Numbers בְּמִדְבַּר
(BaMidbar - in the desert)

CHAPTER 13

The Spies Sent into Canaan

1 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses saying,
2 “Send out for yourself men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from each of their fathers’ tribes, every one a leader among them.”
3 So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran at the command of Yahweh, all of them men who were heads of the sons of Israel.
4 These then were their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur;
5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori;
6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh;
7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph;
8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun;
9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu;
10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi;
11 from the tribe of Joseph, from the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi;
12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli;
13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael;
14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi;
15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.
16 These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land; but Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.
17 So Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, “Go up there into the Negev; then go up into the hill country.
18 “And see what the land is like, and whether the people who live in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many.
19 “And how is the land in which they live, is it good or bad? And how are the cities in which they live, are they like open camps or with fortifications?
20 “And how is the land, is it fat or lean? Are there trees in it or not? Make an effort then to get some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.
21 So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, at Lebo-hamath.
22 And they had gone up into the Negev and came to Hebron where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
23 Then they came to the valley of Eshcol and from there cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes; and they carried it on a pole between two men with some of the pomegranates and the figs.
24 That place was called the valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the sons of Israel cut down from there.

The Spies Recount What They Saw

25 Then they returned from spying out the land, at the end of forty days,
26 and went and came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; and they brought back word to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land.
27 Thus they recounted to him and said, “We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.
28 “Nevertheless, the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there.
29 “Amalek is living in the land of the Negev and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites are living in the hill country, and the Canaanites are living by the sea and by the side of the Jordan.”
30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we are surely able to overcome it.”
31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us.”
32 So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land, which we have passed through to spy out on, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size.
33 “There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

Legacy Standard Bible (Three Sixteen Publishing, 2022), Nu 13.

13.1-33

At the near Southeasternmost edge of the Promised Land, Yahweh commanded Moses to select leaders from each tribe to spy out the land of Canaan. Among these were Caleb of the tribe of Judah (v6) and Hoshea of the tribe of Ephraim (v8). But Moses called Hoshea - Jehoshea (Joshua) (v16), prefixing the name of God to Hoshea, changing the meaning of his name from "a desire of salvation" to " divinely appointed," "head of salvation," "Savior," the same as Jesus (Mt 1:21). After 40 days spying out the land, 10 of the leaders returning from Canaan gave a bad report of the land, saying that the people dwelling there were too strong for the Israelites to overcome. But Caleb (v30) and Joshua (14:6) said that the land was exceedingly good and that the Israelites were surely able to overcome it. As the untrusting spies were prone to deceit, exaggerating the hostility of the land to its inhabitants (v32), it is uncertain if they were also exaggerating the presence of Nephilim (v33) and "all" men of great size (v31) in the land. The descendants of Anak (v28) being present did not necessarily mean they would be giants like the Nephilim. But we do know that by the time Israel possessed the land during the time of King Saul, one such descendant was well known. Yet God delivered that man of great size to a faithful servant who did not fear an enemy larger in stature than himself. Young David trusted in the strength of Yahweh and slew the most famous of the descendants of the Nephilim - Goliath (1 Sam 17:50-53).

CHAPTER 14

The People Rebel

1 Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night.
2 And all the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness!
3 “And why is Yahweh bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”
4 So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.”
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel.
6 And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes;
7 and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, “The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land.
8 “If Yahweh is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us—a land which flows with milk and honey.
9 “But as for you, only do not rebel against Yahweh; and do not fear the people of the land, for they are our bread. Their protection has been removed from them, and Yahweh is with us; do not fear them.”
10 But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then the glory of Yahweh appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.

