instruction from God:
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seeing all the congregation are holy, everyone of them; having all heard the words of the Lord on Sinai, as Jarchi notes; and were all fit to be priests, and to offer sacrifice in and for their families, as they had used to do, before the separation of Aaron and his sons to the priesthood:
and the Lord is among them; in the tabernacle, to whom they could approach and offer their offerings without a priest to do it for them:
wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord? since they were all upon a level, everyone holy to the Lord, and might draw nigh unto him, and officiate as priests; wherefore they represent it as great pride and vanity in them; in Moses to take upon him to dispose of the priesthood at his pleasure, and make Aaron the high priest of the people; and in Aaron to take this office upon him, and to be an high priest, and not all the sons of Levi, but over all the children of Israel.
(m) "sat est vel satis sit", Pagninus, Vatablus, Drusius, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; so Aben Ezra.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 22, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 32, 33, 35 They - Korah, Dathan and Abiram, and the rest,…
They - Korah, Dathan and Abiram, and the rest, who were all together when Moses spake those words, ver. 5-7, but after that, Dathan and Abiram retired to their tents, and then Moses sent for Korah and the Levites, who had more colourable pretenses to the priesthood, and treats with them apart, and speaks what is mentioned, ver. 8-11. Having dispatched them, he sends for Dathan and Abiram, ver. 12, that he might reason the case with them also apart. Against Aaron - To whom the priesthood was confined, and against Moses, both because this was done by his order, and because before Aaron's consecration Moses appropriated it to himself. For whatever they intended, they seem not now directly to strike at Moses for his supreme civil government, but only for his influence in the disposal of the priesthood. Ye take too much - By perpetuating the priesthood in yourselves and family, with the exclusion of all others from it. All are holy - A kingdom of priests, an holy nation, as they are called, Exod. xix, 6, a people separated to the service of God, and therefore no less fit to offer sacrifice and incense, than you are. Among them - By his tabernacle and cloud, the tokens of his gracious presence, and therefore ready to receive sacrifices from their own hands. Ye - Thou Moses, by prescribing what laws thou pleasest about the priesthood, and confining it to thy brother; and thou Aaron by usurping it as thy peculiar privilege.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv3, 5, 15, 22, 30, 33 Verse 3. Ye take too much upon you] The…
Verse 3. Ye take too much upon you] The original is simply רב לכם rab lachem, too much for you. The spirit of this saying appears to me to be the following: - "Holy offices are not equally distributed: you arrogate to yourselves the most important ones, as if your superior holiness entitled you alone to them; whereas all the congregation are holy, and have an equal right with you to be employed in the most holy services." Moses retorts this saying Nu 16:7: Ye take too much upon you, רב לכם rab lachem; Ye have too much already, ye sons of Levi; i. e., by your present spirit and disposition you prove yourselves to be wholly unworthy of any spiritual employment.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 5, 8, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 22, 24, 27, 28, 29, 32, 35 Num 16:3. They — Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and…
Num 16:3. They — Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and the rest, who were all together when Moses spake these words, (Num 16:5-7,) but after that, Dathan and Abiram retired to their tents, and then Moses sent for Korah and the Levites, who had more colourable pretences to the priesthood, and treats with them apart, and speaks what is mentioned, Num 16:8-11. Having despatched them, he sends for Dathan and Abiram, (Num 16:12,) that he might reason the case with them also apart. Against Aaron — To whom the priesthood was confined, and against Moses — Both because this was done by his order, and because, before Aaron’s consecration, Moses appropriated it to himself. For whatever they intended, they seem not now directly to strike at Moses for his supreme civil government, but only for his influence in the disposal of the priesthood. Ye take too much upon you — Hebrew, רב לכם, Rab-lachem. It is much or sufficient for you, as the same phrase is used Deu 1:6; Deu 2:3. Their meaning seems to be, that Moses and Aaron ought not to confine the priesthood to their family alone, but be satisfied with being upon a level with their brethren, who were all holy, they said, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, as they are called, Exo 19:6; a people separated to the service of God, and, therefore, no less fit to offer sacrifices than you are. The same phrase is retorted upon these rebellious Levites by Moses, Num 16:7. The Lord is among them — By his tabernacle and cloud, the tokens of his gracious presence, and therefore ready to receive sacrifices from their own hands.
