KORAH (BALD)

Parashat Korach

Rebellion of Korah

16 Now Korah, son of Izhar son of Kohath son of Levi, and sons of Reuben—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth— ² rose up against Moses and took 250 men from Bnei-Yisrael, men of renown who had been appointed to the council. ³ They assembled against Moses and Aaron. They said to them, “You’ve gone too far! All the community is holy—all of them—and Adonai is with them! Then why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of Adonai?”

⁴ When Moses heard this, he fell on his face.

⁵ Then he said to Korah and all his following saying, “In the morning Adonai will reveal who is His and who is holy. The one whom He will let come near to Him will be the one He chooses to come near to Him. ⁶ Do this, Korah and your whole following! Take for yourselves censers. ⁷ Put fire and incense into them in the presence of Adonai. Tomorrow the man that Adonai chooses will be the holy one! You sons of Levi are the ones who have gone too far!”

⁸ Moses also said to Korah, “Listen now, sons of Levi! ⁹ Isn’t it enough that the God of Israel has set you apart from the community of Israel to bring you near to Him to do the work of the Tabernacle of Adonai and to stand before the community to minister to them? ¹⁰ So He brought you close, along with all your fellow sons of Levi. But you are seeking the priesthood, too! ¹¹ Therefore you and all your following are banding together against Adonai! Who then is Aaron—that you are grumbling against him?”

¹² Then Moses sent word to call Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab. But they said, “We will not come! ¹³ Isn’t it enough that you brought us from a land flowing with milk and honey, only to kill us in the wilderness? And now you would lord it over us? ¹⁴ What’s more, you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Would you now gouge out the eyes of those men? We won’t come!”

¹⁵ Then Moses became very angry and said to Adonai, “Do not accept their offering. I haven’t taken from them a single donkey, nor have I wronged one of them!”

¹⁶ So Moses said to Korah, “You and your whole following are to appear before Adonai—you, they and Aaron—tomorrow! ¹⁷ Each man will take his censer and you are to put incense into them—250 censers total. You are to present it before Adonai, you and Aaron each presenting his censer.”

¹⁸ So each man took his censer, put fire and incense into it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. ¹⁹ When Korah and all his following had assembled in opposition to them at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, then the glory of Adonai appeared to the entire assembly.

²⁰ Then Adonai spoke to Moses and Aaron saying, ²¹ “Separate yourselves from among this assembly, so that I may consume them at once!”

²² But they fell on their faces and cried out, “O God, God of the spirits of all flesh, if one man sins, will you be angry with the entire community?”

²³ Then Adonai spoke to Moses saying, ²⁴ “Speak to the assembly saying, ‘Move away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan and Abiram!’”

²⁵ Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram. The elders of Israel followed after him. ²⁶ He warned the assembly saying, “Move away from the tents of these wicked men! Don’t touch anything that is theirs, or you will be swept away because of all their sins!”

²⁷ So they moved away from near the dwelling of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram came outside and were standing at the entrance of their tents with their wives, their children, and their little ones.

²⁸ Moses said, “By this you will know that Adonai has sent me to do all these works, that they are not from my own heart. ²⁹ If every one of these men die a common death and experience what happens to all people, then Adonai has not sent me. ³⁰ But if Adonai brings about a new thing, and the earth opens her mouth and swallows them and everything that is theirs, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have despised Adonai.”

³¹ As soon as he finished saying all these things, the ground split under them. ³² The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, along with all their households, all of Korah’s people and all their possessions. ³³ They went down alive into Sheol, they and everything that was theirs. The earth closed over them and they were gone from among the community.

³⁴ All Israel around them fled at their outcry, for they shouted, “Perhaps the earth will swallow us!”

³⁵ Fire also came out from Adonai and consumed the 250 men offering the incense.

³⁶ Adonai spoke to Moses saying, ³⁷ “Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the kohen, to take the censers from the burning, because they are holy, and scatter the coals at a distance. ³⁸ As for the censers of these men who sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be taken and hammered into sheets as a covering for the altar. For they were presented before Adonai, so they are holy. They are to be a sign to Bnei-Yisrael.”

³⁹ So Eleazar the kohen collected the bronze censers brought by the ones who were burned and hammered them into an overlay for the altar, ⁴⁰ just as Adonai had spoken to him by Moses’ hand, so that it would be as a reminder to Bnei-Yisrael that no one who was not a descendant of Aaron should burn incense before Adonai, and so no one would become like Korah and his following.

