Numbers 16:1 – 18:32
Chapter 16
16:1 VA YIKACH KORACH BEN YITS'HAR BEN KEHAT BEN LEVI VA DATAN VE AVI-RAM BENEY ELI-AV VE ON BEN PELET BENEY RE'U-VEN
וַיִּקַּח קֹרַח בֶּן יִצְהָר בֶּן קְהָת בֶּן לֵוִי וְדָתָן וַאֲבִירָם בְּנֵי אֱלִיאָב וְאוֹן בֶּן פֶּלֶת בְּנֵי רְאוּבֵן
KJ (King James translation): 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:
BN (BibleNet translation): Now Korach ben Yits'har ben Kehat ben Levi, with Datan and Avi-Ram, the sons of Eli-Av, and On ben Pelet, all of them Beney Re'u-Ven, took men...
KORACH BEN YITS'HAR BEN KEHAT BEN LEVI: Giving his full tribal lineage, of which the important is that he is a Levite of the fourth generation: an impossible fact, if Levi was genuinely a son of Ya'akov (Jacob), and the Beney Yisra-El spent four hundred years in slavery in Mitsrayim (Exodus 12:40). So we have to read the first as his name, the second as his father, the third as his clan, and the fourth as his tribe.
A very significant Guild of Priests were the Beney Korach, founded by King David apparently, and described in 2 Chronicles 20:19, as "a family of Temple singers", which makes them sound like the Osmonds or the Jacksons when clearly they were the Hallé Choir or the BBC singers. See my notes at the link to his name, here, which also includes more on the other two characters named in this verse.
Oh, and just as a sideline, his name probably wasn't Korach anyway. No one names their child Korach. The word means "bald", and would have been a negative nickname: "baldy". Or can we read it differently: that unlike the Nazirites, who grew their hair as a sign of holiness, the members of the Temple choir all shaved theirs, either completely, like Buddhists, or tonsured, like monks?
DATAN... AVI-RAM BENEY ELI-AV: Any link from DATAN here to DOTAN? see next note.
ON BEN PELET... BENEY RE'U-VEN: The intention is that Datan, Avi-Ram and On are cousins, their fathers sharing Re'u-Ven as a father; but as with Korach-Levi this is impossible. We must read it as a tribal cousinhood. However DATAN is the place where Yoseph found his brothers and was put into a pit; and On (Heliopolis) was where he ended up after he was taken out of the pit; which makes for a curious coincidence of names, and leads to the question: is the same Egyptian myth of Osher (Osiris) mixed up in here in some manner? And then we need to ask: how does a Beney Yisra-El get to be a BEN PELET, which is to say the son of a Philistine?
Worth going back and reminding yourself of Re'u-Ven's role at the various stages of the Yoseph story; and in particular, given the manner in which Av-Shalom staged his coup (2 Samuel 16:21), was Re'u-Ven's bedding of Bilhah simply lust, or was it perhaps, like his descendants here, rather more political?
VA YIKACH: There have been many examples of this syntactical and grammatical difference between the Semitic and the Hellenic languages, but none better than this to cite. In any Hellenic language we would hold back VA YIKACH until after we had named the subjects of the sentence, and not only because there are multiple subjects, and sub-clauses for several of them, which makes the sentence awkward in this configuration; but also because the person performing the action is always, in our cult-of-personality and cult-of-the-individual world, more important than whatever it was they did. But in the Semitic world action takes precedence over person, and what matters is the taking of men for a mutiny against the leadership, and not so much who perpetrated it. The same applies to VA YAKUMU in the next verse.
16:2 VA YAKUMU LIPHNEY MOSHEH VA ANASHIM MI BENEY YISRA-EL CHAMISHIM U MATAYIM NESIYEY EDAH KERI'EY MO'ED ANSHEY SHEM
וַיָּקֻמוּ לִפְנֵי מֹשֶׁה וַאֲנָשִׁים מִבְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל חֲמִשִּׁים וּמָאתָיִם נְשִׂיאֵי עֵדָה קְרִאֵי מוֹעֵד אַנְשֵׁי שֵׁם
KJ:And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:
BN: And they staged a mutiny against Mosheh, with two hundred and fifty men of the Beney Yisra-El, princes of the congregation, the élite men of the assembly, men of renown...
VA YAKUMU: see my note to VA YIKACH, above.
Much is made of the stature of the rebels; these were not street protesters, but senior clansmen. And let us not forget (don't worry, I shall remind you on several occasions, and this is already the second) that the greatest choir in future Yisra-Eli history, the baritones and sopranos of the Israel Philharmonic of the Temple, will be known as the Beney Korach, and twelve of the Psalms are attributed to him/them (42-49, 84, 85, 87, 88) - which must make us wonder: would you rename the London Symphony Orchestra after Guy Fawkes? The Boston Pops after the Strangler? There is, as always, both more and less to the tale we are about to hear than meets the eye.
16:3 VA YIKAHALU AL MOSHEH VE AL AHARON VA YOMRU ALEYHEM RAV LACHEM KI CHOL HA EDAH KULAM KEDOSHIM U VETOCHAM YHVH U MADU'A TITNASU AL KEHAL YHVH
וַיִּקָּהֲלוּ עַל מֹשֶׁה וְעַל אַהֲרֹן וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֲלֵהֶם רַב לָכֶם כִּי כָל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים וּבְתוֹכָם יְהוָה וּמַדּוּעַ תִּתְנַשְּׂאוּ עַל קְהַל יְהוָה
KJ: And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?
BN: And they gathered together against Mosheh and Aharon, and said to them: "You take too much upon yourselves, seeing that all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and YHVH is among them; why then do you raise yourselves above the assembly of YHVH?"
RAV LACHEM: The irony of this assertion is that Yitro told Mosheh this long ago, in Exodus 18, and then YHVH told him this, in Leviticus (see my notes at 10:18), and then Mir-Yam and Aharon made the same complaint (in Numbers 12), and as recently as Numbers 11 we saw Mosheh setting up entire hierarchies of delegated responsibility, secular and spiritual, including the structure that gave these rebels the adjectives they used in the previous verse. Yet Mosheh in particular, and Aharon too, are still perceived as dictatorial, as not sharing responsibility. But then, they take their role-model from YHVH...
We should also keep in mind, as we read on in this particular episode, that Korach and co are regarded as the bad guys, who will get their just deserts. Yet what they are protesting is what every anti-despot campaign in the world always protests. Mosheh is behaving like Mugabe, like Putin, like Trump, like Erdogan, like Mubarak, like... the list is as long as history, and in our world today we would be erecting statues to "Wat Tyler" Korach and "Martin Luther King" Datan and "Steve Biko" On...