Ye — Thou, Moses, by prescribing what laws thou pleasest about the priesthood, and confining it to thy brother; and thou, Aaron, by usurping it as thy peculiar privilege.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv3, 9, 11, 13, 14, 24, 27, 32, 35 All the congregation are holy - Compare the marginal…
All the congregation are holy - Compare the marginal reference. Korah’s object was not to abolish the distinction between the Levites and the people, but to win priestly dignity for himself and his kinsmen Num 16:10. This ultimate design is masked for the present in order to win support from the Reubenites by putting forward claims to spiritual equality on behalf of every Israelite.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 14, 15, 22, 26, 27, 30, 32, 33, 35 Let it be enough. Hebrew rab, "too much you…
Let it be enough. Hebrew rab, "too much you take upon you;" or "suffice it for you," Septuagint. --- Holy ones, as deserving of the priesthood as yourselves, ver. 10. Why then would you treat them as your inferiors? We will throw off the yoke, and assert our just rights. (Calmet) --- On the same plea, Luther (de abrog. Missa,) rejects all ecclesiastical hierarchy, and will have no distinct priesthood, because all Christians are called priests, (Apocalypse i.) and a holy priesthood, 1 Peter ii. 5. (Worthington) --- But they do not take notice that the apostle immediately explains himself, by saying, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, and to declare the virtues of Christ; in which sense they are also styled a kingly priesthood, 1 Peter ii. 9. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 5, 6, 12, 15, 16, 17, 20, 22, 24, 27, 28, 35 they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron--The…
they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron--The assemblage seems to have been composed of the whole band of conspirators; and they grounded their complaint on the fact that the whole people, being separated to the divine service (Exo 19:6), were equally qualified to present offerings on the altar, and that God, being graciously, present among them by the tabernacle and the cloud, evinced His readiness to receive sacrifices from the hand of any others as well as from theirs.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 3. Against Moses and… Aaron — The evident intent…
3. Against Moses and… Aaron — The evident intent was to seize the government under a self-constituted high priest, and thus subvert the constitution established by Jehovah, under the popular plea of equal rights and of devotion to the service of God.
Too much upon you — Literally, enough for you, ye have held the reins quite long enough. Ye must now vacate.
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All… are holy — The condition of true holiness — obedience and covenant-keeping (Exo_19:5) — they had forgotten, and they supposed, as many Christians have done, that they were holy already because they were called a holy nation.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 35 3. Ye take too much upon you] lit. Enough…
3. Ye take too much upon you] lit. Enough for you! ‘Your overweening claims have gone far enough!’
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 24, 27, 28, 30, 32, 35 (3) Ye take too much upon you . .…
(3) Ye take too much upon you . . . —Or, enough for you (comp. Gen. 14:28), i.e., you have held the priesthood and the government long enough; or, Let it be enough for you to be numbered amongst the holy people without usurping dominion over them. It is evident from the whole tenour of the address that Korah laid claim to a universal priesthood on behalf of the people, designing probably to secure the chief place in that priesthood for himself.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35 They gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.…
They gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. They had risen up before Moses, i.e., made a tumult in his presence, because they regarded him (and rightly) as the actual ruler of Israel in religious as well as in secular matters. At the same time, the attack of Korah and his company (with whom alone the narrative is really concerned here) was directed especially against the ecclesiastical rule which Moses exercised through his brother Aaron. Ye take too much upon you. "much for you," probably in the sense of "enough for you", (cf. the use of br in Gen_45:28) i.e., you have enjoyed power long enough; so the Targum Palestine. It may, however, be taken with the following yKi as meaning, "let it suffice you that all the congregation," &c.; and so the Septuagint, ecetw umin oti , k.t.l. The Targum of Onkelos renders it in the same sense as the A.V All the congregation are holy, every one of them. This was perfectly true, m a sense. There was a sanctity which pertained to Israel as a nation, in which all its members shared as distinguished from the nations around; (Exo_19:6 Lev_20:26) there was a priesthood which was inherent in all the sons of Israel, older and more indelible than that which was conferred on Aaron"s line a priesthood which, apart from special restrictions, or in exceptional circumstances, might and did assert itself in priestly acts. (Exo_24:5, and compare the cases of Samuel, Elijah, and others who offered sacrifice during the failure of the appointed priesthood) It Moses had taken the power to himself, or it he had (as they doubtless supposed) restricted active priestly functions to Aaron because he was his brother, and wholly under his influence, their contention would have been quite right. They erred, as most violent men do, not because they asserted what was false, but because they took for granted that the truth which they asserted was really inconsistent with the claims which they assailed. The congregation were all holy; the sons of Israel were all priests; that was true but it was also true that by Divine command Israel could only exercisehis corporate priesthood outwardly through the one family which God had set apart for that purpose. The same God who has lodged in the body certain faculties and powers for the benefit of the body, has decreed that those faculties and powers can only be exercised through certain determinate organs, the very specialization of which is both condition and result of a high organization. The congregation of the Lord. There are two words for congregation in this verse: lhq here, and hde before. The former seems to be used in the more solemn sense, but they are for the most part indistinguishable, and certainly cannot be assigned to different authors.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v10 Seek ye the priesthood also