Moses Prays for the People

11 Yahweh said to Moses, “How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have done in their midst?
12 “I will strike them with pestilence and dispossess them, and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they.”
13 But Moses said to Yahweh, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your power You brought up this people from their midst,
14 and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, O Yahweh, are in the midst of this people, for You, O Yahweh, are seen eye to eye, while Your cloud stands over them; and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.
15 “Now if You put this people to death as one man, then the nations who have heard of Your fame will say,
16 ‘Because Yahweh was not able to bring this people into the land which He swore to them, therefore He slaughtered them in the wilderness.’
17 “So now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared,
18 ‘Yahweh is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.’
19 “Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”

Evil Complainers

20 So Yahweh said, “I have pardoned them according to your word;
21 but indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of Yahweh.
22 “Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I have done in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice,
23 shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it.
24 “But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his seed shall take possession of it.
25 “Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys; turn tomorrow and set out to the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.”
26 Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
27 “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are grumbling against Me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are making against Me.
28 “Say to them, ‘As I live,’ declares Yahweh, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will surely do to you;
29 your corpses will fall in this wilderness, even all your numbered men, according to your complete number from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me.
30 ‘Surely you shall not come into the land in which I swore to make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.
31 ‘Your little ones, however, who you said would become plunder—I will bring them in, so that they will know the land which you have rejected.
32 ‘But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness.
33 ‘And your sons shall be shepherds for forty years in the wilderness, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness, until your corpses come to an end in the wilderness.
34 ‘According to the number of days which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall bear your guilt a year, even forty years, and you will know My opposition.
35 ‘I, Yahweh, have spoken, surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall come to an end, and there they will die.’”
36 As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land and who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report concerning the land,
37 even those men who brought out the very bad report of the land died by a plague before Yahweh.
38 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land.

Israel Struck Down

39 Then Moses spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, and the people mourned greatly.
40 In the morning, however, they rose up early and went up to the ridge of the hill country, saying, “Here we are; we will go up to the place which Yahweh has promised because we have indeed sinned.”
41 But Moses said, “Why then do you trespass against the command of Yahweh, when it will not succeed?
42 “Do not go up, for Yahweh is not among you, so that you are not defeated before your enemies.
43 “For the Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there in front of you, and you will fall by the sword, inasmuch as you have turned back from following Yahweh. And Yahweh will not be with you.”
44 But they went up heedlessly to the ridge of the hill country; neither the ark of the covenant of Yahweh nor Moses moved from the camp.
45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down, and struck them and beat them down as far as Hormah.

Legacy Standard Bible (Three Sixteen Publishing, 2022), Nu 14.

14.1-45

For not the first time, Moses turns down God's offer to destroy the children of Israel and instead make a great nation of Moses and his offspring (Exodus 32:9-14). This time, however, Moses' response is not merely out of love for the people of the covenant but in defense of God's great name and the reputation that would follow should Yahweh destroy the people whom He promised to bring into Canaan. Moses cites the knowledge that the Egyptians and the inhabitants of this land have of Yahweh being in the midst of His people (vv13-14). Moses here demonstrates the same principle of understanding the nature of God that we should embrace - Yahweh is a jealous God, and His name is not to be defiled, nor is His reputation tarnished. Another aspect of God's nature that we should embrace as Moses did here, is the correct recognition of His power. Power for many is demonstrated through great and terrible actions of wrath or destruction. Moses declares the power of the Lord as great (v17) but describes that power in His ability to show lovingkindness, forgiveness, and pardon (vv18-19). How great of a prophecy was this? As we know, God's greatest power was demonstrated in the sacrificial act of forgiveness - Christ's sacrifice for us on the Cross.

CHAPTER 15

Offerings When Entering Canaan

1 Now Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land of your places of habitation, which I am going to give you,
3 then make an offering by fire to Yahweh, a burnt offering or a sacrifice to fulfill a special vow, or as a freewill offering or in your appointed times, to make a soothing aroma to Yahweh, from the herd or from the flock.
4 ‘And the one who brings his offering near shall bring near to Yahweh a grain offering of one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of oil,
5 and you shall prepare wine for the drink offering, one-fourth of a hin, with the burnt offering or for the sacrifice, for each lamb.
6 ‘Or for a ram you shall prepare as a grain offering two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-third of a hin of oil;
7 and for the drink offering you shall bring near one-third of a hin of wine as a soothing aroma to Yahweh.
8 ‘And when you prepare a bull from the herd as a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a special vow, or for peace offerings to Yahweh,
9 then you shall bring near with the bull from the herd a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-half a hin of oil;
10 and you shall bring near as the drink offering one-half a hin of wine as an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to Yahweh.
11 ‘Thus it shall be done for each ox, or for each ram, or for each of the male lambs, or of the goats.
12 ‘According to the number that you prepare, so you shall do for everyone according to their number.
13 ‘All who are native shall do these things in this manner, in bringing near an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to Yahweh.

