Numbers 16 - Introduction
_THE REBELLION OF KORAH AND HIS COMPANY; THEIR PUNISHMENT; ALL THE CONGREGATION MURMURS; OF WHOM FOURTEEN THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED ARE CUT OFF BY THE LORD._ _Before Christ 1471._... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE REBELLION OF KORAH AND HIS COMPANY; THEIR PUNISHMENT; ALL THE CONGREGATION MURMURS; OF WHOM FOURTEEN THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED ARE CUT OFF BY THE LORD._ _Before Christ 1471._... [ Continue Reading ]
NOW KORAH, &C.— What we render _took men,_ is, in the original, יקח _ikkach,_ which Houbigant renders _rebellionem fecerunt, rebelled;_ an interpretation of the word which he justifies in his note, to which we refer, and for which he has the countenance of some of the ancient versions. He wholly dis... [ Continue Reading ]
YE TAKE TOO MUCH UPON YOU, SEEING ALL, &C.— The Hebrew is very emphatical, רבאּלכם. Moses retorts this same expression upon the rebellious Levites in the 7th verse. Dr. Beaumont observes, that the Hebrew signifies _much to you,_ or _enough for you._... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WHAT IS AARON, &C.— This might be rendered, as agreeably to the original, what hath Aaron done, that you should murmur against him? As much as to say, Aaron had done nothing of himself, but had acted entirely under the direction of God. See Exodus 16:7. REFLECTIONS.—How dire are the consequences... [ Continue Reading ]
WILT THOU PUT OUT THE EYES OF THESE MEN?— The original is strong, תנקר _tenakker;_ wilt thou bore out,—"Dost thou think so absolutely to blind us, that none of us shall discern thy deceit and ambition? Or thinkest thou that we will suffer thee to lead us about, like blind men, whither thou pleasest,... [ Continue Reading ]
MOSES WAS VERY WROTH—I HAVE NOT TAKEN ONE ASS FROM THEM— Moses pleads, in justification of himself, that so far from dealing arbitrarily, as they allege, (Numbers 16:13.) he had not exacted the smallest thing from them, nor done any one of them the least injury. He ruled the Hebrews, not like the ki... [ Continue Reading ]
AND KORAH GATHERED ALL THE CONGREGATION— The rebellious spirit of Korah and his company had infected the whole body of Israel, always prone to murmur, and inclined to throw off the authority of Moses and Aaron. The Lord threatens to destroy them all, Numbers 16:21 but Moses and Aaron intercede for t... [ Continue Reading ]
GOD OF THE SPIRITS OF ALL FLESH— _In whose hand is the soul or life of every living thing, and the breath of all flesh of man:_ Job 12:10. Moses, with a beautiful propriety, gives God this title, in acknowledgment of his power to save or to destroy, because he had threatened that he would _consume_... [ Continue Reading ]
SO THEY GAT UP FROM THE TABERNACLE— Those who were not actually engaged in the rebellion of these men obeyed the divine admonition, and retreated; while the rest, with a degree of audacious infidelity that is scarcely to be parallelled, boldly came forth with their families, and thus declared their... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL THESE WORKS— Meaning more especially the institution of the priesthood, the appointment of the Levites, and other matters of government.... [ Continue Reading ]
IF THE LORD MAKE A NEW THING— The Hebrew, as rendered in the margin of our Bibles, expresses their Lord's doing something which was never done or heard of in the world before; _create a new creation._ Our translation of _pit,—they go down quick into the pit,_ is certainly right in this place: the or... [ Continue Reading ]
THERE CAME OUT A FIRE FROM THE LORD— After this stupendous destruction of Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and all that belonged to them, the two hundred and fifty princes convened under Korah at the tabernacle, and assuming the priests' office with their censers, were struck dead in an instant by lightning f... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL THE CONGREGATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL MURMURED— So exemplary a judgment, one should think, would have been sufficient to silence all future murmurings and discontent; yet it had a different effect upon this obstinate and intractable race of men. The very next day they ran upon Moses and Aar... [ Continue Reading ]
TAKE A CENSER, &C.— Incense could regularly be offered no where but at the golden altar, within the sanctuary: but now, in this extraordinary case, Aaron is sent with it unto the camp; that so, the plague being stopped upon his offering incense, and making intercession for the people, they might hav... [ Continue Reading ]