punishment of the sons of korah

The non-Jew then went to Hillel, who converted him. "[68], Rav taught that anyone who persists in a quarrel transgresses the commandment of Numbers 17:5 that one be not as Korah and his company. And that same fire came forth and consumed the company of Korah, as Numbers 16:35 says, "And fire came forth from the Lord." . [54], Reading Numbers 16:20, a Midrash taught that in 18 verses, Scripture places Moses and Aaron (the instruments of Israel's deliverance) on an equal footing (reporting that God spoke to both of them alike),[55] and thus there are 18 benedictions in the Amidah. [46], Resh Lakish interpreted the words "Korah . He will rejoice over His chosen people again. He took a piece of wool, soaked it in water, attached it to the point of his spear, and passed it over the cracks, and the wool was singed. The Gemara related the name Abiram (אֲבִירָם‎) in Numbers 16:1 to the Hebrew word for "strengthened" (iber) and deduced from Abiram's name that he stoutly refused to repent. . [2], In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or עליות‎, aliyot. The parashah is made up of 5,325 Hebrew letters, 1,409 Hebrew words, 95 verses, and 184 lines in a Torah Scroll (סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה‎, Sefer Torah). Death Of The Wicked, Examples Of The Ground Being Split. [88] A person who redeems his son recites the blessing: "Blessed are You . It will go badly with him, For what he deserves will be done to him. 1 Samuel 2:12–17 describes how (out of greed) priests who were descended from Eli sent their servants to collect uncooked meat from the people, instead of taking their entitlement in accordance with Numbers 18:8–18. [31], In the seventh reading (עליה‎, aliyah), God gave the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their share in return for the services of the Tent of Meeting, but they too would have no territorial share among the Israelites. Note that Moses and Aaron make no answer to the first part of Korah’s statement, that is, the reference to communal holiness. Rabbi Samuel bar Nahman made a distinction: In every instance where Scripture employs “and it was” (vayehi), it introduces trouble, while when Scripture employs “and it shall be” (ve-hayah), it introduces joy. The Gemara asked why Numbers 16:1 did not say "the son of Jacob," and Rabbi Samuel bar Isaac answered that Jacob had prayed not to be listed amongst Korah's ancestors in Genesis 49:6, where it is written, "Let my soul not come into their council; unto their assembly let my glory not be united." Plaut noted, however, that Numbers 17:6 indicates some dissatisfaction rife among the Israelites. Because Moses appointed the son of Korah's father's youngest brother, Uzziel, the leader, to be greater than Korah, Korah decided to oppose Moses and nullify everything that he did. If it means Korah's faction, then in Numbers 16:22, Moses and Aaron pleaded that only the ringleaders be punished, not all 250 rebels. ", Pesachim 23a, 34a, 35b, 54a, 64b, 73a, 121b, Zevachim 16a, 28a, 32a, 37a, 44b–45a, 49b, 57a, 60b, 63a, 73a, 81a, 88b, 91a, 97b, 102b, Menachot 9a, 19b, 21b, 23a, 37a, 54b, 58a, 73a, 77b, 83a, 84b, 99a, Chullin 68a, 99a, 120b, 130a, 131a–32b, 133b, 134b, 135b–36a, Bekhorot 3b–4b, 5b, 6b–7a, 10b, 11b–12b, 17a, 26b, 27b, 31b–33a, 34a, 47b, 49a, 50a, 51a–b, 53b, 54b, 56b, 58b–59a, 60a, "Should There Be a Special Ceremony in Recognition of a Firstborn Female Child? Like Korah’s argument, they refused to disappear. In Numbers 18:1 and 18:8, God spoke directly to Aaron, whereas more frequently in the Torah, God spoke "to Moses" or "to Moses and Aaron."[36]. and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions. [71], The Rabbis derived from the words of Numbers 18:2, "That they [the Levites] may be joined to you [Aaron] and minister to you," that the priests watched from upper chambers in the Temple and the Levites from lower chambers. [Authorship of] the former is assigned to the P (priestly) source and the latter to the J/E (Yahwist/Elohist) source. His family continued to serve with high distinction; no less a person than the prophet Samuel was his descendant (I Chronicles 6: 16-18); ten psalms were composed by the sons of Korah; and his offspring functioned in the Temple courts. Since the people are holy, commandments from without are not necessary (Buber, Moses). . Just as Numbers 18:3 warned about priestly duties at the altar, so (Rabbi Jonathan reasoned) Numbers 18:3 must also address the Levites' duties in the altar service. But subsequent occurrences of "community" seem to point to the whole Israelite people, so Alter suggested that Moses and Aaron may have feared that God was exhibiting another impulse to destroy the entire Israelite population and start over again with the two brothers. Korah’s rebellion (taking the intertwined stories as a literary whole) was directed against the leadership of Moses. [57], Similarly, the