The Free Thinkers guide to the Bible

Part 3 #5 - The Rebellion

The authority of Moses Vs the authority of Moses and Aaron

Welcome back to the Free Thinkers guide to the bible. I created this series so that ‘anyone’ can explore and understand the bible. You don’t need to be a biblical scholar; all you need is a desire to see what is written. I will present to you several biblical examples and demonstrate the process of sifting the accounts to reveal the hidden. This process is very similar to archeology, where the layers are excavated and analyzed. Just not the dirty part, though you will be digging up some dirt along the way.

Warning:

The series unfolds like a story in a book. Please study the content in the order it is presented in order to have the best experience. (The study series begins with Part 1 #1 – The Flood)

The series provides you with numerous examples of two distinct groups of scribal authors/redactors.

The first group is the "A" authors/redactors who focus on priestly matters; laws, rules and observances, as well as the tabernacle/temple services and offerings. The "A" authors and writing styles range from literary artisans to unskilled writers whose works are easily identified.

The second group consists of the “B” and “D” author(s)/redactor(s).

The “D” author/redactor chronicles the first person Moses account of the wilderness travels.

The “B” author(s)/redactor(s) wrote the stories in Genesis; Israel’s time in Egypt and the wilderness travels in Exodus and Numbers.

The “B” wilderness accounts harmonize with the “D” author’s first person Moses accounts; and is the reason they are grouped together.

In the study we compare the accounts and explore the differences between them to determine why the "A" priestly authors/redactors intentionally created similar yet separate accounts of many of the “B” author(s)/redactors stories.

Psalm 119:18 Open my eyes, that I might see wonders from Your Torah.

The Rebellion – Two accounts interwoven

Preface

Welcome to the third portion of the study. In this portion we build upon the knowledge we acquired in the first two studies. We have found that there are at least two distinct authors and a superb redactor(s) that has created edited and merged accounts and stories in the books of Genesis, Exodus and Numbers. In the second study we highlighted accounts that diminished or promoted Moses and Aaron.

The focus of this study is on the accounts that contrast the leadership of Moses against the leadership of Moses and Aaron. This example is two intermixed accounts. One account revolves around a Levite leader named Korah and two-hundred and fifty Levite leaders who joined him to question the authority of Aaron and Moses. The other account focuses on the people complaining about the leadership of Moses.

*** indicates breaks where verses are used in the opposite account

Before beginning, If you haven’t already done so, read through

the Rebellion study Part 1 #4 for the best experience.

The Rebellion “A” – Korah and the two hundred and fifty elders

Numbers 16:1a Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown.

*** 3 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 (יהוה) is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord (יהוה)? 4 And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face: 5 and he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even tomorrow the Lord (יהוה) 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. 6 This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company; 7 And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the Lord (יהוה) tomorrow: and it shall be that the man whom the Lord (יהוה) doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi. 8 And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi: 9 Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God (אלהים) (Elohim) 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 (יהוה), and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them? 10 And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also? 11 For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the Lord (יהוה): and what is Aaron, that ye murmur (לין - lı̂yn) against him?

***16 And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the Lord (יהוה), thou, and they, and Aaron, tomorrow: 17 and take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before the Lord (יהוה) every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each of you his censer. 18 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. 19 And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the Lord (יהוה) appeared unto all the congregation. 20 And the Lord (יהוה) spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 21 Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. 22 And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God (אל), the God (אלהים) of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?

***35 And there came out a fire from the Lord (יהוה), and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense. 36 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 37 Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are hallowed. 38 The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the LORD, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel. 39 And Eleazar the priest took the brasen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar: 40 To be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the LORD; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the LORD said to him by the hand of Moses.

41 But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured (לין - lı̂yn) against Moses and against Aaron, saying, ye have killed the people of the LORD. 42 And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared. 43 And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation. 44 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 45 get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces. 46 And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague (נֶגֶף negeph) is begun. 47 And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague (נֶגֶף negeph) was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people. 48 And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague (מגּפה maggêphâh) was stayed. 49 Now they that died in the plague (מגּפה maggêphâh) were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah. 50 And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague (מגּפה maggêphâh) was stayed.

Observations:

The “A” account begins with the rebellion of Korach and two-hundred and fifty Levite leaders who rise up against Moses and Aaron, stating that they equally deserve to serve the Creator in the Priestly capacity. (Dathan and Abiram are not present in the account because they are not Levites and are unable to serve in the Priestly capacity).

They gather with the people at the tabernacle of the congregation and offer incense. Fire consumes the two-hundred and fifty Levites. The leader Korach is not mentioned as being consumed by the fire in the account.

The Creator tells Moses to speak to Aaron’s son Eleazar and have him collect the brass censers so they can be used to cover the brazen altar.

The people murmured against Moses and Aaron and the Creator wanted to destroy them. Moses and Aaron prostrated themselves. Moses tells Aaron to take incense and take coals from the fire and go into the midst of the people to cover their sin. Fourteen thousand seven hundred people died in the plague.

