Numbers 16:35
in Numbers 16And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And fire came forth from Jehovah, and devoured the two hundred and fifty men that offered the incense.
KJV
And there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
⋯
This verse in Numbers 16
Commentary
7 notes on this verseIt is most probable that Korah himself was consumed with those 250 that presumed to offer incense; for the priesthood was the thing he aimed at, and therefore we have reason to think that he would not quit his post at the door of the tabernacle. But, behold, those are made sacrifices to the justice of God who flattered themselves with the hopes of being priests.
This site's exposition
all Israel that were round about them fled
on Numbers 16:34-35
The camp runs from the sound of it, afraid the ground will take them too. Fire comes out from the Lord and consumes the two hundred and fifty, which is the wording of Leviticus 10:2 over Nadab and Abihu and of 11:1 at Taberah. Three judgments fall in this one chapter by three means, the earth at verse 32, the fire here, and the plague at verse 49.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
A commentator
Philoxenus of Mabbug13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 11 -- On Abstinence · Written before 523.
proposed
Now this is the first lust which conquered the world, and because of it the first transgression of the law took place. And because the priests lusted and drank wine, and were confused in the place of propitiation, the fire consumed their bodies.
A commentator
Philoxenus of Mabbug13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 7 -- Second Discourse on the Fear of God · Written before 523.
proposed
And that He might increase in them this fear, immediately, by the mouth of offence, the rod of His chastisement was revealed, and after the offence the Chastiser gave them no respite, because their servitude was not worthy of His longsuffering. Above their head the …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And there came out a fire from the Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
there came out a fire from the Lord--that is, from the cloud. This seems to describe the destruction of Korah and those Levites who with him aspired to the functions of the priesthood.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Compare the marginal references The fire came out from the sanctuary or the altar.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֵ֥שׁ | veesh | and fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| יָצְאָ֖ה | yatzeah | it came forth | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מֵאֵ֣ת | meet | from with | H854 → | 929 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַתֹּ֗אכַל | vatokhal | and it consumed | H398 → | 810 times |
| אֵ֣ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַחֲמִשִּׁ֤ים | hachamishim | the fifty | H2572 → | 163 times |
| וּמָאתַ֙יִם֙ | umatayim | and two hundred | H3967 → | 581 times |
| אִ֔ישׁ | ʾish | man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מַקְרִיבֵ֖י | makrivei | [who] were bringing near | H7126 → | 280 times |
| הַקְּטֹֽרֶת׃ פ | haketoret | <of> the incense | H7004 → | 60 times |
וְאֵ֥שׁand fire
veeshH784 →378 times
יָצְאָ֖הit came forth
yatzeahH3318 →1067 times
מֵאֵ֣תfrom with
meetH854 →929 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַתֹּ֗אכַלand it consumed
vatokhalH398 →810 times
אֵ֣ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
הַחֲמִשִּׁ֤יםthe fifty
hachamishimH2572 →163 times
וּמָאתַ֙יִם֙and two hundred
umatayimH3967 →581 times
אִ֔ישׁman
ʾishH376 →1663 times
מַקְרִיבֵ֖י[who] were bringing near
makriveiH7126 →280 times
הַקְּטֹֽרֶת׃ פ<of> the incense
haketoretH7004 →60 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
Leviticus 10:2So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died in the presence of the LORD.
it leads to
- Numbers 26:61
but Nadab and Abihu died when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD.
- Leviticus 9:24
Fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell…
- Numbers 3:3–4
These were Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests.
- Numbers 26:61
Through
Numbers 26:10And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them along with Korah, whose followers died when the fire consumed 250 men. They serve as a warning sign.
it leads to
- Numbers 16:38
As for the censers of those who sinned at the cost of their own lives, hammer them into sheets to overlay the altar, for these were presented before the LORD, and so have become…
- Numbers 16:31–35
As soon as Moses had finished saying all this, the ground beneath them split open,
- 2 Peter 2:6
if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction, reducing them to ashes as an example of what is coming on the ungodly;
- Numbers 16:38
Through
Psalms 106:18Then fire blazed through their company; flames consumed the wicked.
it leads to
- Numbers 16:35–40
And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.
- Hebrews 12:29
“For our God is a consuming fire.”
- Numbers 16:35–40
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About Numbers

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Philoxenus of Mabbug, 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 11 -- On Abstinence and Philoxenus of Mabbug, 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 7 -- Second Discourse on the Fear of God.