⁴¹ The next day, the entire community of Bnei-Yisrael grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You killed Adonai’s people!”

⁴² But when they gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the Tent of Meeting, behold, the cloud covered it and the glory appeared! ⁴³ Moses and Aaron went to the front of the Tent of Meeting.

⁴⁴ Adonai spoke to Moses saying, ⁴⁵ “Get away from among this assembly so that I may immediately consume them!” So they fell on their faces.

⁴⁶ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Take the censer, put into it fire from the altar and put in incense. Get going and hurry to the assembly and make atonement for them, because wrath has come out from Adonai and the plague has started.”

⁴⁷ Aaron did just as Moses had said, and ran into the middle of the assembly. Behold, the plague had already started among the people. But he offered the incense and made atonement for the people. ⁴⁸ He stood between the dead and the living and the plague stopped. ⁴⁹ However, there were 14,700 dead from the plague, besides those who died because of Korah.

⁵⁰ Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, when the plague had been halted.

Sprouting of Aaron’s Rod

17 Adonai spoke to Moses saying, ² “Speak to Bnei-Yisrael and get a rod from each ancestral house, twelve staffs in all, from each prince according to his ancestral household. Write each man’s name on his staff. ³ Write Aaron’s name on Levi’s staff, for there is to be one staff for the prince of each tribe. ⁴ Then you are to place them in the Tent of Meeting, before the Testimony, where I meet with you. ⁵ It will come about that the staff of the man I choose will sprout. I will then rid Myself of the grumblings of Bnei-Yisrael, who are grumbling against you.”

⁶ So Moses spoke to Bnei-Yisrael. Each of their princes gave him a staff, one staff for each prince according to their ancestral houses, twelve staffs in all, and Aaron’s staff was among them. ⁷ Moses placed the staffs before Adonai in the Tent of Testimony.

⁸ The next day, Moses entered the Tent of Testimony and behold, Aaron’s staff, from the house of Levi, had sprouted, blossomed, and produced almonds! ⁹ Moses then brought all the staffs from Adonai’s Presence to all Bnei-Yisrael. They looked and each man took his staff.

¹⁰ Adonai said to Moses, “Put Aaron’s staff back in front of the Testimony to keep as a sign to the sons of rebellion, so that it may put an end to their grumblings against Me, and so they will not die.” ¹¹ Moses did just as Adonai had commanded him.

¹² But Bnei-Yisrael said to Moses saying, “Look! We will die! We are all lost! We are lost! ¹³ Anyone approaching the Tabernacle of Adonai will die! Must all of us die?”

Kohen Duties and Portions

18 Adonai said to Aaron, “You, your sons, and the house of your father with you will bear the guilt for the Sanctuary, and you and your sons will bear the guilt for your priesthood. ² Bring with you your brothers, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, so that they may join you and assist you, both you and your sons with you, before the Tent of the Testimony. ³ They are to perform their duties for you and for all matters related to the Tent. They must not approach the implements of the Sanctuary or the altar—otherwise, both you and they will die. ⁴ They are to team with you and attend to the Tent of Meeting, for all the service of the Tent. But no unauthorized person may intrude upon you. ⁵ So you are to attend to the Sanctuary and the care of the altar, so no further wrath will fall on Bnei-Yisrael.

⁶ “See, I have personally taken your kinsmen, the Levites, from among Bnei-Yisrael as a gift for you and your sons with you, dedicated to Adonai to serve in the work of the Tent of Meeting. ⁷ But you and your sons with you are to maintain your priesthood for everything pertaining to the altar and inside the parokhet. I am giving you the ministry of the priesthood as a gift. Anyone unauthorized who approaches will die.”

⁸ Adonai then said to Aaron, “See, I have given you charge over all My offerings. All the sacred things from Bnei-Yisrael I have given to you as set aside for you and your sons as a permanent share. ⁹ You are to have the part of the most holy things that is kept from the fire. Whether grain, sin or guilt offerings that they bring to Me as most holy—they are for you and your sons. ¹⁰ You are to eat it as most holy. Every male may eat it—it is set apart for you. ¹¹ This also is yours: the gift of the wave offerings of Bnei-Yisrael. I have given all the wave offerings as a permanent share to you, your sons and your daughters. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it. ¹² All the finest olive oil, the finest new wine and grain they give to Adonai from their firstfruits, I have given them to you. ¹³ All the firstfruits of the land that they bring to Adonai will be for yours. Anyone who is clean in your house may eat it.