16:4 VA YISHMA MOSHEH VA YIPOL AL PANAV
וַיִּשְׁמַע מֹשֶׁה וַיִּפֹּל עַל פָּנָיו
KJ: And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face:
BN: And when Mosheh heard it, he fell on his face.
As so often, this account is either all about YHVH or all about Mosheh, which of course is Korach's complaint too. But what about Aharon? Did he fall on his face too? And if he did, was it VA ANI ESHTACHAVEH, an act of worship by prostration, or was it instant surrender, or something else entirely? The phrase is very ambiguous.
16:5 VA YEDABER EL KORACH VE EL KOL ADATO LEMOR BOKER VE YADA YHVH ET ASHER LO VE ET HA KADOSH VE HIKRIV ELAV VE ET ASHER YIVCHAR BO YAKRIV ELAV
וַיְדַבֵּר אֶל קֹרַח וְאֶל כָּל עֲדָתוֹ לֵאמֹר בֹּקֶר וְיֹדַע יְהוָה אֶת אֲשֶׁר לוֹ וְאֶת הַקָּדוֹשׁ וְהִקְרִיב אֵלָיו וְאֵת אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר בּוֹ יַקְרִיב אֵלָיו
KJ: And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him.
BN: Then he spoke to Korach and to all his companions, saying: "In the morning YHVH will show who are his, and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to him; even him whom he may choose will he cause to come near to him...
Not a good translation; but then the Yehudit isn't that good to start with. BOKER, for example, should be BA BOKER, or actually VA BOKER, or possibly BA VOKER, but not a stand-alone noun without a preposition.
At first this sounds like the classic despot's response, an assertion of power: "We shall see who has YHVH's ear...", so to speak. But in fact, as the next verses demonstrate...
As we will discover in verse 12, Mosheh here takes Korach aside from his co-protesters, presumably on the principle of divide-and-rule.
16:6 ZOT ASU KECHU LACHEM MACHTOT KORACH VE CHOL ADATO
זֹאת עֲשׂוּ קְחוּ לָכֶם מַחְתּוֹת קֹרַח וְכָל עֲדָתוֹ
KJ: This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company;
BN: "Do this: gather up incense-pans, Korach, and all his company...
The tone of this feels like an oracle pronouncing, or at least being invoked to pronounce.
VE CHOL ADATO: Anyone can put incense in a pan, but Korach is a Levite, so he has authority to do this rather differently from the Beney Re'u-Ven who are his followers. Though it is unstated, it can only be Korach who carries out the second part of the instruction, in the next verse; and so we can see why he has taken Korach aside, and what is the Mosaic strategy - remember that Mosheh and Aharon are themselves Levites, from the same clan and tribe as Korach; cousins.
17:7 U TENU VAHEN ESH VE SIYMU ALEYHEN KETORET LIPHNEY YHVH MACHAR VE HAYAH HA ISH ASHER YIVCHAR YHVH HU HA KADOSH RAV LACHEM BENEY LEVI
וּתְנוּ בָהֵן אֵשׁ וְשִׂימוּ עֲלֵיהֶן קְטֹרֶת לִפְנֵי יְהוָה מָחָר וְהָיָה הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר יְהוָה הוּא הַקָּדוֹשׁ רַב לָכֶם בְּנֵי לֵוִי
KJ: And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the LORD to morrow: and it shall be that the man whom the LORD doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi.
BN: "And put fire in them, and put incense on them before YHVH to-morrow; and it shall be that the man who YHVH chooses, he shall be deemed holy. You take too much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi."
Mosheh is taking quite a risk here, unless he is performing the traditional presidential election trick, and has the scheme rigged. The closing sentence is tonally different; clearly this is Mosheh, but the previous may well not be; rather it may be YHVH speaking through the oracle. The question is: how did the oracle function? A serpent priestess (which would require Mir-Yam), or the use of the Urim and Tumim?
Again, this is Korach the Beney Levi without his Beney Re'u-Ven co-protestors. He has status and power that they do not, which means he has a vested interest that can be appealed to, or manipulated. Does Korach have other followers among the Levites? If so, Mosheh should be concerned, precisely because this is his own tribe. The next verse provides the answer.
RAV LACHEM: Throwing back at Korach the criticism made against himself in verse 3.
16:8 VA YOMER MOSHEH EL KORACH SHIM'U NA BENEY LEVI
וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל קֹרַח שִׁמְעוּ נָא בְּנֵי לֵוִי
KJ: And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi:
BN: Then Mosheh said to Korach: Listen to me, you sons of Levi...
SHIM'U NA: Speaking to him in the plural like this seems to suggest he is addressing the entire clan through their clan-chief; or at least Korach plus some. The next verse confirms this - and we can thus conclude that this is a very serious rebellion, in which the Levites are demanding something equivalent to the demands of the barons from King John at the time of Magna Carta.
BENEY LEVI: The personal approach, appealing to them as fellow tribesmen.
16:9 HA ME'AT MIKEM KI HIVDIL ELOHEY YISRA-EL ET'CHEM ME ADAT YISRA-EL LEHAKRIV ET'CHEM ELAV LA'AVOD ET AVODAT MISHKAN YHVH VE LA'AMOD LIPHNEY HA EDAH LE SHARTAM
הַמְעַט מִכֶּם כִּי הִבְדִּיל אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶתְכֶם מֵעֲדַת יִשְׂרָאֵל לְהַקְרִיב אֶתְכֶם אֵלָיו לַעֲבֹד אֶת עֲבֹדַת מִשְׁכַּן יְהוָה וְלַעֲמֹד לִפְנֵי הָעֵדָה לְשָׁרְתָם
KJ: Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them?
BN: "Is it such a small thing to you, that the god of Yisra-El has separated you from the congregation of Yisra-El, to bring you near to himself, to undertake the service of the tabernacle of YHVH, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them...
And now reminding them of the aristocratic status they have been given, their privileges, their superiority...
HA ME'AT: We are accustomed to HA as the definite article, but Yehudit also uses HA, at the opening of a sentence, as the interrogative equivalent of "est-ce que" in French; there is no equivalent construction in English and, while modern Ivrit theoretically retains it, it is almost unused in colloquial speech (see Ari ben Aaron's very first words to Rivka in "A Little Oil & Root", and the narrative comment that follows!).
As we have witnessed on multiple occasions, the use of both ELOHEY and YHVH in the same sentence, and in this specific manner, clearly accepts a polytheistic world with YHVH at the head of the pantheon, and not yet a monotheistic world.
