Numbers 26:10
in Numbers 26And 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died; what time the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men, and they became a sign.
KJV
And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, what time the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men: and they became a sign.
⋯
This verse in Numbers 26
Commentary
7 notes on this verseTogether with Korah - The Samaritan text does not intimate that Korah was swallowed up, but that he was burnt, as appears in fact to have been the case. And the earth swallowed them up, what time that company died; and the fire devoured Korah with the two hundred and fifty men, who became a sign.
This site's exposition
Reuben, the eldest son of Israel
on Numbers 26:5-11
The roll of Reuben stops in the middle of itself to tell a story. Dathan and Abiram are entered in their place in the family tree, and the text says what became of them, that the earth opened her mouth and they became a sign. Verse 11 then adds a line the narrative of chapter 16 never gave, that the children of Korah died not. That house sings afterward, since 1 Chronicles 6:22 and 6:33 run Samuel and Heman out of it and eleven psalms carry the sons of Korah in their titles.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
With Korah - According to this translation Korah was not consumed by fire with his two hundred and fifty men, but swallowed up by the earth. But others rather think he was devoured by the fire, and render these words, and the things of Korah, or belonging to Korah, namely, his tent and goods, and family, children excepted, as here follows.
Though the story had been largely related but a few chapters before, yet here it comes in again, as fit to be had in remembrance and thought of by posterity, whenever they looked into their pedigree and pleased themselves with the antiquity of their families and the glory of their ancestors, that they might call themselves a seed of evil doers.
They were made monuments of divine justice; God, in their ruin, showed himself glorious in holiness, and so they were set up for a warning to all others, in all ages, to take heed of treading in the steps of their pride and rebellion. Notice is here taken of the preservation of the children of Korah (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Together with Korah - i. e., they were engulfed at the same time that Korah perished, for Korah himself appears to bare died among the two hundred and fifty incense offerers at the door of the tabernacle, not with Dathan and Abiram (compare Num 16:32 note).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתִּפְתַּ֨ח | vatiftach | and it opened | H6605 → | 144 times |
| הָאָ֜רֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| פִּ֗יהָ | piha | mouth its | H6310 → | 498 times |
| וַתִּבְלַ֥ע | vativla' | and it swallowed | H1104 → | 49 times |
| אֹתָ֛ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| קֹ֖רַח | korach | Korah | H7141 → | 26 times |
| בְּמ֣וֹת | bemot | when died | H4191 → | 839 times |
| הָעֵדָ֑ה | haedah | the company | H5712 → | 149 times |
| בַּאֲכֹ֣ל | baakhol | when consumed | H398 → | 810 times |
| הָאֵ֗שׁ | haesh | the fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| אֵ֣ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חֲמִשִּׁ֤ים | chamishim | fifty | H2572 → | 163 times |
| וּמָאתַ֙יִם֙ | umatayim | and two hundred | H3967 → | 581 times |
| אִ֔ישׁ | ʾish | man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| וַיִּהְי֖וּ | vaiyihyu | and they became | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְנֵֽס׃ | lenes | <into> a warning sign | H5251 → | 21 times |
וַתִּפְתַּ֨חand it opened
vatiftachH6605 →144 times
הָאָ֜רֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
פִּ֗יהָmouth its
pihaH6310 →498 times
וַתִּבְלַ֥עand it swallowed
vativla'H1104 →49 times
אֹתָ֛ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
קֹ֖רַחKorah
korachH7141 →26 times
בְּמ֣וֹתwhen died
bemotH4191 →839 times
הָעֵדָ֑הthe company
haedahH5712 →149 times
בַּאֲכֹ֣לwhen consumed
baakholH398 →810 times
הָאֵ֗שׁthe fire
haeshH784 →378 times
אֵ֣ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
חֲמִשִּׁ֤יםfifty
chamishimH2572 →163 times
וּמָאתַ֙יִם֙and two hundred
umatayimH3967 →581 times
אִ֔ישׁman
ʾishH376 →1663 times
וַיִּהְי֖וּand they became
vaiyihyuH1961 →3559 times
לְנֵֽס׃<into> a warning sign
lenesH5251 →21 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
2 Peter 2:6if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction, reducing them to ashes as an example of what is coming on the ungodly;
it leads to
- Jude 1:7
In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal…
- Luke 17:28–30
It was the same in the days of Lot: People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.
- Deuteronomy 29:23
All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown and unproductive, with no plant growing on it, just like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the…
- Genesis 19:24–25
Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens.
- Isaiah 13:19
And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms, the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.
- Jude 1:7
Through
Ezekiel 14:8I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb; I will cut him off from among My people. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 15:7
And I will set My face against them. Though they may have escaped the fire, yet another fire will consume them. And when I set My face against them, you will know that I…
- Ezekiel 5:15
So you will be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and a horror to the nations around you, when I execute judgments against you in anger, wrath, and raging fury. I, the LORD,…
- Ezekiel 15:7
Through
Numbers 16:38As 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…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 14:8
I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb; I will cut him off from among My people. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
- Ezekiel 14:8
About Numbers
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.