Korah's Coalition

The demand by the heads of the congregation to offer incense might have been accepted, but their joining with Dathan and Abiram exposed the hidden plot. A close reading of the plain meaning of the text in the Korah story reveals a deeper plot.

Illustration (Photo: Courtesy of the photographer)

At the beginning, Moses turns to God and asks, “Do not turn to their offering. I have not taken a single donkey from them, and I have not wronged any one of them.” Why is such a request needed? If Moses had already concluded that they were unworthy, then their offering simply would not have been accepted. And if there was a chance that their offering would be accepted, why ask God to reject the offering of someone who is deserving of it? How is this request connected to the claim, “I have not taken a single donkey from them”? And its timing is also puzzling. Moses does not make the request, “Do not turn to their offering,” immediately after Korah and his faction propose offering incense, but only after Dathan and Abiram are summoned and refuse to come. Here the difficulty intensifies. Why should the insolence of Dathan and Abiram harm the offering of the heads of the congregation, who did not speak obscenely like Dathan and Abiram?

The secret lies in understanding Korah’s plan. He succeeded in assembling a coalition of people who were dissatisfied with Moses’ leadership, each for a different reason. One faction was made up of the heads of the congregation, who also wanted to serve in the sanctuary. The second faction was Dathan and Abiram, who rebelled completely against Moses for taking them out of Egypt and leaving them to die in the wilderness. Korah gathered both factions around him in order to advance his own demand for the priesthood. This coalition was not revealed immediately. At the first stage, when Korah and 250 men came and asked to draw near and serve God as well, Moses suggested that they try offering incense. This suggestion should be understood as a serious possibility. At least from Moses’ perspective, there was a chance that God would accept their service, and he was not asking that God not turn to it. Only after Dathan and Abiram revealed their intention does it become clear that this coalition is not seeking holiness but anarchy. Now Moses understands that if the offering of Korah and the 250 is accepted, the meaning will not be that so-and-so and so-and-so are also worthy to offer, but that the claim of Dathan and Abiram is accepted, and that cannot be allowed. And although these are different factions, in the end they came together in one coalition under Korah’s leadership, and thus they too harbored resentment over Moses’ authority. Therefore he turns to God and says, “Do not turn to their offering, I have not taken a single donkey from them.” In other words, do not turn to the offering of Korah and the 250, because the claim of Dathan and Abiram that I am ruling unjustly is false.

This explanation resolves a major difficulty. In verses 16 to 17, after the entire incident with Dathan and Abiram, Moses repeats the offer to Korah: “You and all your congregation, be before the Lord, you and they, and Aaron. Tomorrow, each man take his firepan, put incense on it, and bring it before the Lord.” Yet this proposal is apparently identical to what he had already told them in verse 6: “Do this: take for yourselves firepans, Korah and all his congregation.” Is this not unnecessary repetition?

According to what has been said, it is well understood. In verse 6 there was truly a possibility that God would turn to their offering, but in verses 16 and 17 the proposal becomes a test before Aaron, and there they truly have no chance. Once Moses understands that the request is not sincere but is meant to undermine his leadership, he sets God’s choice of Aaron to the test, and that test will have a clear result, either Aaron or them.

At the same time, it should be noted that the punishment of the 250 was different from that of Dathan and Abiram. They were not swallowed by the earth, but burned, and their firepans were made into plating for the altar. It is possible that they were genuinely convinced that their goal was holiness, and their joining the rebellion revealed a hidden layer of what lay concealed in their hearts, even if they were not consciously aware of it.

From here comes an important lesson. If we have good arguments, they should be heard and answered properly, but we must pay close attention to the people who make up the coalition alongside us. Anyone who joins with the wicked in order to seek holiness should be suspected of harboring malicious intent behind his own request as well.

The article was written in the Ahvata bulletin distributed throughout the country. To receive the bulletin as a PDF, send a WhatsApp message >> To receive the bulletin by email >> To distribute it in your synagogue >>