16:10 VA YAKREV OT'CHA VE ET KOL ACHEYCHA VENEY LEVI ITACH U VIKASHTEM GAM KEHUNAH
וַיַּקְרֵב אֹתְךָ וְאֶת כָּל אַחֶיךָ בְנֵי לֵוִי אִתָּךְ וּבִקַּשְׁתֶּם גַּם כְּהֻנָּה
KJ: And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also?
BN: And that he has brought you close to him, and all your clansmen of the Beney Levi with you, and will you seek the priesthood also?
Is this really what they were demanding? They complained that Mosheh and Aharon held too much power, which is a secular challenge; Mosheh's response assumes a clerical challenge.
But wait a moment! Korach at least already has the priesthood - that is his given role. Are we learning now that the giving of priestly status to the Leviyim was in fact the consequence of the Korach uprising? Then this entire chapter is out of place - because we witnessed the full ordination of the Leviyim as long ago as Leviticus 8. Or maybe that was only Aharon and his sons and the immediate clan - and now Korach et al are demanding that the entire Levite clan... which might also help explain why, in the Books of the Kings (2 Samuel 8:18 for example), we encounter King David's sons serving as priests, but later on only the Levitical tribe... or is that a completely different textual problem - click here for more about it.
16:11 LACHEN ATAH AVADETA HA NO'ADIM AL YHVH VA AHARON MAH HI KI TALINU ALAV
לָכֵן אַתָּה וְכָל עֲדָתְךָ הַנֹּעָדִים עַל יְהוָה וְאַהֲרֹן מַה הוּא כִּי תלונו (תַלִּינוּ) עָלָיו
KJ: For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the LORD: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him?
BN: And is that why you and all your company have gathered together against YHVH? And as to Aharon, what is he that you murmur against him?
The translation here has added ellipsis that is not in the Yehudit; to convey the "stammer": Mosheh starts a sentence, then changes his mind, and says something different. What was it that was in his mind to say, that he withdrew?
And what about the incense that they were told to gather in verse ? No further mention - are we simply to assume that the incense-offering has been made, and that Mosheh is now delivering the divine oracle? Or is there some text missing? No, that part of the tale will resume at verse 18, and will turn out to be remarkably similar to what killed Aharon's sons in Leviticus 10, suggesting that theirs too may have been a rebellion - or, viewed the other way around, that something is dangerously wrong about the presentation of fire in a censer!
16:12 VA YISHLACH MOSHEH LIKRO LE DATAN VE LA AVI-RAM BENEY ELI-AV VA YOMRU LO NA'ALEH
וַיִּשְׁלַח מֹשֶׁה לִקְרֹא לְדָתָן וְלַאֲבִירָם בְּנֵי אֱלִיאָב וַיֹּאמְרוּ לֹא נַעֲלֶה
KJ: And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up:
BN: And Mosheh sent men to summon Datan and Avi-Ram, the sons of Eli-Av; but they said: "We will not come up...
In verse 5 Mosheh was speaking to all of them. Verse 8 appeared to have been a continuation of the same conversation, but verse 12 now makes clear that verse 8 was a new conversation, probably the next morning, and that he had summoned Korach, with some of his Levitical clansmen, for a private conversation - divide and rule. This also helps us understand why he accused Korach of making a bid for clerical power - such an accusation would have made no sense if the Beney Re'u-Ven were also present. Is Mosheh then reading a hidden agenda into Korach, that he has enlisted the help of the Beney Re'u-Ven for a seemingly secular attack on Mosheh, but in fact is only using them for an actual clerical challenge? Ah, the complexities of politics!
16:13 HA ME'AT KI HE'ELIYTANU ME ERETS ZAVAT CHALAV U DVASH LAHAMIYTENU BA MIDBAR KI TISTARER ALEYNU GAM HISTARER
הַמְעַט כִּי הֶעֱלִיתָנוּ מֵאֶרֶץ זָבַת חָלָב וּדְבַשׁ לַהֲמִיתֵנוּ בַּמִּדְבָּר כִּי תִשְׂתָּרֵר עָלֵינוּ גַּם הִשְׂתָּרֵר
KJ: Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us?
BN: "Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, but you also need to make yourself a prince over us?..
HA ME'AT: echoing the phrase used in verse 9; but they weren't there in verse 9 to hear Mosheh use the phrase, so parodying it here is in fact a literary error of the narrator.
Apparently Mitsrayim was a land flowing with milk and honey, despite their being slaves there. Or are they being ironic, as with the echoing of HA ME'AT?
HISTARER: also ironic, because of course he was already a prince in Mitsrayim, having grown up as theadopted son of Pharaoh's daughter (Exodus 2:10) but a prince without the possibility of a throne.
The response of the Beney Re'u-Ven is entirely secular.
But who are they saying it to? Mosheh has summoned them, but they have refused - so is this verse and the next the message they have sent back? A very long message to expect a messenger to remember accurately, and they didn't do pencilled notes in those days.
16:14 APH LO EL ERETS ZAVAT CHALAV U DVASH HAVI'OTANU VA TITEN LANU NACHALAT SADEH VA CHAREV HA EYNEY HA ANASHIM HA HEM TENAKOR LO NA'ALEH
אַף לֹא אֶל אֶרֶץ זָבַת חָלָב וּדְבַשׁ הֲבִיאֹתָנוּ וַתִּתֶּן לָנוּ נַחֲלַת שָׂדֶה וָכָרֶם הַעֵינֵי הָאֲנָשִׁים הָהֵם תְּנַקֵּר לֹא נַעֲלֶה
KJ: Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.
BN: "What's more, you have not brought us to a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Even if you put out the eyes of these men, we will not come up."
Why do they think he might put out the men's eyes? Nothing in the mitzvot calls for this: stoning, and excommunication until the third or fourth generation, yes, but not this. Or do they believe that Mosheh has become this far despotic that he would torture people, or even, say, have a man stoned to death for gathering wood on the Sabbath?
And which men? The ones sent to summon him? They are merely messengers. They themselves are the ones threatened with punishment for mutiny.
16:15 VA YICHAR LE MOSHEH ME'OD VA YOMER EL YHVH AL TEPHEN EL MINCHATAM LO CHAMOR ECHAD ME HEM NASA'TI VE LO HARE'OTI ET ECHAD ME HEM
KJ: And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the LORD, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.
BN: And Mosheh was furious, and said to YHVH: "Give no respect to their offering; I have not taken one ass from them, nor have I hurt any one of them."
What offering? Is this a prelude to verse 18 and the fire-incense, and Mosheh trying to influence the outcome? (And who suggested he had taken anything from them?) But he hasn't invited them to bring the fire-censetrs yet; he invited Korach to do so, but that it was in his private meeting (verse 6); and he is about to make the same invitation to them (verses 16ff), but he hasn't yet. And if Mosheh is sincere when he does ask them to make an incense-offering, in order to have YHVH decide the matter (upon which he has already ruled thrice previously, as noted above, and given whole chapters of detail of how to put the Korachite demands into effect long before they found it necessary to make them) isn't it rather high-handed of him, rather despotic, indeed rather a case of RAV LACHEM, that he is now having a private conversation with YHVH and telling him to ignore the offering and decide in his, Mosheh's, own favour?
