Sandro Botticelli, Punishment of the Sons of Korah, 1480–1482, in the Sistine Chapel, Rome. Several biblical psalms are attributed to the sons of Korah (לִבְנֵי־קֹֽרַח), but who were they? And were they related in any way to the infamous Korah who, together with Dathan, Abiram, and 250 princes (or leaders) of Israel, rebelled against Moses? In the story in Numbers 16 the 250 leaders were consumed by fire from God (v.35) while the ground opened up and swallowed Korah, his family and all his possessions (v.32). It’s somewhat unclear in some of the details about who, precisely, was punished in this way, with one part of the story saying it was “Korah, Dathan, and Abiram … together with their wives, their children, and their little ones” (v.27), while a later account says “the sons of Korah did not die” (Numbers 26:11). A further 14,700 people died in a plague which followed the rebellion (16:49). In fact, the details in Numbers 16 and 26 are so disjointed that many scholars think what we have is actually two stories which were merged together at some point. We have further evidence for this in two other accounts of this rebellion. In Deuteronomy 11:5-7 we have a short version which mentions what God “did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab son of Reuben, how in the midst of all Israel the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, along with their households, their tents, and every living being in their company.” Interestingly, Korah doesn’t get a mention here at all, while in Numbers he is portrayed as the ringleader. Similarly, Psalm 106:16-18 which describes the same rebellion against Moses, says “The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the faction of Abiram. Fire also broke out in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.” Again, no mention of Korah! I will come back to a possible reason for this, but first let’s take a look at the “sons of Korah” elsewhere in the Bible. Eleven (or twelve) psalms have לִבְנֵי־קֹֽרַח “to the sons of Korah” (or Korahites) in their headings.1 The same term occurs in the genealogies of the Levites (Temple ministers) in the book of Chronicles, where they are also called קָּרְחִים Korahites. The prophet-judge Samuel is listed as a descendant of Korah (1 Chron. 6:7-13, 18-23). We can piece together enough details in Chronicles to know that Korahites were a priestly group descended from Kohath, one of the three sons of Levi (Moses and Aaron were also descended from Kohath). These descendants of Kohath, or Kohathites, were responsible for taking care of the tabernacle in the wilderness and transporting the most sacred paraphernalia. It seems that in the Temple the Kohathites also had specific responsibilities for providing music. They are listed with “the men whom David put in charge of the service of song in the house of the LORD, after the ark came to rest there. They ministered with song before the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, until Solomon had built the house of the LORD in Jerusalem; and they performed their service in due order” (1 Chron. 6:31). They are mentioned again during the reign of Jehoshaphat: “And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice” (2 Chron. 20:19). It’s hardly surprising then that around a dozen psalms were written by Korahites. However, in one genealogy of Kohathites the sons of Korah are conspicuously absent (1 Chron. 23:12-20), suggesting that by the time Chronicles was written (after the exile) their role may have been diminished. We can only guess why the role of the Korahites was diminished. We do know that there was rivalry throughout Israel’s history between various priestly and Levitical groups. Sometimes this is overtly stated, such as in the incident when David deposed the priest Abiathar and elevated Zadok as High Priest, setting up a rivalry which probably lasted centuries. At other times the rivalry can be inferred by comparing conflicting genealogical records. There are also some hints of this in some of the psalms of the sons of Korah. For example, in Psalm 42-43 we have a repeated refrain “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me?” The whole tone of these psalms is one of despondency, although the writer doesn’t explain the circumstances which led to it. In one verse the writer reminisces about his times in the Temple: “These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I went with the throng, and led them in procession to the house of God, with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival” (42:5, v. 4 in English). Writing in the past tense about how he led worshippers or pilgrims to the Temple, there is an implication that he is despondent because he can no longer do this. In the second part of the psalm (psalm 43) he longs for a restoration to this position: “O send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy; and I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God” (43:3-4). For some unstated reason the writer is no longer leading worshippers to the Temple, but longs for a return to this position. I wonder if his appeal to God to “send out your light and your truth” is an appeal for the light of truth to be shined on some injustice which has led to his present situation. We can only speculate, but it’s possible that these psalms mark a turning point in the Korahites fortunes and their prominence in Temple service.2 Going back to the accounts in Numbers, Deuteronomy and Psalm 106 about the rebellion in the wilderness, and why Numbers 16 