Seek ye the priesthood also
The "gainsaying of Korah" was intrusion into the priest’s office ("no man taketh this honour unto himself,") Heb 5:4. It was an attempt to create a priestly order without the divine authority Heb 5:10. The modern analogue is Nicolaitanism Rev 2:6; Rev 2:15 the division of an equal brotherhood Mat 23:8 into "clergy" and "laity"; a vastly different thing from the due recognition of ministry-gifts; 1Co 12:4-31; Eph 4:8; Eph 4:11; Eph 4:12 or of elders and deacons; 1Ti 3:1-13; Tit 1:5-9.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv12, 23 The Test. —
The Test. —
v. 12. And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the negotiations till now having been carried on with Korah and his company; which said, We will not come up; they refused to come out to the open space before the Tabernacle.
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v. 13. Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, for so they now designated Egypt, to kill us in the wilderness, for they accused Moses of deliberately exposing them to a slow death in the desert, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us? That, they insisted, was the object of Moses, to play the lord, the tyrant over them, to make them do his bidding while he lived a life of ease.
v. 14. Moreover, thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, whereby they sneeringly imply that he had not kept his promises, Exo 4:30; Exo 3:7-10, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards; wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up. So they flung the charge into the face of Moses that he was boring out the eyes of the people, that is, degrading them to absolute, blind obedience to his wishes and whims, against all individual judgment.
v. 15. And Moses was very wroth, the insulting injustice of the charge provoking him to a just indignation, and said unto the Lord, Respect not Thou their offering; God should not accept their sacrifice, which certainly was a mild form of vindication of his own uprightness; I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them. The charge that Moses had used tyrannical measures at any time was absolutely unfounded.
v. 16. And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the Lord, thou and they and Aaron, to-morrow;
v. 17. and take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before the Lord every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also and Aaron, each of you his censer, all of them performing one of the chief acts characteristic of the priesthood.
v. 18. And they took every man his censer, they accepted the challenge in a spirit of blasphemous presumption, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation with Moses and Aaron. They actually had the audacity to press forward to the place which was reserved for the ministrations of the priests.
v. 19. And Korah gathered all the congregation against them, in an attitude of hostility, unto the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation; he encouraged them to press forward to profane the Sanctuary. And the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the congregation; by some miraculous manifestation the Lord gave a display of His majesty preparatory to punishing the offenders.
v. 20. And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
v. 21. Separate yourselves from among this congregation that I may consume them in a moment. Because the people had taken sides with the rebels, the Lord intended to exterminate the entire congregation in one moment.
v. 22. And they fell upon their faces, in the attitude of most fervent intercession, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, Creator and Preserver of all living things, shall one man (Korah) sin, and wilt Thou be wroth with all the congregation? Korah was the leading spirit, he had instigated the rebellion; the rest were guilty indeed, but only inasmuch as they had given heed to his seditious speeches. Apparently the Lord heard the prayer of His servants, for He did not proceed to exterminate all the people. The confident prayer of the believers is a mighty weapon before God.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv4, 6, 8, 12, 15, 18, 20, 23, 25, 28, 31, 33 he lay facedown
he lay facedown
This indicates that Moses was humbling himself before God. He was afraid that God would punish the people for rebelling against God and his chosen leaders. (See: Symbolic Action)
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who is set apart to him
This can be stated in active form. AT: "whom Yahweh has set apart for himself" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
set apart
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv3, 4, 6, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21, 26, 28, 31, 34 16:3 The rebels were “jealous of Moses and envious…
16:3 The rebels were “jealous of Moses and envious of Aaron” (Ps 106:16). They insisted that Moses and Aaron had gone too far because all Israelites were God’s chosen people (Exod 19:6). Their egalitarian protest against Moses and Aaron’s authority was probably intended to replace that authority with their own.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.