Gemara cited Numbers 16:21 to support the proposition that we need ten people in expressions of sanctity. in Genesis 49:5, “To their assembly let my glory not be united,” referring to when they would assemble against Moses in Korah's band. God stood behind His chosen leader then, and in the centuries to come He would stand behind the leaders who followed Moses and taught in His name. "[49], The Mishnah in Pirkei Avot deduced that the controversy of Korah and his followers was not for the sake of Heaven, and thus was destined not to result in permanent change. However, since a repetition of biblical miracles could not be counted on, the Rabbis threatened their challengers with eternal damnation–for instance, when they declared that those who did not believe in resurrection would have no share in the world‑to‑come. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! [72], Rav Ashi read the repetitive language of Leviticus 22:9, "And they shall have charge of My charge" — which referred especially to priests and Levites, whom Numbers 18:3–5 repeatedly charged with warnings — to require safeguards to God's commandments. [6] Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, but they refused to come. [85] Maimonides taught that it is a positive commandment for every Jewish man to redeem his son who is the firstborn of a Jewish mother, as Exodus 34:19 says, "All first issues of the womb are mine," and Numbers 18:15 says, "And you shall surely redeem a firstborn man. The story of the rebellion of Dathan, Abiram, and members of the tribe of Reuben, Plaut wrote, may represent the memory of an intertribal struggle in which the originally important tribe of Reuben was dislodged from its original preeminence. [82], The 12th century French commentator Rashbam wrote that Moses called God "God of the spirits" in Numbers 16:22 as if to say that God knew the spirits and the minds of the rest of the people, and thus knew that they had not sinned. And Fretheim also saw the phrase "the God of the spirits of all flesh" in Numbers 16:22 (which also appears in Numbers 27:16) to appeal to God as Creator, the One who gives breath to all. [83] But the 12th century Spanish commentator Abraham ibn Ezra taught that the words "God of the spirits" just explain the word "God," indicating that God could destroy the congregation because God had their spirits in God's hand. In saying this, Kugel argued, Korah set a pattern for would-be revolutionaries thereafter to seek to bring down the ruling powers with the taunt: "What makes you better than the rest of us?" . God then prompted each of them to conceive the same idea and write a number of cases in which the translation did not follow the Masoretic Text, including reading Numbers 16:15 to say, "I have taken not one valuable of theirs" (substituting "valuable" for "donkey" to prevent the impression that Moses may have taken any other items). was (vayehi),” and surely that was a positive thing. As the angels had not, Moses asked them why then God should give them the Torah. Originally the tribe of Reuben was very important, but in time it was dislodged from its original preeminence. Rav explained that On's wife saved him, arguing to him that no matter whether Moses or Korah prevailed, On would remain just a disciple. ", Akhlah: The Jewish Children's Learning Network, American Jewish University — Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, The Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Korach_(parsha)&oldid=1003389917, Weekly Torah readings in Tammuz (Hebrew month), Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, No Levite must do another's work of either a Kohen or a Levite, One who is not a Kohen must not serve in the sanctuary, Not to redeem the firstborn of a kosher domestic animal, To set aside a tithe each planting year and give it to a Levite, The Levite must set aside a tenth of his tithe, Judith S. Antonelli. But Abaye reported a tradition that a singing Levite who did his colleague's work at the gate incurred the death penalty, as Numbers 3:38 says, "And those who were to pitch before the Tabernacle eastward before the Tent of Meeting toward the sun-rising, were Moses and Aaron, . By so doing we redeem them, and ourselves. "Authority, Status, Power." It was told, however, that Rabbi Joshua ben Hananyia once tried to assist Rabbi Joḥanan ben Gudgeda (both of whom were Levites) in the fastening of the Temple doors, even though Rabbi Joshua was a singer, not a door-keeper. Korah asked why, if someone's whole garment was already dyed blue, that person needed to add an extra blue thread to the corner tassel. The haftarah for the parashah is 1 Samuel 11:14–12:22. This is also the meaning of the rabbinic tradition that Korah argued with Moses about ritual fringes and other halakhic matters and attacked the sense and logic of the Torah, which is to say he battled not merely Moses but the God of Moses (see Numbers Rabbah 