page_title: Korach (parsha)
section_title: Numbers chapter 16
hierarchical_section_title: Korach (parsha) / In classical rabbinic interpretation / Numbers chapter 16
caption_attribution_description: English: Datan and Abiram Devoured by the Earth, by Hesdin of Amiens, illumination from a "Biblia Pauperum" (Bible of the Poor), manuscript "Den Haag, MMW, 10 A 15", at Museum Meermanno Westreenianum, The Hague
context_page_description: Korach or Korah is the 38th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the fifth in the Book of Numbers. It tells of Korah's failed attempt to overthrow Moses.
  It constitutes Numbers 16:1–18:32. The parashah is made up of 5,325 Hebrew letters, 1,409 Hebrew words, 95 verses, and 184 lines in a Torah Scroll. Jews generally read it in June or July.
context_section_description: Like Pseudo-Philo (see "In early nonrabbinic interpretation" above), the Jerusalem Talmud read the commandment to wear tzitzit in Numbers 15:37–40 together with the story of Korah's rebellion that follows immediately after in Numbers 16:1–3. The Jerusalem Talmud told that after hearing the law of tassels, Korah made some garments that were completely dyed blue, went to Moses, and asked Moses whether a garment that was already completely blue nonetheless had to have a blue corner tassel. When Moses answered that it did, Korah said that the Torah was not of Divine origin, Moses was not a prophet, and Aaron was not a high priest.
  A Midrash taught that Numbers 16:1 traces Korah's descent back only to Levi, not to Jacob, because Jacob said of the descendants of Simeon and Levi
  in Genesis 49:5, “To their assembly let my glory not be united,” referring to when they would assemble against Moses in Korah's band.
  A Midrash taught that Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On all fell in together in their conspiracy, as described in Numbers 16:1, because they lived near each other on the same side of the camp. The Midrash thus taught that the saying, "Woe to the wicked and woe to his neighbor!" applies to Dathan and Abiram. Numbers 3:29 reports that the descendants of Kohath, among whom Korah was numbered, lived on the south side of the Tabernacle. And Numbers 2:10 reports that the descendants of Reuben, among whom Dathan and Abiram were numbered, lived close by, as they also lived on the south side of the Tabernacle. Similarly, a Midrash taught that because Reuben, Simeon, and Gad were close to Korah, they were all quarrelsome men; and the sons of Gad and the sons of Simeon were also contentious people.
  Reading the words of Numbers 16:1, "And Korah took," a Midrash asked what caused Korah to oppose Moses. The Midrash answered that Korah took issue with Moses because Moses had (as Numbers 3:30 reports) appointed Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as prince of the Kohathites, and Korah was (as Exodus 6:21 reports) son of Uzziel's older brother Izhar, and thus had a claim to leadership prior to Elizaphan. Because Moses appointed the son of Korah's father's youngest brother, Uzziel, the leader, to be greater than Korah, Korah decided to oppose Moses and nullify everything that he did.
  Resh Lakish interpreted the words "Korah . . . took" in Numbers 16:1 to teach that Korah took a bad bargain for himself. As the three Hebrew consonants that spell Korah's name also spell the Hebrew word for "bald" (kereach), the Gemara deduced that he was called Korah because he caused a bald spot to be formed among the Israelites when the earth swallowed his followers. As the name Izhar (יִצְהָר) in Numbers 16:1 derived from the same Hebrew root as the word "noon" (צָּהֳרָיִם, tzohorayim), the Gemara deduced from "son of Izhar" that Korah was a son who brought upon himself anger hot as the noon sun. As the name Kohath (קְהָת) in Numbers 16:1 derived from the same Hebrew root as the word for "set on edge" (קהה, kihah), the Gemara deduced from "son of Kohath" that Korah was a son who set his ancestors' teeth on edge. The Gemara deduced from the words "son of Levi" in Numbers 16:1 that Korah was a son who was escorted to Gehenna. The Gemara asked why Numbers 16:1 did not say "the son of Jacob," and Rabbi Samuel bar Isaac answered that Jacob had prayed not to be listed amongst Korah's ancestors in Genesis 49:6, where it is written, "Let my soul not come into their council; unto their assembly let my glory not be united." "Let my soul not come into their council" referred to the spies, and "unto their assembly let my glory not be united" referred to Korah's assembly. As the name Dathan (דָתָן) in Numbers 16:1 derived from the same Hebrew root as the word "law" (דָּת, dat), the Gemara deduced from Dathan's name that he violated God's law. The Gemara related the name Abiram (אֲבִירָם) in Numbers 16:1 to the Hebrew word for "strengthened" (iber) and deduced from Abiram's name that he stoutly refused to repent. The Gemara related the name On (אוֹן) in Numbers 16:1 to the Hebrew w
caption: Datan and Abiram Devoured by the Earth (illumination by Hesdin of Amiens from a circa 1450–1455 "Biblia pauperum" (Bible of the Poor))
exif: {"Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ReferenceBlackWhite": "[0, 255, 128, 255, 128, 255]", "Image ExifOffset": "162", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 2, 0, 0]", "Image GPSInfo": "240", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "636", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1063"}