Numbers 16:28

_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._ Hereby ye shall know that the Lord hath sent me. The awful catastrophe of the earthquake which, as predicted by Moses, swallowed up those impious rebels in a living tomb, gave the divine attestation to the mission of Moses, and struck the spectators with solemn awe. Verse 30. THEY GO DOWN QUICK INTO THE PIT. "Quick" is an old English word, which has lost the meaning attached to it at the time our translation was made. The import of the clause in which it stands here is, 'they go down alive into the pit' х_ SHª'OLAAH_ (H7585), to Sheol, rendered "pit" here; also in Job 17:16; but most commonly in our version, 'the grave,' or 'hell;' Septuagint, katabeesontai zoontes eis hadou (cf....

28._And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know. _Moses now begins more clearly to show wherefore he has brought the rebels to this open contest, viz., that God may sanction before the whole people, by a terrible exertion of His power, the system established by Himself. For it was no ordinary effort of confidence to concede the victory to His enemies, unless the earth should swallow them up alive. But, inasmuch as this was to be a most conspicuous judgment of God, he arouses their attention by the striking words he uses. If they should be cut off by a sudden death, he would have justly boasted that his cause was approved by God; but not content with this, he desires to be accounted a mere impostor, if they should die the common death of men. In order to express the strangeness of the miracle, whereby men’s senses should be ravished, he employs the word _create _(99) emphatically; as much as to...

23-34 The seventy elders of Israel attend Moses. It is our duty to do what we can to countenance and support lawful authority when it is opposed. And those who would not perish with sinners, must come out from among them, and be separate. It was in answer to the prayer of Moses, that God stirred up the hearts of the congregation to remove for their own safety. Grace to separate from evil-doers is one of the things that accompany salvation. God, in justice, left the rebels to the obstinacy and hardness of their own hearts. Moses, by Divine direction, when all Israel were waiting the event, declares that if the rebels die a common death, he will be content to be called and counted an imposter. As soon as Moses had spoken the word, God caused the earth to open and swallow them all up. The children perished with their parents; in which, though we cannot tell how bad they might be to deserve...

VINDICATION OF THE AARONIC PRIESTHOOD. EXPOSITION THE GAINSAYING OF KORAH (Numbers 16:1). NUMBERS 16:1 NOW KORAH … TOOK MEN. וַיִּקַּח קֹרַח. The word "took" stands alone at the head of the sentence in the singular number. This does not by itself confine its reference to Korah, because it may be taken as repeated after each of the other names; at the same time, the construction suggests that in its original form Korah alone was mentioned, and that the other names were afterwards added in order to include them in the same statement. The ellipsis after "took" (if it be one) may be filled up by

AND MOSES SAID, HEREBY YE SHALL KNOW THAT THE LORD HATH SENT ME TO DO ALL THESE WORKS,.... To bring the people of Israel out of Egypt, to exchange the firstborn for the Levites, to make Aaron and his sons priests, to give the Levites to them, and to set Elizaphan over the Kohathites, things which these men found fault with, and questioned his authority for doing them: FOR [I HAVE] NOT [DONE THEM] OF MY OWN MIND; or "not out of my heart" q; he had not devised them himself, and done them of his own head, and in any arbitrary way, without the will of God or any authority from him, as these men suggested. q כי לא מלבי "quod non de corde meo", Pagninus, Montanus....

6. THE REBELLION OF KORAH CHAPTER 16 _ 1. The rebellion of Korah (Numbers 16:1)_ 2. The punishment (Numbers 16:20) 3. Eleazar and his work (Numbers 16:36) 4. The murmuring of the whole congregation (Numbers 16:41) 5. The staying of the plague (Numbers 16:44) The history is now resumed and we have the worst episode of Israel's history in the wilderness before us. We have seen and followed the steps downward and toward this fearful rebellion and the terrible punishment which followed. It s

NUMBERS 16. THE REBELLION OF KORAH, DATHAN, AND ABIRAM (JE and P). The narrative fuses together accounts of distinct revolts led by different individuals and inspired by different motives. The first (from JE) had for its instigators Dathan and Abiram, who are mentioned separately in Numbers 16:12; Numbers 16:25; Numbers 16:27; Deuteronomy 11:6, and who, as Reubenites (a tribe that once possessed the primacy, Genesis 49:3), disputed the civil authority of Moses (Numb

I HAVE NOT DONE THEM. Figure of speech _Ellipsis._ App-6....

25 34. The destruction of Dathan and Abiram....

ALL THESE WORKS— Meaning more especially the institution of the priesthood, the appointment of the Levites, and other matters of government....