mentions Korah while the other accounts don’t, some scholars have argued that Korah was added in to the story at some later point in time. The rebels were Dathan and Abiram, according to Deuteronomy and Psalm 106, but a redactor or editor of Numbers decided at some point to add in Korah and to make him the ringleader. It seems clear enough that this happened, but not why. I’m going to suggest that the reason for this could have been the kind of priestly rivalry which I’ve mentioned, and at the same time as the Korahites fell out of favour a rival group of priestly scribes who were responsible for the book of Numbers inserted the Korahites ancestor Korah into the story. That might seem petty, but politics can be very petty at times! However, the book of Psalms was a fluid collection, and we have good evidence that it grew and developed as a collection over time. Even though the sons of Korah may have lost their prominence at one time, the psalms which bear their name were retained in the collection, and their “complaint” in Psalms 42-43 somehow also made it in. Incidentally, the painting I have chosen above by Botticelli displays the rebellion against Moses in three scenes. The scene on the left has the ground opening and two of the rebels sinking into the earth. Interestingly, in the middle scene Moses is wearing a papal tiara and the Latin inscription on the arch (which is obviously modelled on the Arch of Constantine in Rome) is from Hebrews 5:4 which translates as “And one does not presume to take this honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was” (NRSV). The papal tiara, and the quote from Hebrews, suggests that Botticelli was responding to some challenge to papal authority. It seems that priestly rivalry and contests for religious leadership have always been with us! ________________________________ 1 Psalms 43 and 43 were almost certainly written as one psalm, then 44-49, 84-85 and 87-88, so depending on whether we count 42 and 43 as one or two psalms we have a total of eleven or twelve. 2 It is equally possible that the psalm reflects some other reason why the writer is unable to go to the Temple. Some commentators think it may have been written after the destruction of the Temple, although I personally think the evidence does not favour this. Have you ever heard of the rebellion of Korah? How about the Sons of Korah? The rebellion of Korah and the Sons of Korah have a connection with each other, and the connection is fascinating. The rebellion of Korah occurred during the 40 years Moses led the nation of Israel in the wilderness following God’s miraculous deliverance of the people out of captivity in Egypt. Korah rose up during the wo year desert wandering and rallied a group of people to oppose Moses. Korah was a grandson of one of Levi’s three sons (Kohath). He was a Levite, which meant that he was involved in the Levitical duties of caring for the tabernacle and the tent of the tabernacle where God’s “presence” resided in the midst of the people. The Levitical duties were sacred and honorific. The Kohathites were specifically in charge of caring for the Ark of the Covenant, the table, lamp stand, altars, articles of the sanctuary and the curtain behind which the priests did their ritual thing. (Numbers 3) Unlike the other Levites who were allowed to transport their items in carts, the Kohathites were required to hand carry their items. The Ark of the Covenant was particularly sacred. Maybe the Kohathites were jealous of the ease enjoyed by the other priests who didn’t have to hand carry the items for which they were responsible. We don’t know. The text doesn’t tell us. The text does tell us that Korah and several others rallied 250 men to oppose the authority of Moses publicly. They claimed that all the people of Israel are “holy”, and they questioned why Moses and Aaron “exalted themselves” above everyone else. (Numbers 16:3) Moses responded by challenging Korah and his followers to put the issue before God. He said, “This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea.” (Num. 16:28) As the story goes, they all gathered in front of the Tent of Meeting, each man with incense burning in censors. Moses and Aaron did the same, facing off with the contentious lot. God warned Moses, and Moses warned the larger crowd to stand back. When he finished talking, the ground opened up and “swallowed” the 250 men up alive. (Numbers 16) The story stands as a warning to those who are not content with their place in the world and get jealous of others to whom God has given greater responsibility. God chose Moses and Aaron to lead the people. By opposing God’s chosen leaders, they were opposing God’s authority. I assumed that Korah and his group were wiped out The text seemed to imply that his clan were included in the 250 agitators. It turns out that my assumption was wrong because the “sons of Korah” appear many generations later, and their place in the history of God’s people is truly an intriguing “rest of the story”. The fate of Korah and his followers seems rather drastic to modern minds, mine included, but this was (perhaps) the most important 40-year journey in the history of mankind. God had a plan that He could not allow to be thwarted. He was orchestrating the placement of His chosen in the land He promised Abraham’s descendants through whom God would bless all the nations. The fulfillment of that promise was 430 in the making! Lest we be tempted to compare that kingdom to the United States (or even modern Israel), the end