🔢WEB · Numbers 16:26
What does Numbers 16:26 mean?
"He spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins!”"
— Numbers 16:26 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
“Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get away from around the tent of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram!’”
Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.
He spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins!”
So they went away from the tent of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side. Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood at the door of their tents, with their wives, their sons, and their little ones.
Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that Yahweh has sent me to do all these works; for they are not from my own mind.
If these men die the common death of all men, or if they experience what all men experience, then Yahweh hasn’t sent me.
Explanation
Numbers 16:26 records a moment of urgent warning during the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram against Moses and Aaron's God-given leadership. In plain language, Moses is pleading with the wider Israelite community to physically separate themselves from the tents of these rebellious men and to avoid touching anything belonging to them, because if they stay too close, they risk being swept up in the judgment about to fall on the rebels for their sin.
The context is essential here. Korah, a Levite, along with Dathan and Abiram from the tribe of Reuben, had gathered 250 leaders of the community and challenged the authority that God had given to Moses and Aaron. They accused Moses of exalting himself unfairly and demanded equal access to priestly privileges. Moses, rather than defending himself on personal grounds, brought the matter before the Lord and let God settle the dispute. As the confrontation reached its climax, Moses recognized that divine judgment was imminent, and out of concern for the innocent, he urged the rest of the congregation to move away from the areas where the rebels were camped, so that they would not be caught in the destruction that was about to occur (which indeed came moments later, as the ground opened and swallowed Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and their households).
Theologically, this verse highlights several important truths. First, it shows that sin has a contaminating, communal danger — proximity to open rebellion against God's order can bring people into the consequences of that rebellion even if they did not initiate it. Second, it underscores the seriousness
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