¹⁴ Every devoted thing in Israel is yours. ¹⁵ The first offspring of the womb from all flesh, whether human or animal, offered to Adonai, is yours. However, you are to redeem the firstborn of man and the firstborn of unclean animals. ¹⁶ When they are a month old, you are to redeem them at the redemption price of five shekels of silver by the Sanctuary shekel, or 20 gerahs. ¹⁷ But the firstborn of the ox, sheep or goat you are not to redeem. They are holy. You are to sprinkle their blood on the altar, and their fat you are to burn as a fire offering, a pleasing aroma to Adonai. ¹⁸ Their meat—the breast of the wave offering and the right thigh—is yours. ¹⁹ Whatever is set aside from the holy offerings which Bnei-Yisrael present to Adonai, I have given to you, your sons and your daughters with you as a permanent share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before Adonai for you and your offspring.”

²⁰ Adonai said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land nor share among them. I am your portion and your share among Bnei-Yisrael. ²¹ See, I have given all the tithes in Israel to the sons of Levi as an inheritance in return for all the work of the service they are doing in the Tent of Meeting. ²² From now on, Bnei-Yisrael must never trespass the Tent of Meeting, or they will bear the consequences of their sin and die. ²³ The Levites will perform the service of the Tent of Meeting. They will bear the responsibility for their iniquity. It is a permanent ordinance throughout your generations. So among Bnei-Yisrael they are to receive no inheritance.

²⁴ For I have given the tithes that Bnei-Yisrael present to Adonai as an offering to the Levites as an inheritance. That is why I said they would receive no inheritance among Bnei-Yisrael.”

²⁵ Adonai spoke to Moses saying, ²⁶ “Speak now to the Levites and say to them: When you receive from Bnei-Yisrael the tithe which I have given to you as your inheritance, you are then to offer to Adonai a tithe of that tithe. ²⁷ Your offering will be reckoned as grain from the threshing floor or the fullness of the winepress. ²⁸ Thus you will also present an offering to Adonai from all your tithes that you receive from Bnei-Yisrael, and from that you are to give Adonai’s portion to Aaron the kohen. ²⁹ From all your gifts that you receive, you are to present the best and holiest from them as Adonai’s portion.

³⁰ “Say to them: When you present the best part, it will be reckoned to the Levites as the produce of the threshing floor and of the winepress. ³¹ You and your household may eat it in any place. It is your wage for your service in the Tent of Meeting.

³² “In presenting the best part in this manner, you will bear no guilt in these matters. You will not defile the holy things of Bnei-Yisrael, so you will not die.”

¹⁴ Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let’s go to Gilgal and reaffirm the kingdom there.” ¹⁵ So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before Adonai in Gilgal. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings before Adonai, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

Samuel Rebukes Israel

12 Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have listened to your voice in all you said to me, and have set a king over you. ² Now here is the king who will go before you, while I am old and gray. Also here are my sons with you. I have gone before you from my youth to this day. ³ Here I am. Witness against me before Adonai and before His anointed. Whose ox have I taken or whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I defrauded or whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I taken a bribe to look the other way? I will restore it to you.”

⁴ They replied, “You haven’t defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from anyone’s hand.”

⁵ Then he said to them, “Adonai is then a witness against you, and His anointed is a witness this day that you have not found anything in my hand.”

“He is a witness,” they replied.

⁶ Then Samuel said to the people, “It is Adonai who appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. ⁷ So now, stand still, so that I may plead with you before Adonai concerning all the righteous acts of Adonai, which He did for you and your fathers. ⁸ When Jacob entered Egypt and your fathers cried out to Adonai, then Adonai sent Moses and Aaron who brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. ⁹ But they forgot Adonai their God, so He gave them over into the hand of Sisera, captain of the army of Hazor, into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, who fought against them. ¹⁰ So they cried out to Adonai and said, ‘We have sinned because we have forsaken Adonai and have worshipped the Baalim and the Ashtaroth. But now deliver us from the hand of our enemies and we will worship You.’ ¹¹ Then Adonai sent Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah and Samuel, and delivered you from the hand of your enemies on every side, so that you might live securely. ¹² But when you saw Nahash king of the Ammonites marching against you, you said to me, ‘No! But a king must reign over us!’—even though Adonai your God is your king.

