Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

KORAH

(Heb. qōraḥ)

1. A member of an Edomite clan, either a son (Gen. 36:14) or grandson (v. 16) of Esau, listed as one of the chiefs of Teman.

2. The eldest son of Izhar (Exod. 6:21-24; 1 Chr. 6:38[MT 23]), a descendant of Levi, of the Kohath division of levitical priests (1 Chr. 6:22[7] calls him the son of Amminadab). In the desert period the Korahites were gatekeepers of the tent of meeting (1 Chr. 9:19), which duties they resumed in the postexilic period. They were also a leading guild of temple singers (2 Chr. 20:19).

The book of Numbers portrays Korah and his associates as a paradigm of rebellion against Moses and the Aaronic priesthood during the desert journey (Num. 16; 26:9-11). Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Reuben gather 250 leaders from the congregation to protest the Aaronic privilege of altar sacrifice. They appear before Moses and Aaron to affirm that the entire congregation, not just the Aaronic priests, is holy. Thus, their objection is not only against the division between levitical groups and the Aaronic priesthood, but also against any division with regard to holiness between the congregation and the priesthood. Korah’s rebellion represents thus the first lay-clergy conflict in Israel. To remedy the situation, Moses suggests that Yahweh bring resolution to the conflict on the next day. Korah and his rebels are to appear with incense in their censers before the tent of meeting, where Yahweh will show whose incense will be accepted, thus settling the holiness controversy. The next day Korah and his group arrive with censers in hand. Yahweh responds, causing the ground to open up and swallow Korah, Dathan, Abiram and their families, and then sending fire to consume the remaining 250 associates. In the aftermath Yahweh commands that the burned bronze censers of the rebellion be fashioned into a covering for the altar as a warning to all future challenges to the Aaronic hegemony. When the congregation sees what Yahweh has done, they begin to murmur, which causes further problems. Angered, Yahweh sends a plague among them, killing 14,700. Finally, Moses intervenes, summoning Aaron to make atonement for the congregation, which brings to an end a grisly episode. Some have suggested that the story of the Korah rebellion is a retrojection of later priestly controversies back into the Moses period. Whether or not this is true, the episode warns against any challenge to the Aaronic priesthood.

3. A son of Hebron unrelated to either the levitical or Edomite Korah, listed among the descendants of Judah (1 Chr. 2:43).

4. Descendants of the levitical Korah. The Korahites carried on the work of gatekeepers at the tent of meeting (1 Chr. 26:19), bakers (9:31), and songwriters beginning with David and continuing in temple service during the postexilic period (6:31; 9:19). It is these Korahite singers who appear in the superscriptions of Pss. 42, 44–49, 84–85, 87-88.

Bibliography. G. W. Coats, Rebellion in the Wilderness (Nashville, 1968); A. Cody, A History of Old Testament Priesthood. AnBib 35 (Rome, 1969).

Jeff H. McCrory, Jr.

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

KORAH

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)