🔢WEB · Numbers 16:15
What does Numbers 16:15 mean?
"Moses was very angry, and said to Yahweh, “Don’t respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, neither have I hurt one of them.”"
— Numbers 16:15 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; and they said, “We won’t come up!
Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, but you must also make yourself a prince over us?
Moreover you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We won’t come up.”
Moses was very angry, and said to Yahweh, “Don’t respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, neither have I hurt one of them.”
Moses said to Korah, “You and all your company go before Yahweh, you, and they, and Aaron, tomorrow.
Each man take his censer, and put incense on them, and each man bring before Yahweh his censer, two hundred fifty censers; you also, and Aaron, each his censer.”
They each took his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense on it, and stood at the door of the Tent of Meeting with Moses and Aaron.
Explanation
Numbers 16:15 captures Moses in a moment of raw frustration during the rebellion led by Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. In plain language, Moses is saying to God: "Do not accept anything these men offer you. I have never wronged them—I haven't taken so much as a donkey from them, nor injured a single one of them." He is defending his integrity as a leader while asking God not to honor the sacrifices or petitions of the men rising up against him.
The context is a serious challenge to Moses' authority in the wilderness. Korah, a Levite, along with Dathan and Abiram from the tribe of Reuben, gathered 250 leaders of the community to confront Moses and Aaron, accusing them of exalting themselves above the rest of the congregation (Numbers 16:1-3). Dathan and Abiram went further, refusing even to appear before Moses when summoned, accusing him of failing to bring the people into the promised land and instead leading them to die in the wilderness (16:12-14). This verse is Moses' response—not to the people directly, but to God—after their refusal to come. His anger stems from years of faithful, selfless service being twisted into accusations of tyranny and self-interest.
Theologically, this verse highlights the vindication of godly leadership under false accusation. Moses had led Israel through the Exodus, the giving of the law, and constant complaining, always for God's glory and the people's good, never for personal gain. His statement is essentially a plea for God to judge righteously between him and his accusers, refusing to let injustice be
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