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Numbers 16 Bible study: Who is holy
Korah said all the congregation were holy (16:3), and the LORD answered by showing whom he chose to come near (16:5, 16:40). The rebels' censers were beaten into a covering for the altar, as a memorial (16:38-40). And when the plague began, Aaron, the one they had complained against, ran into the crowd with incense and "stood between the dead and the living" (16:48).
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“He stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.”
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“In Numbers 16, the LORD says the censers of the men who sinned were holy.”
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What's really going on
"All the congregation are holy"
Korah, a Levite, "the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi" (16:1), rises up with three men of Reuben and "two hundred fifty princes of the congregation" (16:2). Their words to Moses and Aaron: "You take too much on yourself, since all the congregation are holy, everyone of them, and the LORD is among them! Why do you lift yourselves up above the LORD’s assembly?" (16:3). Just before this, the LORD had told Israel to wear fringes "and be holy to your God" (15:40), with the same Hebrew word. Moses falls on his face (16:4), then puts the answer in the LORD's hands: "In the morning, the LORD will show who are his, and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to him" (16:5).
Where it leads to Jesus
Korah's rebellion, in Jude
Numbers 16:3leads toJude 1:11
The New Testament names this chapter. Jude writes of men who "crept in secretly", "denying our only Master, God, and Lord, Jesus Christ" (Jude 1:4), and says of them, "Woe to them! … and perished in Korah’s rebellion" (Jude 1:11). Korah's company rose up against Moses and Aaron, and Moses told them they "have gathered together against the LORD" (16:11). Jude names that rebellion when he writes of those who deny Jesus Christ as Master and Lord.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Numbers 16
That was a taste
The rest of Numbers 16 is waiting in Favor
- "Do you seek the priesthood also?"
- Egypt, a land flowing with milk and honey
- Aaron's censer
- "The ground opens its mouth"
- Korah afterwards
- 17 questions as you read
- 10 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Numbers 16 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
קָדוֹשׁqadoshsay qa-DOSH
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "sacred, holy". Strong's: "sacred (ceremonially or morally)". It comes three times in 16:3-7. Korah uses the plural of everyone: "all the congregation are holy, everyone of them" (16:3), the same form as the LORD's command a few verses earlier, "be holy to your God" (15:40). Moses uses it of one man, with the: "the LORD will show who are his, and who is holy" (16:5), and "the man whom the LORD chooses, he shall be holy" (16:7). The question isn't whether Israel is holy, but whom the LORD will "cause… to come near to him" (16:5).
For your group
Numbers 16 Bible study questions
- 1Moses asked the Levites, "Is it a small thing to you…?" (16:9), when they wanted the priesthood too (16:10). What has God already given you that you're tempted to treat as small because you want something else?
- 2Dathan and Abiram remembered Egypt as "a land flowing with milk and honey" (16:13). When has looking back made a hard past seem better than it was, and what did it keep you from?
- 3Aaron ran into the crowd for people who had just complained against him (16:41, 16:47-48). What would it look like for you to stand in the gap for someone this week, in prayer or in person?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Numbers 16 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Can I read Numbers 16 straight away?
Favor takes the Bible as one story, in order, so you'll reach Numbers 16 with everything that leads up to it in view. Start from Genesis, or meet Jesus first in the Gospels. You can read the text of any chapter in Favor's Look up whenever you like.
Do I need a group?
No. Many people read on their own. If you'd like to read with others, start a Bible study and share one link. Everyone's answers stay private until you meet.
I've never really read the Bible. Is this for me?
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The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home