16:16 VA YOMER MOSHEH EL KORACH ATAH VE CHOL ADAT'CHA HEYU LIPHNEY YHVH ATAH VA HEM VA AHARON MACHAR
KJ: And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the LORD, thou, and they, and Aaron, to morrow:
BN: Then Mosheh said to Korach: "You and all your companions, gather before YHVH, you, and them, and Aharon, to-morrow...
16:15 VA YICHAR LE MOSHEH ME'OD VA YOMER EL YHVH AL TEPHEN EL MINCHATAM LO CHAMOR ECHAD ME HEM NASA'TI VE LO HARE'OTI ET ECHAD ME HEM
וַיִּחַר לְמֹשֶׁה מְאֹד וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל יְהוָה אַל תֵּפֶן אֶל מִנְחָתָם לֹא חֲמוֹר אֶחָד מֵהֶם נָשָׂאתִי וְלֹא הֲרֵעֹתִי אֶת אַחַד מֵהֶם
KJ: And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the LORD, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.
BN: And Mosheh was furious, and said to YHVH: "Give no respect to their offering; I have not taken one ass from them, nor have I hurt any one of them."
What offering? Is this a prelude to verse 18 and the fire-incense, and Mosheh trying to influence the outcome? (And who suggested he had taken anything from them?) But he hasn't invited them to bring the fire-censetrs yet; he invited Korach to do so, but that it was in his private meeting (verse 6); and he is about to make the same invitation to them (verses 16ff), but he hasn't yet. And if Mosheh is sincere when he does ask them to make an incense-offering, in order to have YHVH decide the matter (upon which he has already ruled thrice previously, as noted above, and given whole chapters of detail of how to put the Korachite demands into effect long before they found it necessary to make them) isn't it rather high-handed of him, rather despotic, indeed rather a case of RAV LACHEM, that he is now having a private conversation with YHVH and telling him to ignore the offering and decide in his, Mosheh's, own favour?
16:16 VA YOMER MOSHEH EL KORACH ATAH VE CHOL ADAT'CHA HEYU LIPHNEY YHVH ATAH VA HEM VA AHARON MACHAR
וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל קֹרַח אַתָּה וְכָל עֲדָתְךָ הֱיוּ לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אַתָּה וָהֵם וְאַהֲרֹן מָחָר
KJ: And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the LORD, thou, and they, and Aaron, to morrow:
BN: Then Mosheh said to Korach: "You and all your companions, gather before YHVH, you, and them, and Aharon, to-morrow...
Short, sharp, and very cursory. If the messengers can't get his co-conspirators to attend, he must go and fetch them himself. Except that this isn't what Mosheh is saying.
Because the text is growing ever more confused and confusing. The narrative simply continues, unparagraphed, unsectioned, as though it is still that first evening, and they are still having the original meeting. But we have seen that it is not: there was that meeting, at which everyone was present: then Mosheh with Korach and his Beney Levi companions in private: then the messengers to the Beney Re'u-Ven: and now he is with Korach again, or perhaps still that same meeting, repeating what he has already said, but this time (next verse) apparently inviting "all your companions", which means "everyone", including the Beney Re'u-Ven (but see verse 25) to bring their fire-pans, "and we'll see what YHVH decides in the morning" (except that, if it is the second meeting, it's already morning).
16:17 U KECHU ISH MACHTATO U NETATEM ALEYHEM KETORET VE HIKRAVTEM LIPHNEY YHVH ISH MACHTATO CHAMISHIM U MATAYIM MACHTOT VE ATAH VE AHARON ISH MACHTATO
KJ: And take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before the LORD every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each of you his censer.
BN: "And let every man take his fire-pan, and put incense on them, and let every man bring his fire-pan before YHVH, two hundred and fifty fire-pans; you also, and Aharon, each one his fire-pan."
250: The first time we have been told the number of people involved in this protest. Given the size of the Beney Yisra-El, is it not a negligible number?
I commented at verse 11 that the fire-pans took us back to the deaths of Aharon's sons in Leviticus 10; the tale now becomes strongly reminiscent of Eli-Yahu (Elijah) versus the priests of Ba'al in 1 Kings 18, where the ability to make fire is the determining factor. But it is also now, exclusively, a clerical matter. In Mosheh's mind anyway, if not the actual text. This is Korach challenging Aharon for the leadership of the priesthood; where the opening verses stated something very different.
Because the text is growing ever more confused and confusing. The narrative simply continues, unparagraphed, unsectioned, as though it is still that first evening, and they are still having the original meeting. But we have seen that it is not: there was that meeting, at which everyone was present: then Mosheh with Korach and his Beney Levi companions in private: then the messengers to the Beney Re'u-Ven: and now he is with Korach again, or perhaps still that same meeting, repeating what he has already said, but this time (next verse) apparently inviting "all your companions", which means "everyone", including the Beney Re'u-Ven (but see verse 25) to bring their fire-pans, "and we'll see what YHVH decides in the morning" (except that, if it is the second meeting, it's already morning).
16:17 U KECHU ISH MACHTATO U NETATEM ALEYHEM KETORET VE HIKRAVTEM LIPHNEY YHVH ISH MACHTATO CHAMISHIM U MATAYIM MACHTOT VE ATAH VE AHARON ISH MACHTATO
וּקְחוּ אִישׁ מַחְתָּתוֹ וּנְתַתֶּם עֲלֵיהֶם קְטֹרֶת וְהִקְרַבְתֶּם לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אִישׁ מַחְתָּתוֹ חֲמִשִּׁים וּמָאתַיִם מַחְתֹּת וְאַתָּה וְאַהֲרֹן אִישׁ מַחְתָּתוֹ
BN: "And let every man take his fire-pan, and put incense on them, and let every man bring his fire-pan before YHVH, two hundred and fifty fire-pans; you also, and Aharon, each one his fire-pan."
250: The first time we have been told the number of people involved in this protest. Given the size of the Beney Yisra-El, is it not a negligible number?
I commented at verse 11 that the fire-pans took us back to the deaths of Aharon's sons in Leviticus 10; the tale now becomes strongly reminiscent of Eli-Yahu (Elijah) versus the priests of Ba'al in 1 Kings 18, where the ability to make fire is the determining factor. But it is also now, exclusively, a clerical matter. In Mosheh's mind anyway, if not the actual text. This is Korach challenging Aharon for the leadership of the priesthood; where the opening verses stated something very different.
