Psalms 106:17
in Psalms 106The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan; it covered the assembly of Abiram.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, And covered the company of Abiram.
KJV
The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram.
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This verse in Psalms 106
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThe earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram. Korah is not mentioned, for mercy was extended to his household, though he himself perished. The earth could no longer bear up under the weight of these rebels and ingrates: God's patience was exhausted when they began to assail his servants, for his children are very dear to him, and he that toucheth them touches the apple of his eye. Moses had opened the sea for their deliverance, and now that they provoke him, the earth opens for their destruction.
This site's exposition
In the camp they envied Moses
on Psalms 106:16-18
In the camp they envied Moses and Aaron. The psalm names the sin, envy of the men God had appointed, and leaves Korah unnamed. Numbers 16 gives the two judgments this psalm keeps, the earth swallowing Dathan and Abiram's company and fire consuming the men who offered incense.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"The earth opened," he says, "and swallowed up Dathan, and covered over the congregation of Abiram" [Psalm 106:17]: "swallowed up" answers to "covered over." Both Dathan and Abiram were equally concerned in a most sacrilegious schism.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
(2.) Those that would usurp the ecclesiastical authority in things pertaining to God suffered the vengeance of heaven, for fire came out from the Lord and consumed them, and the pretending sacrificers were themselves sacrificed to divine justice. The flame burnt up the wicked; for though they vied with Aaron, the saint of the Lord, for holiness ( Num. xvi.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,.... One of the heads of the conspirators against Moses and Aaron; the earth clave asunder under him and his company; opened itself, or its mouth, and devoured them at once. This was a new, marvellous, and unheard of thing, and which manifestly showed the divine displeasure and resentment at their proceedings; and served greatly to confirm the authority and office of Moses and Aaron; see Num 16:30. And covered the company of Abiram; another of the heads of the confederacy.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
All the congregation took part with Dathan, Korah, &c., and their accomplices (Nu 16:41). Aaron the saint--literally, "the holy one," as consecrated priest; not a moral attribute, but one designating his office as holy to the Lord. The rebellion was followed by a double punishment: (1) of the non-Levitical rebels, the Reubenites, Dathan and Abiram, &c.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
covered--"closed upon them" (Nu 16:33). (2) Of the Levitical rebels, with Korah at their head (Nu 16:35; 26:10); these had sinned by fire, and were punished by fire, as Aaron's (being high priest) sons had been (Le 10:2;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram. Korah is not mentioned, for mercy was extended to his household, though he himself perished. The earth could no longer bear up under the weight of these rebels and ingrates: God's patience was exhausted when they began to assail his servants, for his children are very dear to him, and he that toucheth them touches the apple of his eye. Moses had opened the sea for their deliverance, and now that they provoke him, the earth opens for their destruction. It was time that the nakedness of their sins was covered, and that the earth should open her mouth to devour those who opened their mouths against the Lord and his servants.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
On these verses see Num 16:31-35. This refers to the time when they rebelled against Moses.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
The earth opened up, etc. It appears that [the Psalmist] bestowed honor upon the sons of Korah [by refraining] from mentioning their father. He attributed the sin to Dathan and Abiram.
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. 6 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
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| תִּפְתַּח־ | tiftach- | it opened | H6605 → | 144 times |
| אֶ֭רֶץ | ʾeretz | [the] earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וַתִּבְלַ֣ע | vativla' | and it swallowed up | H1104 → | 49 times |
| דָּתָ֑ן | datan | Dathan | H1885 → | |
| וַ֝תְּכַ֗ס | vatekhas | and it covered | H3680 → | 152 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עֲדַ֥ת | ʾadat | [the] company of | H5712 → | 149 times |
| אֲבִירָֽם׃ | ʾaviram | Abiram | H48 → |
תִּפְתַּח־it opened
tiftach-H6605 →144 times
אֶ֭רֶץ[the] earth
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
וַתִּבְלַ֣עand it swallowed up
vativla'H1104 →49 times
דָּתָ֑ןDathan
datanH1885 →
וַ֝תְּכַ֗סand it covered
vatekhasH3680 →152 times
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
עֲדַ֥ת[the] company of
ʾadatH5712 →149 times
אֲבִירָֽם׃Abiram
ʾaviramH48 →
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
Deuteronomy 11:6and 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,…
it leads to
- Numbers 26:9–10
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…
- Numbers 16:1–35
Now Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath son of Levi, along with some Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—conducted
- Numbers 27:3
“Our father died in the wilderness, but he was not among the followers of Korah who gathered together against the LORD. Instead, he died because of his own sin, and he had no sons.
- Numbers 26:9–10
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;
- 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.
- Psalms 106:17–18
The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan; it covered the assembly of Abiram.
- Numbers 16:38
About Psalms
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 106; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 5; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.