goal of this plan was to provide the soil from which a root would grow up and become salvation to all men – the root of Jesse (Isaiah 11:10), father of David, who would become the Messiah (Rom. 15:12) – Jesus Christ, Immanuel, God with Us! This was a one time event, and establishing Abraham’s descendants in the promised land was essential to the end goal. Jesus would later tell his followers that Moses (the Law) and the Prophets were all about him. (Luke 24:26-27) Thus, the stakes of the challenge to Moses in the wilderness were not so much about Moses, as about God’s universal plans for mankind. (And, we shouldn’t get confused about the story of Korah’s rebellion and think that it has any specific application to leaders today, though it certainly has application, generally, to all of us. Fools should not rush in where angels fear to tread!) The verse that piqued my interest about the rebellion of Korah this: “But the sons of Korah did not die.” (Num. 26:11) Though Korah and all the men who followed him in his rebellion were swallowed up and died, his sons (or at least some of them) lived on. Why was that statement included? It begged for some investigation. Many generations later (about 18), we read about the men King David put in charge of “the service of song in the house of the Lord after the ark rested there”, ministering with song before the tabernacle of the tent – the same ark the Kohathites carried. These men included Heman, a descendant of the great prophet, Samuel. Both Heman and Samuel were descendants of Korah, who led the famous rebellion. (1 Chronicles 6:31-38)But there is more: other descendants of Korah were doorkeepers to the tent of meeting. (1 Chron. 9:19-21). Other descendants of Korah were expert warriors in King David’s army. (1 Chron. 12:6) But the Sons of Korah are best known for their musicianship and Psalms. Yes, Psalms. Eleven Psalms are specifically attributed to the “Sons of Korah”. The sons of Korah were descendants of the prophet. They were still faithfully caring for the ark many generations after Korah rebelled against Moses (and God). These great men of God were sons of Korah, the malcontent who was swallowed by the earth in his rebellion to God’s plans. What an amazing turn of events! Perhaps, the most poignant thing I found is in the Psalms they authored. The following verses are all from the Psalms attributed to the Sons of Korah: “As the deer pants for streams of water, my soul pants for you, my God.” (Psalm 42) “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble…. Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46) “Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.” (Psalm 47) “Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, his holy mountain.” (Psalm 48) “God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself.” (Psalm 49) All of these are Psalms written by the Son of Korah. They include some of the most beautifully written expressions of trust in God, gratitude and humility in Scripture. Psalm 84, though, may be the most poignant of all the Psalms they wrote. Consider verse 10, in particular: Better is one day in your courts This verse seems to suggest that a doorkeeper is person of lowly status in the scheme of things. Today, we might say, “I would rather by a janitor in the house of God, than dwell with the wicked.” I don’t think it is happenstance that descendants of the malcontent, Korah, were doorkeepers to the tent of meeting. (1 Chron. 9:19-21). This verse was personal to them, given their heritage. Korah served inside the tent of meeting. He and his brothers tended to the holiest of holy items, including the Ark of the Covenant. His sons served outside the tent of meeting as doorkeepers, yet their attitudes were different. Psalm 84 (and the other Psalms they wrote) suggest that Korah’s descendants had embraced the opposite attitude of their ancestor, Korah. Rather than discontent, jealousy and arrogance, like Korah, because he didn’t like the position he was given, the Sons of Korah served in humility, gratitude and honor in whatever position they were given – even as doorkeepers to the house of God. Their legacy is the penning of some of the greatest of all the Psalms. This story also reminds us that, though God’s judgments seem harsh, He is not arbitrary. God could not have allowed Korah’s rebellion to succeed, but he spared Korah’s children the consequences visited upon Korah. Though Korah opposed God’s grand plan, his sons were grateful servants of it. If we might collapse this “lesson” down to individual people, we might see that God may allow us to suffer the consequences of our rebellious attitudes and actions, but He is faithful to bless us when we turn to him. We might be at times like Korah, and at times like the sons of Korah during the course of our own lives. We may have humble, even questionable, beginnings, but that doesn’t have to be the end of the story. Our God is a redemptive God. He desires mercy, rather than sacrifice. (Hosea 6:6) He is always there if we return to Him, even if we have wandered far away. Most importantly, it is better to be a doorkeeper in the house of God than to be anywhere else. I am reminded of the poor man, Lazarus, reclining at the table with Abraham, while the rich man, who had his good things in life (but refused the give the poor man the time of day), was tormented in hell. (Luke 16:19-31) I am reminded that “[n]o eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Cor. 2:9)
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