Korah

The third son of Esau by Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah (Genesis 36:5,14,18; 1 Chronicles 1:35).

Esau’s grandson and the fifth son of Eliphaz (Genesis 36:16).

The eldest son of Izhar, Kohath’s son from the tribe of Levi (Exodus 6:21, 24). He led a rebellion against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. He accused Moses and Aaron of exalting themselves above the assembly of the Lord (Numbers 16:1–3).

Numbers 16:1 also records a revolt by two brothers, Dathan and Abiram, and a man named On. All were of the tribe of Reuben. They challenged Moses's authority. Dathan and Abiram accused Moses of making himself a prince. They said he had failed to lead them into the promised land (Numbers 16:12–14). The stories of the two rebellions are interwoven in such a way that it is difficult to separate them. It may be that the two revolts occurred at the same time.

Moses challenged Korah and his followers to a trial by ordeal. They were to take censers with fire and incense to the tent of meeting the next day. God would then choose one of them to be the holy priest (Numbers 16:4–10, 15–17). Moses accused Korah and his company of rebelling against God rather than against Aaron (Numbers 16:11). When the men gathered as Moses had instructed, the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people.

The Lord ordered Moses to tell the congregation to separate from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (Numbers 16:19–24). Moses proposed a test to prove his authority. But as he spoke the earth opened and swallowed all the rebels, their families, and their possessions. Fire consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense. The rest of the Israelites were terrified and fled from the scene (Numbers 16:31–35). Numbers 26:11 adds, however, that “the line of Korah did not die out.” with the others.

Then, through Moses, the Lord instructed Eleazar, the son of Aaron. He was to take the censers of the dead men and make them into hammered plates to cover the altar. This would remind the Israelites that only priests, descendants of Aaron, may burn incense before the Lord. Anyone else would meet the same fate as Korah and his followers (Numbers 16:36–40).

The next day, the people complained against Moses and Aaron. They accused them of killing the God's people. Even after what happened to Korah and his followers, they still did not believe that God had shown Moses and Aaron to be the true leaders. Because of this new rebellion, God threatened to destroy all the people and sent a deadly sickness among them. Moses prayed for the people and stopped the disaster from getting worse. However, 14,700 Israelites still died from the sickness (Numbers 16:41–50). The rebellious incident of the Korahites is last mentioned in Jude 1:11.

The eldest son of Hebron, included in the family list of Caleb (1 Chronicles 2:43). This reference has been understood as a geographical name, possibly a town in Judah.

Aminadab’s son and grandson of Kohath, second son of Levi (1 Chronicles 6:22).