16:18 VA YIKCHU ISH MACHTATO VA YITNU ALEYHEM ESH VA YASIYMU ALEYHEM KETORET VA YA'AMDU PETACH OHEL MO'ED U MOSHEH VA AHARON
וַיִּקְחוּ אִישׁ מַחְתָּתוֹ וַיִּתְּנוּ עֲלֵיהֶם אֵשׁ וַיָּשִׂימוּ עֲלֵיהֶם קְטֹרֶת וַיַּעַמְדוּ פֶּתַח אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וּמֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן
KJ: And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron.
BN: And every man took his fire-pan, and put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and stood at the door of the Tent of Meeting with Mosheh and Aharon.
16:19 VA YAKHEL ALEYHEM KORACH ET KOL HA EDAH EL PETACH OHEL MO'ED VA YER'A CHEVOD YHVH EL KOL HA EDAH
וַיַּקְהֵל עֲלֵיהֶם קֹרַח אֶת כָּל הָעֵדָה אֶל פֶּתַח אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וַיֵּרָא כְבוֹד יְהוָה אֶל כָּל הָעֵדָה
KJ: And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the congregation.
BN: And Korach assembled all the congregation around them at the door of the Tent of Meeting; and the glory of YHVH appeared to all the congregation.
KOL HA EDAH: As we will see in verse 25, this is in fact only the Beney Korach; Dotan and Avi-Ram are not there.
ALEYHEM - translated here and above as "against", but it doesn't really mean "against" - that would be "neged".
samech break
16:20 VA YEDABER YHVH EL MOSHEH VE EL AHARON LEMOR
וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֶל מֹשֶׁה וְאֶל אַהֲרֹן לֵאמֹר
KJ: And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
BN: Then YHVH spoke to Mosheh and Aharon, saying:
16:21 HIBADLU MITOCH HA EDAH HA ZOT VA ACHALEH OTAM KA RAGA
הִבָּדְלוּ מִתּוֹךְ הָעֵדָה הַזֹּאת וַאֲכַלֶּה אֹתָם כְּרָגַע
KJ: Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.
BN: "Separate yourselves from among this congregation, because I am going to consume them right now."
It would seem that we are still in the vicinity of the volcano, and another eruption is looming, or perhaps a minor earthquake; or is this just YHVH having yet another tantrum? Or, indeed, can we now begin to see that the two are in fact the same thing? And of course, if there was an earthquake, and the entire gathering of the Beney Korach died because of it, the epistemology of the day would require an explanation by major sin.
Look again at my notes to Leviticus 10. From verse 1 onwards, where the language is identical, it is surely a second version of the same tale. And if so, we need an explanation that is not rebellion or mutiny, because YHVH-killings are always natural events given sin-explanations. Are the Kohanim seeking ways to bring the fire from the volcano into the Mishkan, so that they can take the deity with them in physical form as they travel? We have been told on several occasions that they did this, and we have seen the smoke of the incense and the flames on the sacrificial altar as the methodology. But how are they making that fire? Are the priests being sent to wherever there is burning lava, filling their fire-pans there, and coming back to the Tent of Meeting to try to store it, or use it to kindle the next sacrifice? Easy enough for a spark to catch a piece of tent-cloth or clothing and start a fire. Easy enough for somebody to drop a fire-pan, or spill some of its contents - and then the necessary sin-explanation. (I a simply speculating).
16:22 VA YIPLU AL PENEYHEM VA YOMRU EL ELOHEY HA RUCHOT LE CHOL BASAR HA ISH ECHAD YECHETA VE AL KOL HA EDAH TIKTSOPH
KJ: And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?
BN: And they fell on their faces, and said: "El, gods of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?"
EL, ELOHEY HA RUCHOT LE CHOL BASAR: This is a new name for god, and it is an El name, not in any way connected with YHVH. Does that mean this is yet another text? Or can we suggest that this is an early text, from a time when monotheism was still further away than the later texts required?
The phrasing by Mosheh and Aharon is reminiscent of Av-Raham at Sedom (Genesis 19); and is it also just a coincidence that one of the two key men here should be named AVI-RAM, which is a variation on Av-Raham.
The question is much larger than the tale; indeed the tale at one level simply serves as allegory for the larger question: why do the innocent suffer? why do bad things happen to perfectly good people?
16:22 VA YIPLU AL PENEYHEM VA YOMRU EL ELOHEY HA RUCHOT LE CHOL BASAR HA ISH ECHAD YECHETA VE AL KOL HA EDAH TIKTSOPH
וַיִּפְּלוּ עַל פְּנֵיהֶם וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵל אֱלֹהֵי הָרוּחֹת לְכָל בָּשָׂר הָאִישׁ אֶחָד יֶחֱטָא וְעַל כָּל הָעֵדָה תִּקְצֹף
KJ: And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?
BN: And they fell on their faces, and said: "El, gods of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?"
EL, ELOHEY HA RUCHOT LE CHOL BASAR: This is a new name for god, and it is an El name, not in any way connected with YHVH. Does that mean this is yet another text? Or can we suggest that this is an early text, from a time when monotheism was still further away than the later texts required?
The phrasing by Mosheh and Aharon is reminiscent of Av-Raham at Sedom (Genesis 19); and is it also just a coincidence that one of the two key men here should be named AVI-RAM, which is a variation on Av-Raham.
The question is much larger than the tale; indeed the tale at one level simply serves as allegory for the larger question: why do the innocent suffer? why do bad things happen to perfectly good people?
As to the tale: whose side are Mosheh and Aharon on? If, as it now appears, "the entire congregation" who are at the Tent of Meeting are simply Korach and his 250 followers, then is this not precisely the answer that they had brought them here with their fire-pans to receive (see verse 15): Mosheh wanting YHVH to punish them for their rebellious mutiny? But now he doesn't want them killed; he even regards it as utterly unjust to do so. So the volcano explanation looks even more likely to be the point of the tale, and the sin explanation the theological editing of a later time.
samech break
samech break
16:23 VA YEDABER YHVH EL MOSHEH LEMOR
וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר
KJ: And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
BN: Then YHVH spoke to Mosheh, saying:
Why (yet again!) does YHVH reply to Mosheh alone, when both he and Aharon are prostrate, and he spoke to both together first? Is this not, indeed, precisely the complaint of Korach and co?
I think the answer lies in the religious practices; Mosheh is the mouthpiece of YHVH, the oracle, the soothsayer. Aharon's job, so to speak, is to set up the table and the cards and arrange the candles, Mosheh's to recite the ouija. If this was the Qur'an, it would be presented as "then al-Lah spoke through Mahmoud, through the voice of the angel Jibril who whispered the words to him..."