¹³ “Now therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen and whom you have asked for, and behold, Adonai has set him as king over you. ¹⁴ If you fear Adonai and worship Him, and listen to His voice and do not rebel against the command of Adonai, then both you as well as the king who reigns over you will be following Adonai your God. ¹⁵ But if you do not listen to the voice of Adonai and rebel against the command of Adonai, then the hand of Adonai will be against you and against your fathers. ¹⁶ Now stand by and see this great thing that Adonai will do before your eyes. ¹⁷ Is it not wheat harvest season today? I will call to Adonai, that He may send thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that your wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of Adonai by asking for yourselves a king.”

¹⁸ So Samuel prayed to Adonai, and Adonai sent thunder and rain that day. Then all the people greatly feared Adonai and Samuel, ¹⁹ and all the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to Adonai your God, that we would not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil by asking for ourselves a king.”

²⁰ Samuel said to the people, “Fear not! Indeed you have done all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following Adonai, but worship Adonai with all your heart. ²¹ Do not turn aside to go after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are futile. ²² For Adonai will not forsake His people for His great Name’s sake,^[a] because it has pleased Adonai to make you a people to Himself.

Ananias and Sapphira Lie to the Ruach

5 On the other hand, a man named Ananias together with his wife, Sapphira, sold a property. ² He kept back some of the proceeds, with his wife’s full knowledge, and brought part of it and set it at the feet of the emissaries.

³ But Peter said, “Ananias, why has satan filled your heart to lie to the Ruach ha-Kodesh and keep back part of the proceeds of the land? ⁴ While it remained unsold, it was your own, wasn’t it? And after it was sold, wasn’t it at your disposal? How did this deed get into your heart? You haven’t lied to men but to God.”

⁵ As soon as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and died. Great fear came upon all who heard about it. ⁶ The young men got up and wrapped him in a shroud, then carried him out and buried him.

⁷ After an interval of about three hours, his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. ⁸ Peter responded to her, “Tell me if you sold the land for this much.”

She said, “Yes, for that much.”

⁹ Then Peter said to her, “How did you agree to test the Ruach Adonai? Look, the feet of those who buried your husband are at the door—they will carry you out, too!”

¹⁰ Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came back in, they found her dead and carried her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹ And great fear came over the whole community and all who heard these things.

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Bringing Light to the Blind

9 As Yeshua was passing by, He saw a man who had been blind since birth. ² His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?”

³ Yeshua answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned. This happened so that the works of God might be brought to light in him. ⁴ We must do the work of the One who sent Me, so long as it is day! Night is coming when no one can work. ⁵ While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

⁶ Having said these things, He spat on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud on the blind man’s eyes. ⁷ He told him, “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam” (which is translated Sent). So he went away, washed, and came back seeing.

⁸ Therefore his neighbors and those who had seen him as a beggar kept saying, “Isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg?”

⁹ “This is the one!” some said.

“No, but it looks like him,” said others.

But the man himself kept saying, “I am!”

¹⁰ So they asked him, “Then how were your eyes opened?”

¹¹ He answered, “The Man who is called Yeshua made mud, rubbed it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went away and washed, and then I received my sight!”

¹² “Where is He?” they asked him.

“I don’t know,” he said.

¹³ They bring to the Pharisees the man who once was blind. ¹⁴ Now the day was Shabbat when Yeshua made the mud and opened the man’s eyes. ¹⁵ So again the Pharisees were asking him how he received his sight. He responded, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see!”

¹⁶ So some of the Pharisees began saying, “This man isn’t from God, because He doesn’t keep Shabbat!” But others were saying, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So there was a split among them.

¹⁷ Again they say to the blind man, “What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?”

And he said, “He’s a prophet.”

¹⁸ So the Judean leaders didn’t believe that he had been blind and received his sight until they called his parents. ¹⁹ They questioned them, “Is this your son, whom you say was born blind? Then how does he see now?”

²⁰ Then his parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. ²¹ We don’t know how he now sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him—he’s old enough. He will speak for himself.” ²² His parents said this because they were afraid of the Judean leaders. For the Judean leaders had already agreed that anyone who professed Yeshua to be Messiah would be thrown out of the synagogue. ²³ That’s why his parents said, “He’s old enough—ask him.”