Statute for the Sojourner

14 ‘And if a sojourner sojourns with you, or one who may be among you throughout your generations, and he offers an offering by fire as a soothing aroma to Yahweh, just as you do so he shall do.
15 ‘As for the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the sojourner who sojourns with you, a perpetual statute throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the sojourner be before Yahweh.
16 ‘There shall be one law and one judgment for you and for the sojourner who sojourns with you.’”
17 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
18 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land where I am going to bring you,
19 then it shall be, that when you eat of the food of the land, you shall raise up a contribution offering to Yahweh.
20 ‘Of the first of your dough you shall raise up a cake as a contribution offering; as the contribution offering of the threshing floor, so you shall raise it up.
21 ‘From the first of your dough you shall give to Yahweh a contribution offering throughout your generations.
22 ‘But when you unintentionally fail and do not observe all these commandments, which Yahweh has spoken to Moses,
23 even all that Yahweh has commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day when Yahweh commanded and onward throughout your generations,
24 then it will be, if it is done unintentionally, hidden from the sight of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one bull from the herd for a burnt offering as a soothing aroma to Yahweh, with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the legal judgment, and one male goat for a sin offering.
25 ‘Then the priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the sons of Israel, and they will be pardoned; for it was an error, and they have brought their offering, an offering by fire to Yahweh, and their sin offering before Yahweh, for their error.
26 ‘So all the congregation of the sons of Israel will be pardoned, with the sojourner who sojourns among them, for it happened to all the people through error.
27 ‘Also if one person sins unintentionally, then he shall bring near a one year old female goat for a sin offering.
28 ‘And the priest shall make atonement before Yahweh for the person who goes astray when he sins unintentionally, making atonement for him that he may be pardoned.
29 ‘You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the sons of Israel and for the sojourner who sojourns among them.
30 ‘But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, that one is blaspheming Yahweh; and that person shall be cut off from among his people.
31 ‘Because he has despised the word of Yahweh and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt will be on him.’”

A Sabbath-breaker Put to Death

32 Now the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, and they found a man gathering wood on the sabbath day.
33 And those who found him gathering wood brought him near to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation;
34 and they put him in custody because it had not been declared what should be done to him.
35 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “The man shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.”
36 So all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
37 Yahweh also spoke to Moses, saying,
38 “Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue.
39 “And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of Yahweh, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot,
40 so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy to your God.
41 “I am Yahweh your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God; I am Yahweh your God.”

Legacy Standard Bible (Three Sixteen Publishing, 2022), Nu 15.

15.1-41

While reading this chapter, recall that chapter Numbers 14 established that the adults of the families of the ten spies (excluding Caleb and Joshua) who did not trust in Yahweh to be able to capture Canaan would perish in the wilderness while wandering over the next 40 years (one year for each day they spent in Canaan spying, 14:34). But the statutes for correct sacrifice upon entry into the land was being given to the ones who would eventually enter (their children, 15:2-13).
Today, in Christian homes, we have an inverted optic of this principle likely to occur. Parents trust in and wait on Yahweh for the coming Day of the Lord, but our children are skeptical. Although they will have been taught the truth in Christian homes, too much of a worldview has permeated their opinions of what is to come. On the day the Lord returns to rapture His church, those who trusted in Him will rise to meet Him in the sky (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Those who did not will remain to wander in the wilderness of the second half of the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21), and many of those will be our children.

Numbers 15:2-13 discussion
The command about offerings by fire to be made to Yahweh, given in the context of their impending entry into the land (v2), is significant. This command, given immediately after they had just been told they would not go into the land for 40 years (14:33-34), forms the backdrop for the discussion on the ratios and discrepancies in the offerings. These are the proscribed sacrificial offerings to be given by the Israelites when they enter into the land – following 40 years wandering in the desert and after the untrusting/disobedient fathers (those 20 and older) have all died. Failing to have done correctly, these are the commands for how to do them correctly – in due time.