16:24 DABER EL HA EDAH LEMOR HE'ALU MI SAVIV LE MISHKAN KORACH DATAN VA AVI-RAM
דַּבֵּר אֶל הָעֵדָה לֵאמֹר הֵעָלוּ מִסָּבִיב לְמִשְׁכַּן קֹרַח דָּתָן וַאֲבִירָם
KJ: Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
BN (option a): Speak to the congregation, and tell them: "Move away from the camp of Korach, Datan and Avi-Ram."
BN (option b): Speak to the congregation, and tell them: "Get Korach, Datan and Avi-Ram to move away from the Mishkan."
Note that the people are referred to throughout this passage as HA EDAH (the religious congregation) and not the customary BENEY YISRA-EL (the secular tribes); again an indication that we have a different text interpolated here; or that again this entire piece is liturgical.
LE MISHKAN: The intention here is difficult to determine, because both the grammar, and especially the syntax, render it ambivalent. Given what we have been told of their whereabouts, option a is the more logical, with MISHKAN their personal tent; but we cannot help but note that it is not just any word, and it is never, ever used for anyone's personal tent. The Mishkan is always the "sacred place": the Tent of Meeting and the Courtyard where the sacrifices are carried out. A person's trnt is an OHEL, and the camp as a whole a MACHANEH. The grammar doesn't help either, because no genitive is used; so we could read it as "the dwelling of Korach et al", or as "get Korach et al up from around the Mishkan."
Why are the Levites camped next to Re'u-Ven anyway? And surely, unless the confusion of the text has become even more confused since last time we tried to make sense of it, the 250 at the Tent does include the Beney Re'u-Ven after all - but no, the very next verse tells us that they are still, wherever they were, refusing to attend. Methinks that the deity who wrote this text, and gave it to Mosheh on Mount Sinai, needs to hire a better editor (or perhaps the original text was perfectly clear, and it is Ezra and Nechem-Yah who need to do the hiring).
16:25 VA YAKAM MOSHEH VA YELECH ET DATAN VA AVI-RAM VA YELCHU ACHARAV ZIKNEY YISRA-EL
וַיָּקָם מֹשֶׁה וַיֵּלֶךְ אֶל דָּתָן וַאֲבִירָם וַיֵּלְכוּ אַחֲרָיו זִקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
KJ: And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.
BN: And Mosheh got up, and went to Datan and Avi-Ram; and the elders of Yisra-El followed him.
Divide and rule? Datan and Avi-Ram refused to come to the tent, so now, while Korach and his group are pre-occupied at the tent with their fire-pans, Mosheh is going to have a quiet word with them. (And doesn't the presence of the seventy elders rather undermine the original complaint, that Mosheh was running the whole show single-handedly?)
Mosheh, from the last time we encountered him, was at the Tent of Meeting, which is part of the Mishkan; and now he gets up from there, and goes to Datan and Avi-Ram. So either option a) applies, or option b) just got carried out without our being told it had happened.
16:26 VA YEDABER EL HA EDAH LEMOR SURU NA ME'AL AHALEY HA ANASHIM HA RESHA'IM HA ELEH VE AL TIGU BE CHOL ASHER LAHEM PEN TISAPHU BE CHOL CHATOTAM
KJ: And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.
BN: And he spoke to the congregation, saying: Get away, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away in all their sins.
16:26 VA YEDABER EL HA EDAH LEMOR SURU NA ME'AL AHALEY HA ANASHIM HA RESHA'IM HA ELEH VE AL TIGU BE CHOL ASHER LAHEM PEN TISAPHU BE CHOL CHATOTAM
וַיְדַבֵּר אֶל הָעֵדָה לֵאמֹר סוּרוּ נָא מֵעַל אָהֳלֵי הָאֲנָשִׁים הָרְשָׁעִים הָאֵלֶּה וְאַל תִּגְּעוּ בְּכָל אֲשֶׁר לָהֶם פֶּן תִּסָּפוּ בְּכָל חַטֹּאתָם
KJ: And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.
BN: And he spoke to the congregation, saying: Get away, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away in all their sins.
And now it turns out that the congregation was not gathered at the Mishkan at all (verse 19), but was gathered at the tents of Dotan and Avi-Ram... or maybe that was a different congregation... no, I'm sorry, I am not going to make any further attempts to unravel what is clearly a complete mess of a text.
Throughout the Tanach we have the sense of stories being told as divine explanations of something that happened. Ask why it happened, and the answer must be: because the deity willed it. If it was a good thing, it must have been a reward; if bad, a punishment. So: can we read this as an earthquake - or a volcanic incident of some sort - which swallowed up the Beney Korach, and needing an explanation, as described above, they must have done some terrible sin, and they were all in a big meeting just yesterday with Mosheh and Aharon and Dotan and ... there must have been an argument, a challenge, a threat... and then we can go back and wonder what exactly the meeting was about, and discover that we have already explained it: the establishment of the Beney Korach as a very specific element of the Leviyim. And if it is isn't that, please tell me what it must have felt like, to grow up as a member of the Beney Korach, and have to live with the shame of that name? Would the English monarchy name its royal choir the Robin Hood Ensemble, or a modern German group, gathered to provide salon entertainment for the G8, be named the Children of Goebbels Youth Orchestra?
16:27 VA YE'ALU ME'AL MISHKAN KORACH DATAN VA AVI-RAM MI SAVIV VE DATAN VA AVI-RAM YATSU NITSAVIM PETACH AHALEYHEM U NESHEYHEM U VENEYHEM VE TAPAM
וַיֵּעָלוּ מֵעַל מִשְׁכַּן קֹרַח דָּתָן וַאֲבִירָם מִסָּבִיב וְדָתָן וַאֲבִירָם יָצְאוּ נִצָּבִים פֶּתַח אָהֳלֵיהֶם וּנְשֵׁיהֶם וּבְנֵיהֶם וְטַפָּם
KJ: So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children.
BN: So they evacuated the entire area where Korach, Datan and Avi-Ram lived; and Datan and Avi-Ram came out, and stood at the doors of their tents, with their wives, and their sons, and their little ones.
Alright, I withdraw my withdrawal from making comments, but only to point out that my comment should be obvious from the way I have translated this verse. KJ cannot be correct, because Korach was a Levite, and the Levites did not share tents with the Beney Re'u-Ven, even if they did set their tribal camps alongside each other.
And then, in my version, with my personal volcanic rumblings now under better control, perhaps others who were camped close felt the trembles and ran away in time; but in order for it to be divine will that they survived when the Beney Korach died, they must be good people, and so they were rewarded by being given advance warning.