²⁴ So a second time they called the man who had been blind and said, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner!”

²⁵ The man replied, “I don’t know whether He’s a sinner. One thing I do know is that I was blind, but now I see!”

²⁶ So they asked him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”

²⁷ “I told you already and you didn’t listen!” the man responded. “What, do you want to hear it again? You don’t want to become His disciples too, do you?”

²⁸ They railed at him and said, “You’re a disciple of that One, but we’re disciples of Moses! ²⁹ We know that God has spoken to Moses; but as for this fellow, we don’t know where He is from.”

³⁰ The man replied to them, “That’s amazing! You don’t know where He is from, yet He opened my eyes! ³¹ We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners; but if anyone fears Him and does His will, He hears this one. ³² Since the beginning of the world, no one has ever heard that anyone has opened the eyes of a man born blind. ³³ If this man were not from God, He couldn’t do anything.”

³⁴ They replied to him, “You were born completely in sin, and you’re teaching us?” And they threw him out.

Is Seeing Believing?

³⁵ Yeshua heard that they had thrown him out. Finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”^[a]

³⁶ The man answered, “Who is He, Sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in Him!”

³⁷ Yeshua said, “You have seen Him—He is the One speaking with you.”

³⁸ He said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him.

³⁹ Yeshua said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who don’t see may see, and the ones who do see may become blind.”

⁴⁰ Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard Him say this and asked, “We’re not blind too, are we?”

⁴¹ Yeshua said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin. But now you say, ‘We see.’ So your sin remains.”

The Faithful Hear the Shepherd’s Voice

10 “Amen, amen I tell you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. ² But he who enters through the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice. The shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

⁴ “When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them; and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ They will never follow a stranger, but will run away from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶ Yeshua told them this parable, but they did not understand what He was telling them.

⁷ So Yeshua said again, “Amen, amen I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸ All those who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹ I am the gate!^[b] If anyone comes in through Me, he will be saved. He will come and go and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy. I have come that they might have life, and have it abundantly!

¹¹ “I am the Good Shepherd.^[c] The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. ¹² The hired worker is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his own. He sees the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and flees. Then the wolf snatches and scatters the sheep. ¹³ The man is only a hired hand and does not care about the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the Good Shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me, ¹⁵ just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father. And I lay down My life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not from this fold; those also I must lead, and they will listen to My voice. So there shall be one flock, one Shepherd.

¹⁷ “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life, so that I may take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father.”

¹⁹ Again a division arose among the Judeans because of these words. ²⁰ Many of them were saying, “He has a demon. He’s insane! Why listen to Him?” ²¹ Others said, “These are not the sayings of someone who is plagued by a demon. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can it?”

Some Despise the Light and Harden

²² Then came Hanukkah;^[d] it was winter in Jerusalem. ²³ Yeshua was walking in the Temple around Solomon’s Colonnade. ²⁴ Then the Judean leaders surrounded Him, saying, “How long will You hold us in suspense? If You are the Messiah, tell us outright!”

²⁵ Yeshua answered them, “I told you, but you don’t believe! The works I do in My Father’s name testify concerning Me. ²⁶ But you don’t believe, because you are not My sheep. ²⁷ My sheep hear My voice. I know them, and they follow Me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life! They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. And no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

³¹ Again the Judean leaders picked up stones to stone Him. ³² Yeshua answered them, “I’ve shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone Me?”

³³ The Judean leaders answered, “We aren’t stoning you for a good work, but for blasphemy. Though You are a man, You make Yourself God!”

³⁴ Yeshua answered them, “Isn’t it written in your Writings,^[e] ‘I have said you are gods’? ³⁵ If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the Word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), ³⁶ do you say of Him, the One the Father set apart and sent into the world, ‘You speak blasphemy,’ because I said, ‘I am Ben-Elohim’?

³⁷ “If I don’t do the works of My Father, don’t believe Me! ³⁸ But if I do, even if you don’t trust Me, trust the deeds. Then you may come to know and continue to understand that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father.” ³⁹ Therefore they tried to capture Him again, but He escaped from their hand.

⁴⁰ Again He went back across the Jordan to the place where John first started immersing, and He stayed there. ⁴¹ Many people came to Him and were saying, “John performed no sign, but all John said about this man was true.” ⁴² And many trusted in Him there.