Word Occurrences/Repetitions:

Moses and Aaron – 9X

Aaron – 3X

Eleazar - 2X

Censer – 6X

Altar – 3X

Incense – 4X

Korah – 8X

Dathan and Abiram – 0X

Murmur – 1X (לין - lı̂yn) Note: See the Bread from Heaven “A” account and The Spies “A” account studies for word comparison/association.

Plague - 3X - (מגּפה maggêphâh) Note: See The Rebellion “A” account plague and the Heresy at Peor “A” account plague for word comparison/association.

Plague - 2X - (נֶגֶף negeph) Note: Has same root word as Maggêphâh.

The Rebellion “B” – Dathan, Abiram and On

Numbers 16:1b and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: 2 and they rose up before Moses, ***12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up: 13 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? 14 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. 15 And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the Lord (יהוה), Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.

***23 And the Lord (יהוה) spake unto Moses, saying, 24 Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle (dwelling place) of (Korah), Dathan, and Abiram. 25 And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him. 26 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. 27 So they gat up from the tabernacle (dwelling place) 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. 28 And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the Lord (יהוה) hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind. 29 If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the Lord (יהוה) hath not sent me. 30 But if the Lord (יהוה) make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that belongs unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord (יהוה). 31 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: 32 and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses (tents), and all the men that appertained unto (them?) Korah, and all their goods. 33 They, and all that belonged to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. 34 And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, lest the earth swallow us up also.

Observations:

The “B” account: In this rebellion account Dathan, Abiram and On (who is not mentioned after this) rise up against Moses leadership and complain that they have still not made it to the new lands “that flow with milk and honey” and complain because they don’t want to die in the Wilderness. (Korach is not a part of this rebellion, though the writer would have you believe that he was, by inserting his name in three locations).

In verse 24 Moses tells the congregation to remove themselves from around the tents of Korach, Dathan and Abiram. In the next verse Moses went only to the tents of Dathan and Abiram (Korach’s tent is not mentioned).

In verse 27 it states that the people moved away from the tents of Korach, Dathan and Abiram. We then read that only Dathan and Abiram came out of their tents and stood at the doorway. (Once again Korach is not mentioned).

In verse 32 the writer cleverly inserts Korach’s name and asserts that Korach and his family and possessions shared the same fate as Dathan and Abiram. (This fate is refuted by several biblical accounts which I will cite below)

Aaron is not mentioned in this account.

Word Occurrences:

Dathan and Abiram – 6X

Korah – 3X Note: Added to skew the readers understanding of the account.

Comparison and Examination

The Rebellion “A” story: This Rebellion account centers around a Levite, Korach and two-hundred and fifty (Levite) leaders of the people who rise up against Moses and Aaron stating that they are as “holy” as Moses and Aaron, and should be able to serve as Priests as well. Moses devises a test in which Aaron, Korach and the leaders would come to the “Tent of meeting” and offer incense and the Creator would decide who would be worthy to serve Him. The “glory” of YHWH appeared to all the people and the result is that Korach and the leaders are consumed by fire.

The Rebellion “B” story: This Rebellion account centers on the recurring theme of ‘the people grumble because they haven’t reached the “Promised” Land of milk and honey’. They rise up against Moses and challenge his authority over them. Moses goes to the tents of the leaders of the rebellion and the Creator makes them an example to the people.

Summary

Once again we see clear similarities in writing styles and topics in both the “A” and “B” accounts when we compare them to our previous examples.

We see that the “A” writer is focused on Aaron and the priesthood. We also read that Moses and Aaron share in the authority over the people.

The “B” writer is focused on Moses and tells a story of rebellion against the authority and leadership of Moses and makes no mention of Aaron in the account.

Notes:

It appears that the author or a redactor inserted the name of Korach in places to help integrate the two accounts. I present three examples to help further develop this probability.

Num 26:9 And the sons of Eliab; Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. This is that Dathan and Abiram, which were famous in the congregation, who strove against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they strove against the Lord (יהוה): 10 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, what time the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men: and they became a sign. 11 Notwithstanding the children of Korah died not.

The writer doubles down on their assertion that Korach was swallowed up with Dathan and Abiram. They attempt to cover up the problem that Korach’s children were not swallowed up, because they lived and continued serving as Levites, the Korahite line continued to serve in the Temple during the time of Solomon. One example of this is in 1 Chronicles 9…

1Ch 9:19 And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren, of the house of his father, the Korahites, were over the work of the service, keepers of the gates of the tabernacle: and their fathers, being over the host of the Lord (יהוה), were keepers of the entry.

We find in chapter 11 of Deuteronomy a confirmation of the account of the “B” writer. We read that Dathan and Abiram were used as an example. Korach is not mentioned at all in this example or the book of Deuteronomy.

Deu 11:6 and what He had done to Dathan and Aḇiram the sons of Eliyaḇ, son of Re’uḇěn, when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and their tents, and all the living creatures that were in their possession, in the midst of all Yisra’ěl.

Author: Hoyt Allen Spiker - 2024

Previous Rebellion study: The Rebellion Part 1

Please continue the study in... Part 3 Summary