And if it really is just Mosheh putting down a rebellion, why does the tale need all these geographical details anyway?
16:28 VA YOMER MOSHEH BE ZOT TEDUN KI YHVH SHELACHANI LA'ASOT ET KOL HA MA'ASIM HA ELEH KI LO MI LIBI
וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה בְּזֹאת תֵּדְעוּן כִּי יְהוָה שְׁלָחַנִי לַעֲשׂוֹת אֵת כָּל הַמַּעֲשִׂים הָאֵלֶּה כִּי לֹא מִלִּבִּי
KJ: And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.
BN: And Mosheh said: By this you shall know that YHVH has sent me to do all these works, and that I have not done them of my own mind.
BE ZOT: But there is no ZOT. Not yet anyway. YHVH threatened to consume the Beney Korach in verse 21, but he hasn't actually done it yet, and won't until verse 35, and even that will be after the earthquake, which he didn't even threaten. So Mosheh himself is only threatening, and it is exactly the same threat that he used at the very start: a test of whose side YHVH is on - see the next verse.
KI LO MI LIBI: This phrase will be worth recalling when we get to Merivah later on, and Mosheh does take it on himself to perform the miracle.
16:29 IM KE MOT KOL HA ADAM YEMUTUN ELEH U PHEKUDAT KOL HA ADAM YIPAKED ALEYHEM LO YHVH SHELACHANI
KJ: If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me.
BN: If these men die the common death of all men, and are visited after the visitation of all men, then YHVH has not sent me.
Again reminiscent of Eli-Yahu (Elijah) and the priests of Ba'al.
16:30 VE IM BERIY'AH YIVRA YHVH U PHATSTAH HA ADAMAH ET PIYHA U VAL'AH OTAM VE ET KOL ASHER LAHEM VE YARDU CHAYIM SHE'OLAH VIYDA'TEM KI NI'ATSU HA ANASHIM HA ELEH ET YHVH
KJ: But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD.
BN: But if YHVH fashions a new mode of death, and the ground opens her mouth, and swallows them up, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into She'ol, then you will understand that these men have despised YHVH.
BERI'AH YIVRA: See the notes on Creation in Genesis 1. But it does not mean "makes a new thing".
From a purely literary point of view, the whole tale makes for a fascinating portrait of megalomania. An earthquake occurs. The Beney Korach are wiped out, along with two clans of the Beney Re'u-Ven who happen to be camped adjacent. Mosheh uses the opportunity to assert the status of YHVH as sole tribal deity, himself as sole mouthpiece and therefore the absolute leader. All rivals, opponents and opposition are crushed in the allegory.
SHE'OLAH: The realm of King Sha'ul (Egypyian Set), where all matter goes when it dies, in order for those fiery serpents the worms to biodegrade it into compost that can be used to generate more growth, new life - no, that isn't your understanding of the Underworld?
16:31 VA YEHI KE CHALOTO LEDABER ET KOL HA DEVARIM HA ELEH VA TIBAKA HA ADAMAH ASHER TACHTEYHEM
KJ: And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:
BN: And it came to pass, just as he was finishing saying this, that the ground beneath them broke open.
Earthquakes coinciding with volcanic eruptions are not to be unexpected. We have to assume that a volcanic eruption did indeed take place, that large numbers of people were killed by it, and that this tale of rebellion - which may of course have been an actual rebellion - became regarded as the reason for the earthquake; we are dealing with a people for whom all natural events were attributed to the divine.
16:32 VA TIPHTACH HA ARETS ET PIYHA VA TIVLA OTAM VE ET BATEYHEM VE ET KOL HA ADAM ASHER LE KORACH VE ET KOL HA RECHUSH
KJ: And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all theirgoods.
BN: And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the tribe of the Beney Korach, and all their goods.
BATEYHEM: Should mean houses, but we know they are living in tents; here it means "households", or perhaps we should neologise "tentholds".
The text previously seemed to infer that Korach was not swallowed up, but only Datan and Avi-Ram; but now we are given to understand that Korach's people included Datan's and Avi-Ram's, even though they were Beney Re'u-Ven and Korach was a Levite. Or the entire area where the Korachite Leviyim and this clan of the Beney Re'u-Ven were camped was taken in the earthquake - but if so, how did Mosheh and the seventy Elders manage to stay above ground?
And how do the Rabbis deal with the problem of the innocent being taken with the guilty; the fact that wives and children got swallowed into She'ol as well? Worth looking at the vast amount of liturgy and responsum on the Mitsrim (Egyptians) who drowned in the Sea of Reeds: yes, there was a miracle that brought the Beney Yisra-El out of Mitsrayim, but at what cost? Jewish guilt does not deal well with this kind of paradox. It is why we marched to demand the Kahan Commission after the massacre at Sabra and Shatila.
16:33 VA YIRDU HEM VE CHOL ASHER LAHEM CHAYIM SHE'OLAH VA TECHAS ALEYHEM HA ARETS VA YOVDU MITOCH HA KAHAL
KJ: They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.
BN: And so they, and everything that belonged to them, went down alive into She'ol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly.
16:34 VE CHOL YISRA-EL ASHER SEVIYVOTEYHEM NASU LE KOLAM KI AMRU PEN TIVLA'ENU HA ARETS
KJ: And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.
BN: And all the Beney Yisra-El who were nearby fled at the sound of their screaming; for they said: "Lest the earth swallow us up".
16:35 VE ESH YATS'AH ME ET YHVH VA TOCHAL ET HA CHAMISHIM U MATAYIM ISH MAKRIYVEY HA KETORET
KJ: And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
BN: And fire erupted from YHVH, and devoured the two hundred and fifty men who offered the incense.
"Strange fire" yet again, as with Nadav and Avi-Hu in Leviticus 10. The fire on this occasion emerging from the cracks in the quake, not the crater of the volcano; but in doing so, it confirms to us again that YHVH is specifically the volcano god of Mount Sinai, and that the earthquake was a side-effect of the eruption.
I like the literary device of having the 250 mark themselves with a special fragrance so that YHVH would know who they were; a perfume equivalent of the branding of the sacrificial beast!
samech break
In some versions, chapter 16 ends here; in the King James, and some other versions, this chapter continues for a further fifteen verses. Those verses do not appear here, however. Go to Numbers 17 to find them; the numbering is marked there to make following the differences easy.
16:29 IM KE MOT KOL HA ADAM YEMUTUN ELEH U PHEKUDAT KOL HA ADAM YIPAKED ALEYHEM LO YHVH SHELACHANI
אִם כְּמוֹת כָּל הָאָדָם יְמֻתוּן אֵלֶּה וּפְקֻדַּת כָּל הָאָדָם יִפָּקֵד עֲלֵיהֶם לֹא יְהוָה שְׁלָחָנִי
KJ: If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me.
