EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Numbers 16:1
1Then Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, decided to speak against Moses. Eliab's sons, Dathan and Abiram, and Peleth's son, On, who were descendants of Reuben, were with him.
Numbers 16:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:
- New International Version (NIV)Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—became insolent
- English Standard Version (ESV)Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men;
Context of Numbers 16:1
Then Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, decided to speak against Moses. Eliab's sons, Dathan and Abiram, and Peleth's son, On, who were descendants of Reuben, were with him. 2Together with 250 leaders of the Israelites, they all turned against Moses. Those were famous men that the people had chosen as their leaders. 3They all came to Moses and Aaron and they said, ‘All the Israelites are special. The Lord has chosen all of us and he is with us all. So you should not say that you are better than the rest of the Lord's people.’
Read all of Numbers 16Numbers 16:1 word by word
וַיִּקַּ֣ח קֹ֔רַח בֶּן־יִצְהָ֥ר בֶּן־קְהָ֖ת בֶּן־לֵוִ֑י וְדָתָ֨ן וַאֲבִירָ֜ם בְּנֵ֧י אֱלִיאָ֛ב וְא֥וֹן בֶּן־פֶּ֖לֶת בְּנֵ֥י רְאוּבֵֽן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Now Korahקֹ֫רַחqôrach · KorahH7141
- the sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- of Izharיִצְהָרyitshâr · IzharH3324
- of Kohathקְהָתqehâth · KohathH6955
- of Leviלֵוִיlêvîy · LeviH3878
- and Dathanדָּתָןdâthân · DathanH1885
- and Abiramאֲבִירָם'ăbîyrâm · AbiramH48
- of Eliabאֱלִיאָב'ĕlîy'âb · EliabH446
- and Onאוֹן'ôn · OnH203
- of Pelethפֶּ֫לֶתpeleth · PelethH6431
- of Reubenרְאוּבֵןre'ûbên · ReubenH7205
- tookלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
Cross-references for Numbers 16:1
- Numbers 26:9Eliab's descendants were Nemuel, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram were the men who turned against Moses and Aaron. Korah was their leader and they all turned against the Lord.
- Numbers 27:3‘Our father died in the desert. But he was not in Korah's group of men who came together to speak against the Lord. He died in the desert because of his own sin, and he did not have any sons.
- Exodus 6:18The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. Kohath lived for 133 years.
- Jude 1:11It will be terrible for them! They have lived in the way that Cain lived. They have made the same mistake that Balaam made, because they wanted to get money for themselves. Like Korah, they have refused to obey God. So God will destroy them.
- Genesis 49:3Jacob said, ‘Reuben you are my firstborn son. You were born first, when I was a strong young man. Of all my sons, you are the most famous and the strongest.
- 1 Chronicles 5:1Reuben was Israel's firstborn son. That is, Reuben was born first. But he had sex with his father's slave wife. So his father took away the benefits that belong to a firstborn son. Instead, Israel gave those benefits to his son Joseph's sons. So Reuben does not have the first place in the list of Israel's sons.
Commentaries on Numbers 16:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Now Korah - took men - Had not these been the most brutish of men, could they have possibly so soon forgotten the signal displeasure of God manifested against them so lately for their rebellion. The word men is not in the original; and the verb ויקח vaiyikkach, and he took, is not in the plural but the singular, hence it cannot be applied to the act of all these chiefs. In every part of the Scripture where this rebellion is referred to it is attributed to…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1Amram and Izhar were brothers (compare Exodus 6:18), and thus Korah, the “son,” i. e. descendant of Izhar, was connected by distant cousinship with Moses and Aaron. Though being a Kohathite, he was of that division of the Levites which had the most honorable charge, yet as Elizaphan, who had been made “chief of the families of the Kohathites” Numbers 3:30, belonged to the youngest branch descended from Uzziel Numbers 3:27, Korah probably regarded himself…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram Korah contends for the priesthood. (1-11) Disobedience of Dathan and Abiram. (12-15) The glory of the Lord appears, The intercession of Moses and Aaron. (16-22) The earth swallows up Dathan and Abiram. (23-34) The company of Korah consumed. (35-40) The people murmur A plague sent. (41-50) Verses 1-11 Pride and ambition occasion a great deal of mischief both in churches and states. The rebels quarrel with the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-50Another rebellion demanded a clear separation of duties between priests and Levites. This power struggle was more serious than previous rebellions against God's authority (chapter 11; 12:1–15; 14:1–45). In these historical events, the rebels protested minor issues and questioned their leaders' actions. Yet, Moses reminded them that they were actually rebelling against God. As a result, the Israelites suffered deadly consequences for their rebellion.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-301-2. Now Korah, the son of Izhar--Izhar, brother of Amram (Ex 6:18), was the second son of Kohath, and for some reason unrecorded he had been supplanted by a descendant of the fourth son of Kohath, who was appointed prince or chief of the Kohathites (Nu 3:30). Discontent with the preferment over him of a younger relative was probably the originating cause of this seditious movement on the part of Korah. Dathan and Abiram, ... and On--These were…Read the comment
Topics related to Numbers 16:1
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Numbers 16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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