Numbers 16:17
in Numbers 16Each man is to take his censer, place incense in it, and present it before the LORD—250 censers. You and Aaron are to present your censers as well.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and take ye every man his censer, and put incense upon them, and bring ye before Jehovah every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each his censer.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Numbers 16
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Be thou and all thy company before the Lord
on Numbers 16:16-17
The terms are set for one man against two hundred and fifty, each carrying his own censer, so every man in the company stands on his own act. Aaron is entered on the same footing and told to bring his censer like the rest. The question is settled by what happens at the door of the tent rather than by who makes the better case for himself.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And take every man his censer, and put incense therein,....
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.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the Lord--that is, at "the door of the tabernacle" (Nu 16:18), that the assembled people might witness the experiment and be properly impressed by the issue.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
There was something in their behavior very offensive to God; for after His glory had appeared--as at the installation of Aaron (Le 9:23), so now for his confirmation in the sacred office--He bade Moses and Aaron withdraw from the assembly "that He might consume them in a moment."
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּקְח֣וּ׀ | ukechu | and take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | each one | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מַחְתָּת֗וֹ | machtato | censer his | H4289 → | 22 times |
| וּנְתַתֶּ֤ם | unetatem | and you will put | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶם֙ | ʾaleihem | on them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| קְטֹ֔רֶת | ketoret | incense | H7004 → | 60 times |
| וְהִקְרַבְתֶּ֞ם | vehikravtem | and you will bring near | H7126 → | 280 times |
| לִפְנֵ֤י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | each one | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מַחְתָּת֔וֹ | machtato | censer his | H4289 → | 22 times |
| חֲמִשִּׁ֥ים | chamishim | fifty | H2572 → | 163 times |
| וּמָאתַ֖יִם | umatayim | and two hundred | H3967 → | 581 times |
| מַחְתֹּ֑ת | machtot | censers | H4289 → | 22 times |
| וְאַתָּ֥ה | veatah | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| וְאַהֲרֹ֖ן | veaharon | and Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| אִ֥ישׁ | ʾish | each one | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מַחְתָּתֽוֹ׃ | machtato | censer his | H4289 → | 22 times |
וּקְח֣וּ׀and take
ukechuH3947 →966 times
אִ֣ישׁeach one
ʾishH376 →1663 times
מַחְתָּת֗וֹcenser his
machtatoH4289 →22 times
וּנְתַתֶּ֤םand you will put
unetatemH5414 →2011 times
עֲלֵיהֶם֙on them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
קְטֹ֔רֶתincense
ketoretH7004 →60 times
וְהִקְרַבְתֶּ֞םand you will bring near
vehikravtemH7126 →280 times
לִפְנֵ֤י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אִ֣ישׁeach one
ʾishH376 →1663 times
מַחְתָּת֔וֹcenser his
machtatoH4289 →22 times
חֲמִשִּׁ֥יםfifty
chamishimH2572 →163 times
וּמָאתַ֖יִםand two hundred
umatayimH3967 →581 times
מַחְתֹּ֑תcensers
machtotH4289 →22 times
וְאַתָּ֥הand you
veatahH859 →1094 times
וְאַהֲרֹ֖ןand Aaron
veaharonH175 →347 times
אִ֥ישׁeach one
ʾishH376 →1663 times
מַחְתָּתֽוֹ׃censer his
machtatoH4289 →22 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 12:7Now present yourselves, so that I may confront you before the LORD with all the righteous acts He has done for you and your fathers.
it leads to
- Isaiah 1:18
“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.
- Micah 6:1–5
Hear now what the LORD says: “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.
- Acts 17:3
explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ,” he declared.
- Ezekiel 18:25–30
Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is it My way that is unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust?
- Isaiah 5:3–4
“And now, O dwellers of Jerusalem and men of Judah, I exhort you to judge between Me and My vineyard.
- Isaiah 1:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About Numbers
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.