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Numbers 16:2

in Numbers 16

a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 men of Israel renowned as leaders of the congregation and representatives in the assembly.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

and they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the congregation, called to the assembly, men of renown;

KJV

And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:

This verse in Numbers 16

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Note, The pride, ambition, and emulation, of great men, have always been the occasion of a great deal of mischief both in churches and states. God by his grace make great men humble, and so give peace in our time, O Lord! Famous men, and men of renown, as these are described to be, were the great sinners of the old world, Gen. vi.

This site's exposition

Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath

on Numbers 16:1-2

Korah is a Kohathite and Dathan and Abiram are Reubenites, and the two families camped on the same side of the tabernacle, Kohath at 3:29 and Reuben at 2:10, which Matthew Henry reads as how the one drew in the other. Albert Barnes finds the grievance in 3:30, where Elizaphan of the youngest Kohathite branch was made chief over the families of Kohath. The two hundred and fifty who rise with them are called men of renown, a phrase the King James Old Testament uses in one other place, Genesis 6:4.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Cassiodorus

EXPOSITION OF THE PSALMS 105:16-17 · Written before 585.

proposed

Their bellies' fullness was followed by rebellion, which often rouses occasions of destructive danger. We say that a person is provoked when roused to anger by wicked deeds or very harsh words of others. The verse points to the incident when Dathan and Abiram roused …

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And they rose up before Moses,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

The “princes” appear to have belonged to the other tribes (compare Num 27:3).

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

“This section is explained in a beautiful way in the Midrash of Rabbi Tanchuma. 1 The Rabbis of the Talmud composed two great exegetical commentaries on the Bible, whose aim was to spread moral, ethical and religious teachings, as they are derived from a study of the Scriptures.
Ramban: Spain, 1194–1270 · Ramban on Numbers 16:1:1, via Sefaria, Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

14 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיָּקֻ֙מוּ֙and they rose up

    vaiyakumuH6965628 times

  • לִפְנֵ֣י<to> before

    lifneiH64402123 times

  • מֹשֶׁ֔הMoses

    moshehH4872765 times

  • וַאֲנָשִׁ֥יםand men

    vaanashimH582566 times

  • מִבְּנֵֽי־from [the] people of

    mibenei-H11214930 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael

    yisraelH34782507 times

  • חֲמִשִּׁ֣יםfifty

    chamishimH2572163 times

  • וּמָאתָ֑יִםand two hundred

    umatayimH3967581 times

  • נְשִׂיאֵ֥יleaders of

    nesieiH5387134 times

  • עֵדָ֛ה[the] congregation

    ʾedahH5712149 times

  • קְרִאֵ֥יcalled of

    kerieiH7148

  • מוֹעֵ֖ד[the] appointed meeting

    moedH4150223 times

  • אַנְשֵׁי־men of

    ʾanshei-H582566 times

  • שֵֽׁם׃name

    shemH8034864 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Genesis 6:4

    The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and afterward as well—when the sons of God had relations with the daughters of men. And they bore them children who became the mighty men of…

    it leads to

    • Numbers 13:33

      We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak that come from the Nephilim! We seemed like grasshoppers in our own sight, and we must have seemed the same to them!”

    • Deuteronomy 3:11

      (For only Og king of Bashan had remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. His bed of iron, nine cubits long and four cubits wide, is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites.)

    • 2 Samuel 21:15–22

      Once again the Philistines waged war against Israel, and David and his servants went down and fought against the Philistines; but David became exhausted.

    • 1 Samuel 17:4

      Then a champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was six cubits and a span in height,

    • Deuteronomy 2:20–21

      (That too was regarded as the land of the Rephaim, who used to live there, though the Ammonites called them Zamzummites.

  • Through

    Numbers 1:16

    These men were appointed from the congregation; they were the leaders of the tribes of their fathers, the heads of the clans of Israel.

    it leads to

    • Exodus 18:25

      So Moses chose capable men from all Israel and made them heads over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.

    • Exodus 18:21

      Furthermore, select capable men from among the people—God-fearing, trustworthy men who are averse to dishonest gain. Appoint them over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.

  • Through

    Numbers 26:9

    and the sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. It was Dathan and Abiram, chosen by the congregation, who fought against Moses and Aaron with the followers of Korah who rebelled against the…

    it leads to

    • Numbers 1:16

      These men were appointed from the congregation; they were the leaders of the tribes of their fathers, the heads of the clans of Israel.

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies3

About Numbers

The Death of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
The Death of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cassiodorus, EXPOSITION OF THE PSALMS 105:16-17; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.