BN: If these men die the common death of all men, and are visited after the visitation of all men, then YHVH has not sent me.
Again reminiscent of Eli-Yahu (Elijah) and the priests of Ba'al.
16:30 VE IM BERIY'AH YIVRA YHVH U PHATSTAH HA ADAMAH ET PIYHA U VAL'AH OTAM VE ET KOL ASHER LAHEM VE YARDU CHAYIM SHE'OLAH VIYDA'TEM KI NI'ATSU HA ANASHIM HA ELEH ET YHVH
וְאִם בְּרִיאָה יִבְרָא יְהוָה וּפָצְתָה הָאֲדָמָה אֶת פִּיהָ וּבָלְעָה אֹתָם וְאֶת כָּל אֲשֶׁר לָהֶם וְיָרְדוּ חַיִּים שְׁאֹלָה וִידַעְתֶּם כִּי נִאֲצוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים הָאֵלֶּה אֶת יְהוָה
KJ: But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD.
BN: But if YHVH fashions a new mode of death, and the ground opens her mouth, and swallows them up, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into She'ol, then you will understand that these men have despised YHVH.
BERI'AH YIVRA: See the notes on Creation in Genesis 1. But it does not mean "makes a new thing".
From a purely literary point of view, the whole tale makes for a fascinating portrait of megalomania. An earthquake occurs. The Beney Korach are wiped out, along with two clans of the Beney Re'u-Ven who happen to be camped adjacent. Mosheh uses the opportunity to assert the status of YHVH as sole tribal deity, himself as sole mouthpiece and therefore the absolute leader. All rivals, opponents and opposition are crushed in the allegory.
SHE'OLAH: The realm of King Sha'ul (Egypyian Set), where all matter goes when it dies, in order for those fiery serpents the worms to biodegrade it into compost that can be used to generate more growth, new life - no, that isn't your understanding of the Underworld?
16:31 VA YEHI KE CHALOTO LEDABER ET KOL HA DEVARIM HA ELEH VA TIBAKA HA ADAMAH ASHER TACHTEYHEM
וַיְהִי כְּכַלֹּתוֹ לְדַבֵּר אֵת כָּל הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה וַתִּבָּקַע הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר תַּחְתֵּיהֶם
KJ: And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:
BN: And it came to pass, just as he was finishing saying this, that the ground beneath them broke open.
Earthquakes coinciding with volcanic eruptions are not to be unexpected. We have to assume that a volcanic eruption did indeed take place, that large numbers of people were killed by it, and that this tale of rebellion - which may of course have been an actual rebellion - became regarded as the reason for the earthquake; we are dealing with a people for whom all natural events were attributed to the divine.
16:32 VA TIPHTACH HA ARETS ET PIYHA VA TIVLA OTAM VE ET BATEYHEM VE ET KOL HA ADAM ASHER LE KORACH VE ET KOL HA RECHUSH
וַתִּפְתַּח הָאָרֶץ אֶת פִּיהָ וַתִּבְלַע אֹתָם וְאֶת בָּתֵּיהֶם וְאֵת כָּל הָאָדָם אֲשֶׁר לְקֹרַח וְאֵת כָּל הָרְכוּשׁ
KJ: And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all theirgoods.
BN: And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the tribe of the Beney Korach, and all their goods.
BATEYHEM: Should mean houses, but we know they are living in tents; here it means "households", or perhaps we should neologise "tentholds".
The text previously seemed to infer that Korach was not swallowed up, but only Datan and Avi-Ram; but now we are given to understand that Korach's people included Datan's and Avi-Ram's, even though they were Beney Re'u-Ven and Korach was a Levite. Or the entire area where the Korachite Leviyim and this clan of the Beney Re'u-Ven were camped was taken in the earthquake - but if so, how did Mosheh and the seventy Elders manage to stay above ground?
And how do the Rabbis deal with the problem of the innocent being taken with the guilty; the fact that wives and children got swallowed into She'ol as well? Worth looking at the vast amount of liturgy and responsum on the Mitsrim (Egyptians) who drowned in the Sea of Reeds: yes, there was a miracle that brought the Beney Yisra-El out of Mitsrayim, but at what cost? Jewish guilt does not deal well with this kind of paradox. It is why we marched to demand the Kahan Commission after the massacre at Sabra and Shatila.
16:33 VA YIRDU HEM VE CHOL ASHER LAHEM CHAYIM SHE'OLAH VA TECHAS ALEYHEM HA ARETS VA YOVDU MITOCH HA KAHAL
וַיֵּרְדוּ הֵם וְכָל אֲשֶׁר לָהֶם חַיִּים שְׁאֹלָה וַתְּכַס עֲלֵיהֶם הָאָרֶץ וַיֹּאבְדוּ מִתּוֹךְ הַקָּהָל
KJ: They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.
BN: And so they, and everything that belonged to them, went down alive into She'ol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly.
16:34 VE CHOL YISRA-EL ASHER SEVIYVOTEYHEM NASU LE KOLAM KI AMRU PEN TIVLA'ENU HA ARETS
וְכָל יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר סְבִיבֹתֵיהֶם נָסוּ לְקֹלָם כִּי אָמְרוּ פֶּן תִּבְלָעֵנוּ הָאָרֶץ
KJ: And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.
BN: And all the Beney Yisra-El who were nearby fled at the sound of their screaming; for they said: "Lest the earth swallow us up".
16:35 VE ESH YATS'AH ME ET YHVH VA TOCHAL ET HA CHAMISHIM U MATAYIM ISH MAKRIYVEY HA KETORET
וְאֵשׁ יָצְאָה מֵאֵת יְהוָה וַתֹּאכַל אֵת הַחֲמִשִּׁים וּמָאתַיִם אִישׁ מַקְרִיבֵי הַקְּטֹרֶת
KJ: And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
BN: And fire erupted from YHVH, and devoured the two hundred and fifty men who offered the incense.
"Strange fire" yet again, as with Nadav and Avi-Hu in Leviticus 10. The fire on this occasion emerging from the cracks in the quake, not the crater of the volcano; but in doing so, it confirms to us again that YHVH is specifically the volcano god of Mount Sinai, and that the earthquake was a side-effect of the eruption.
I like the literary device of having the 250 mark themselves with a special fragrance so that YHVH would know who they were; a perfume equivalent of the branding of the sacrificial beast!
samech break
In some versions, chapter 16 ends here; in the King James, and some other versions, this chapter continues for a further fifteen verses. Those verses do not appear here, however. Go to Numbers 17 to find them; the numbering is marked there to make following the differences easy.
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