Grain offering and Burnt offering Ratios; and discrepancies for grain to oil/wine.
• Lamb: (v4)1/10 ephah flour: 1/4 hin oil: 1/4 hin wine
• Ram: (v6) 2/10 ephah flour: 1/3 hin oil: 1/3 hin wine
*100% more flour, but only 33% more oil/wine
“wine as a soothing aroma to Yahweh.” (v7)
• Bull: (v8) 3/10 ephah flour: 1/2 hin oil: 1/2 hin wine – also for Vow, or Peace offering
*50% more flour and 50% more oil/wine (but 200% more flour and 100% more oil/wine than for a lamb).
“the drink offering of ½ hin of wine as an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to Yahweh.” (v10)

• Exodus 16:36, One ephah was ten omer.
• One-tenth of an ephah was one omer.
• An omer of mana was enough to feed one person for a day.
• Lev 6:10, 1/10 ephah of fine flour was the regular grain offering of Aaron and his sons.
• The elements of sacrifices described in Numbers 15 are the elements God declares He will deliver to His people who obey His commandments in Deuteronomy 11:14-15 (grain, oil, wine, flocks/herd).

Lamb: 1/10 ephah of flour = 2.1 dry quarts. 1/4 hin of oil = 1 quart: 2.1:1 ratio
Ram: 2/10 ephah of flour = 4.2 dry quarts. 1/3 hin of oil = 1 1/3 quart: 3.15:1 ratio
Bull: 3/10 ephah of flour = 6.3 dry quarts. 1/2 hin of oil = 2 quarts: 3.15:1 ratio
The Lamb sacrifice grain-to-oil ratio (2.1:1) relative to the Ram sacrifice grain-to-oil ratio (3.15:1) is a 50% increase for the Ram. The 3.15:1 ratio for the Ram sacrifice (4.2 quarts flour to 1 1/3-quart oil) is maintained in a 3.15:1 ratio for the Bull sacrifice (6.3 quarts flour to 2 quarts oil).

Numbers 15:14-41 explains and illustrates the difference between the response to ignorant and willful sin. Those who will wander in the desert and die will be understood to have been guilty of the latter. The surviving children, who will eventually enter the land, will be guilty of the former. Verses14-31 declare the laws. Verses 33-41 plainly illustrate the implementation of the law.

CHAPTER 16

Korah Rises Up Against Moses

1 Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took others,
2 and they rose up before Moses, together with some of the sons of Israel, 250 leaders of the congregation, those called upon by the assembly, men of renown.
3 Then they assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and Yahweh is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of Yahweh?”
4 And Moses heard this and fell on his face;
5 and he spoke to Korah and all his congregation, saying, “Tomorrow morning Yahweh will show who is His, and who is holy, and will bring him near to Himself; even the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself.
6 “Do this: take censers for yourselves, Korah and all your congregation,
7 and put fire in them, and lay incense upon them in the presence of Yahweh tomorrow; and the man whom Yahweh chooses shall be the one who is holy. aYou have gone far enough, you sons of Levi!”
8 Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi,
9 is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to perform the service of the tabernacle of Yahweh, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them;
10 and that He has brought you near, Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking for the priesthood also?
11 “Therefore you and all your congregation are gathered together against Yahweh; but as for Aaron, who is he that you grumble against him?”
12 Then Moses sent a summons to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, “We will not come up.
13 “Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to put us to death in the wilderness, but you would also lord it over us?
14 “Indeed, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Would you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up!”
15 Then Moses became very angry and said to Yahweh, “Do not regard their offering! I have not taken a single donkey from them, nor have I done harm to any of them.”
16 And Moses said to Korah, “You and all your congregation be present before Yahweh tomorrow, both you and they along with Aaron.
17 “And each of you take his firepan and put incense on it, and each of you bring his censer near before Yahweh, 250 firepans; also you and Aaron shall each bring his firepan.”
18 So they each took his own censer and put fire on it, and laid incense on it; and they stood at the doorway of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron.
19 Thus Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the doorway of the tent of meeting. And the glory of Yahweh appeared to all the congregation.
20 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
21 “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.”
22 But they fell on their faces and said, “O God, God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?”
23 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
24 “Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’”
25 Then Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, with the elders of Israel following him,
26 and he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Turn aside now from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing that belongs to them, lest you be swept away in all their sin.”
27 So they got back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram; but Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the doorway of their tents, along with their wives and their sons and their little ones.
28 And Moses said, “By this you shall know that Yahweh has sent me to do all these deeds; for this is not from my heart.
29 “If these men die the death of all men or if they suffer the fate of all men, then Yahweh has not sent me.
30 “But if Yahweh creates an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they go down to Sheol alive, then you will know that these men have spurned Yahweh.”
31 And it happened that as he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open;
32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions.
33 So they and all that belonged to them went down to Sheol alive; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.
34 Then all Israel who were around them fled at their outcry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!”
35 Fire also came forth from Yahweh and consumed the 250 men who were bringing near the incense.
36 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
37 “Say to Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he shall take up the censers out of the midst of the blaze, and you scatter the burning coals abroad; for they are holy.
38 “As for the censers of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, make them into hammered sheets for a plating of the altar, since they brought them near before Yahweh, and they are holy; and they shall be for a sign to the sons of Israel.”
39 So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers which the men who were burned had brought near, and they hammered them out as a plating for the altar,
40 as a memorial to the sons of Israel that no outsider who is not of the seed of Aaron should come near to burn incense before Yahweh; so that he will not become like Korah and his congregation—just as Yahweh had spoken to him by the hand of Moses.

