9 and the sons of Eliab `are' Nemuel and Dathan and Abiram; this `is that' Dathan and Abiram, called ones of the company, who have striven against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, in their striving against Jehovah,
And Korah, son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, taketh both Dathan and Abiram sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, and they rise up before Moses, with men of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty, princes of the company, called of the convention, men of name, and they are assembled against Moses and against Aaron, and say unto them, `Enough of you! for all the company -- all of them `are' holy, and in their midst `is' Jehovah; and wherefore do ye lift yourselves up above the assembly of Jehovah?' And Moses heareth, and falleth on his face, and he speaketh unto Korah, and unto all his company, saying, `Morning! -- and Jehovah is knowing those who are his, and him who is holy, and hath brought near unto Him; even him whom He doth fix on He bringeth near unto Him. This do: take to yourselves censers, Korah, and all his company, and put in them fire, and put on them perfume, before Jehovah to-morrow, and it hath been, the man whom Jehovah chooseth, he `is' the holy one; -- enough of you, sons of Levi.' And Moses saith unto Korah, `Hear ye, I pray you, sons of Levi; is it little to you that the God of Israel hath separated you from the company of Israel to bring you near unto Himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of Jehovah, and to stand before the company to serve them? -- yea, He doth bring thee near, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee -- and ye have sought also the priesthood! Therefore, thou and all thy company who are met `are' against Jehovah; and Aaron, what `is' he, that ye murmur against him?' And Moses sendeth to call for Dathan and for Abiram sons of Eliab, and they say, `We do not come up; is it little that thou hast brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to put us to death in a wilderness that thou also certainly makest thyself prince over us? Yea, unto a land flowing with milk and honey thou hast not brought us in, nor dost thou give to us an inheritance of field and vineyard; the eyes of these men dost thou pick out? we do not come up.' And it is very displeasing to Moses, and he saith unto Jehovah, `Turn not Thou unto their present; not one ass from them have I taken, nor have I afflicted one of them.' And Moses saith unto Korah, `Thou and all thy company, be ye before Jehovah, thou, and they, and Aaron, to-morrow; and take ye each his censer, and ye have put on them perfume, and brought near before Jehovah, each his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; and thou and Aaron, each his censer.' And they take each his censer, and put on them fire, and lay on them perfume, and they stand at the opening of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron. And Korah assembleth against them all the company unto the opening of the tent of meeting, and the honour of Jehovah is seen by all the company. And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, `Be ye separated from the midst of this company, and I consume them in a moment;' and they fall on their faces, and say, `God, God of the spirits of all flesh -- the one man sinneth, and against all the company Thou art wroth!' And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, `Speak unto the company, saying, Go ye up from round about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.' And Moses riseth, and goeth unto Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel go after him, and he speaketh unto the company, saying, `Turn aside, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and come not against anything that they have, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.' And they go up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan and Abiram, from round about, and Dathan, and Abiram have come out, standing at the opening of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their infants. And Moses saith, `By this ye do know that Jehovah hath sent me to do all these works, that `they are' not from my own heart; if according to the death of all men these die -- or the charge of all men is charged upon them -- Jehovah hath not sent me; and if a strange thing Jehovah do, and the ground hath opened her mouth and swallowed them, and all that they have, and they have gone down alive to Sheol -- then ye have known that these men have despised Jehovah.' And it cometh to pass at his finishing speaking all these words, that the ground which `is' under them cleaveth, and the earth openeth her mouth, and swalloweth them, and their houses, and all the men who `are' for Korah, and all the goods, and they go down, they, and all that they have, alive to Sheol, and the earth closeth over them, and they perish from the midst of the assembly; and all Israel who `are' round about them have fled at their voice, for they said, `Lest the earth swallow us;' and fire hath come out from Jehovah, and consumeth the two hundred and fifty men bringing near the perfume.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Numbers 26
Commentary on Numbers 26 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 26
Nu 26:1-51. Israel Numbered.
1. after the plague—That terrible visitation had swept away the remnant of the old generation, to whom God sware in His wrath that they should not enter Canaan (Ps 95:11).
2. Take the sum of all the congregation—The design of this new census, after a lapse of thirty-eight years, was primarily to establish the vast multiplication of the posterity of Abraham in spite of the severe judgments inflicted upon them; secondarily, it was to preserve the distinction of families and to make arrangements, preparatory to an entrance into the promised land, for the distribution of the country according to the relative population of the tribes.
7. These are the families of the Reubenites—the principal households, which were subdivided into numerous smaller families. Reuben had suffered great diminution by Korah's conspiracy and other outbreaks [Nu 16:1].
10. the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah—rather, "the things of Korah." (See on Nu 16:35; compare Ps 106:17).
11. Notwithstanding the children of Korah died not—Either they were not parties to their father's crime, or they withdrew from it by timely repentance. His descendants became famous in the time of David, and are often mentioned in the Psalms [Ps 42:1; 44:1; 45:1; 46:1; 47:1; 48:1; 49:1; 84:1; 85:1; 87:1; 88:1], also in 1Ch 6:22, 38.
12. The sons of Simeon—It is supposed that this tribe had been pre-eminent in the guilt of Baal-peor and had consequently been greatly reduced in numbers.
Thus God's justice and holiness, as well as His truth and faithfulness, were strikingly displayed: His justice and holiness in the sweeping judgments that reduced the ranks of some tribes; and His truth and faithfulness in the extraordinary increase of others so that the posterity of Israel continued a numerous people.
53. the land shall be divided according to the number of names—The portion of each tribe was to be greater or less, according to its populousness.
54. To many thou shalt give the more inheritance—that is, to the more numerous tribes a larger allotment shall be granted.
according to those that were numbered—the number of persons twenty years old at the time of the census being made, without taking into account either the increase of those who might have attained that age, when the land should be actually distributed, or the diminution from that amount, occasioned during the war of invasion.
55. the land shall be divided by lot—The appeal to the lot did not place the matter beyond the control of God; for it is at His disposal (Pr 16:33), and He has fixed to all the bounds of their habitation. The manner in which the lot was taken has not been recorded. But it is evident that the lot was cast for determining the section of the country in which each tribe should be located—not the quantity of their possessions. In other words, when the lot had decided that a particular tribe was to be settled in the north or the south, the east or the west, the extent of territory was allocated according to the rule (Nu 26:54).
58. families of the Levites—The census of this tribe was taken separately, and on a different principle from the rest. (See Ex 6:16-19).
62. twenty and three thousand—so that there was an increase of a thousand (Nu 3:39).
males from a month old and upward—(See on Nu 3:14).
64. among these there was not a man … numbered … in the wilderness of Sinai—The statement in this verse must not be considered absolute. For, besides Caleb and Joshua, there were alive at this time Eleazar and Ithamar, and in all probability a considerable number of Levites, who had no participation in the popular defections in the wilderness. The tribe of Levi, having neither sent a spy into Canaan, nor being included in the enumeration at Sinai, must be regarded as not coming within the range of the fatal sentence; and therefore it would exhibit a spectacle not to be witnessed in the other tribes of many in their ranks above sixty years of age.