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Numbers 16:32

in Numbers 16

and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households—all Korah’s men and all their possessions.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

and the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.

KJV

And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.

This verse in Numbers 16

Commentary

8 notes on this verse
All the men ... - Not his sons (see Num 26:11), but all belonging to him who had associated themselves with him in this rebellion.

This site's exposition

As soon as Moses had finished saying all this

on Numbers 16:31-33

Whether Korah himself went down or burned with the 250 is read both ways. Verse 32 swallows all Korah’s men, while 26:10 says the earth swallowed them along with Korah. Psalm 106:17 recalls the day and names Dathan and the assembly of Abiram.

This site's exposition

swallowed them and their households

Albert Barnes reads Korah's men as his followers in the revolt, since 26:11 says the sons of Korah did not die. Households and goods went down together, so the tents that stood open at verse 27 were gone. Nothing of theirs was left to touch.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers4 voices

A commentator

Augustine of Hippo

City of God 10.8 · Written before 430.

proposed

Then there were the miracles of the seditious among the people of God. They separated themselves from the divinely ordered community. They were swallowed alive by the earth, as a visible token of an invisible punishment.

A commentator

Augustine of Hippo

354–430

City of God 10.8 · Written before 430.

proposed

Then there were the miracles of the seditious among the people of God. They separated themselves from the divinely ordered community. They were swallowed alive by the earth, as a visible token of an invisible punishment.
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 …

A commentator

Basil of Caesarea

CONCERNING BAPTISM, QUESTION 8 · Written before 379.

proposed

In the Old Testament, as, for instance, in the case of Korah and the men who dared to enter the priesthood without being called to it and by the severity of the wrath which came upon them to their utter destruction, we see how grave a thing it is to do that which is unsuitable as regards the person.

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up,....

The words behind it

16 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.

  • וַתִּפְתַּ֤חand it opened

    vatiftachH6605 →144 times

  • הָאָ֙רֶץ֙the earth

    haaretzH776 →2504 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • פִּ֔יהָmouth its

    pihaH6310 →498 times

  • וַתִּבְלַ֥עand it swallowed

    vativla'H1104 →49 times

  • אֹתָ֖ם<obj.> them

    ʾotamH853 →10935 times

  • וְאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • בָּתֵּיהֶ֑םhouseholds their

    bateihemH1004 →2046 times

  • וְאֵ֤תand <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • כָּל־every

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • הָאָדָם֙<the> person

    haadamH120 →551 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֣רwho

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • לְקֹ֔רַח[belonged] to Korah

    lekorachH7141 →26 times

  • וְאֵ֖תand <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • הָרֲכֽוּשׁ׃the property

    harakhushH7399 →

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

    1 Chronicles 6:22

    The descendants of Kohath:

    it leads to

    • Exodus 6:24

      The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These were the clans of the Korahites.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

  • Through

    Psalms 106:17

    The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan; it covered the assembly of Abiram.

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 11:6

      and what He did in the midst of all the Israelites to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, their tents,…

    • Numbers 26:10

      And 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.

  • Through

    Isaiah 5:14

    Therefore Sheol enlarges its throat and opens wide its enormous jaws, and down go Zion’s nobles and masses, her revelers and carousers!

    it leads to

    • Habakkuk 2:5

      and wealth indeed betrays him. He is an arrogant man never at rest. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, and like Death, he is never satisfied. He gathers all the nations to himself and…

    • Luke 21:34

      But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life—and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.

    • Proverbs 30:16

      Sheol, the barren womb, land never satisfied with water, and fire that never says, ‘Enough!’

    • Psalms 55:15

      Let death seize them by surprise; let them go down to Sheol alive, for evil is with them in their homes.

    • Matthew 7:13

      Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.

Where this verse is studied

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, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Augustine of Hippo, City of God 10.8; Basil of Caesarea, CONCERNING BAPTISM, QUESTION 8; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Philoxenus of Mabbug, 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 7 -- Second Discourse on the Fear of God.