Grumbling and Plague

41 But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You are the ones who have caused the death of the people of Yahweh.”
42 It came about, however, when the congregation had assembled against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it and the glory of Yahweh appeared.
43 Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting,
44 and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
45 “Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.” Then they fell on their faces.
46 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put in it fire from the altar, and lay incense on it; then bring it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone forth from Yahweh, the plague has begun!”
47 Then Aaron took it as Moses had spoken, and ran into the midst of the assembly, for behold, the plague had begun among the people. So he put on the incense and made atonement for the people.
48 And he took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was checked.
49 But those who died by the plague were 14,700, besides those who died on account of Korah.
50 Then Aaron returned to Moses at the doorway of the tent of meeting, for the plague had been checked.

Legacy Standard Bible (Three Sixteen Publishing, 2022), Nu 16.

16.1-50

The foundation for Numbers 16 is laid in the previous two chapters. Moses had just declared to the children of Israel that everyone other than Caleb and Joshua, over the age of 19, would not enter the Promised Land, but would wander for 40 years in the wilderness where their "corpses will fall" "and there they (would) die" (14:28-35). The spies "who returned and made all the congregation grumble" "died by a plague before Yahweh" (14:36-37). Then Moses spoke to the younger generation and told them of their future correct response to Yahweh when they enter the land, describing their sacrifices (15:1-13), the statutes for unintentional sin (15:14-29), and for blaspheming and despising the word of Yahweh (15:30-31). Finally, there was an example of one who defied Yahweh's sabbath instructions and was stoned to death (15:32-36).

In the wake of Moses' revelation of consequences and the change in life expectancy for the elders of the Hebrew people, the grumbling that had begun with the news from the spies and brought about a plague continued in the form of a rebellion. Korah, a leader among the Levites, convinced Dathan, Abiram, and On, leaders of the tribe of Reuben, to join him in confronting Moses with the declaration that "they all were holy, and Moses had gone too far" (v3). It appears as if only Korah, Dathan, and Abiram followed through with the rebellion, as On is not mentioned after verse 1. (The Talmud, Sanhedrin 109b/110a, provides insight into this omission.)

Moses remains consistent with the nature for which Yahweh chose him as leader of His people by thrice intervening against God's wrath at the people's rebellion against God and His anointed leader.
- "And Moses heard this and fell on his face" (v4).
- "But they fell on their faces and said, “O God, God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?”(v22).
- "Then they fell on their faces.” (v45).

Yahweh three times tells Moses and Aaron to separate themselves/get back from the people so that He may consume them instantly. Ultimately, the plague that had begun with the disobedient spies continues to the point of killing another 14,700 (v49), and it is not abated (God's wrath is not abated) until atonement is made for the sins of the congregation(vv46,50). What was their sin? Grumbling against God.

Numbers בְּמִדְבַּר (BaMidbar - in the desert)

13.1-33

14.1-45

15.1-41

16.1-50

Numbers בְּמִדְבַּר
(BaMidbar - in the desert)