18:3). [106], Numbers 18:16 reports that a shekel equals 20 gerahs. Copyright © 2002-2021 My Jewish Learning. The mighty warrior and sweet singer slew Goliath, stole the throne, and conquered Jerusalem—and that’s just a start! Excerpted from The Torah:  A Modern Commentary, with the permission of URJ Press. Just as Numbers 16:21, which refers to a congregation, implies a number of at least ten, so Leviticus 22:32 implies at least ten. "And Tophel" alludes to the frivolous words (תפלות‎, tiphlot) they said about the manna. That fire came forth and devoured all the offerings that the Israelites brought in the wilderness, as Leviticus 9:24 does not say, "And there descended fire from heaven," but "And there came forth fire from before the Lord." Numbers 3:29 reports that the descendants of Kohath, among whom Korah was numbered, lived on the south side of the Tabernacle. "Facing Suf" alludes to how they rebelled at the Sea of Reeds (or some say to the idol that Micah made). [105], Plaut reported that most Reform Jews have abandoned the ceremony of redemption of the first-born as inconsistent with Reform Judaism's rejection of matters relating to priestly privilege and special status based upon one's parentage or sibling birth order. But the Bible’s very silence about his motives directs our attention away from Korah’s true intention to his stated argument. . "[24] God spoke to Aaron and said that he and his dynasty would be responsible for the Tent of Meeting and the priesthood and accountable for anything which went wrong in the performance of their priestly duties. . The first story tells of Korah and 250 men who complain about the special religious status of the Levites. [56], Rav Adda bar Abahah taught that a person praying alone does not say the Sanctification (Kedushah) prayer (which includes the words from Isaiah 6:3: (קָדוֹשׁ קָדוֹשׁ קָדוֹשׁ יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת; מְלֹא כָל-הָאָרֶץ, כְּבוֹדוֹ‎, Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, Adonai Tz'vaot melo kol haaretz kevodo, "Holy, Holy, Holy, the Lord of Hosts, the entire world is filled with God's Glory"), because Leviticus 22:32 says: "I will be hallowed among the children of Israel," and thus sanctification requires ten people (a minyan). Korah envied the great dignity of Moses, as he was of the same tribe as Moses and he thought he better deserved honor on account of his great riches. And similarly, in 2 Samuel 24:17 and 1 Chronicles 21:17, David asked why God punished all the people with pestilence. Plaut concluded that by not backing Moses and Aaron, the people exposed themselves to divine retribution. [104], In April 2014, the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of Conservative Judaism ruled that women are now equally responsible for observing commandments as men have been. . The Gemara taught that in the north of the Temple was the Chamber of the Spark, built like a veranda (open on one or more sides) with a doorway to the non-sacred part, and there the priests kept watch in a chamber above and the Levites below. [80], The parashah is discussed in these medieval Jewish sources:[81], Baḥya ibn Paquda taught that because God showed special goodness to a certain family among families in the appointment of the priesthood and the Levites, God charged them with additional duties. God told them that Moses had come to receive the Torah. Bible critics ascribe the difficulties of this section to a joining of two traditions. When the parashah coincides with Shabbat Rosh Chodesh, the haftarah is Isaiah 66:1–24. Pseudo-Philo reported that God commanded Moses about the tassels, and then Korah and the 200 men with him rebelled, asking why that unbearable law had been imposed on them. . “The earth opened its mouth” is a vivid image reminiscent of Gen. 4: 11, which also depicts the earth as an active participant in the drama, speeding the condemned to their abode in the netherworld. . And the Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that no person departs from this world until some of that fire, which rested among humanity, passes over that person, as Numbers 11:2 says, "And the fire rested. Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden. "Inner-biblical Interpretation." Levites: Sedition Among, Led by Korah, Dathan, Abiram. The talmudic discussion reveals the extent of their speculation in this matter. The argument Korah presented was not blotted out with the drastic divine response, and neither was Korah’s name. applies to Dathan and Abiram. Milgrom surmised that this may reflect an ancient rule where the firstborn was expected to care for the burial and worship of his deceased parents. In. .”[52], It was taught in a Baraita that King Ptolemy brought together 72 elders and placed them in 72 separate rooms, without telling them why he had brought them together, and asked each of them to translate the Torah. . "Ḥatzerot" alludes to the quails. The Gemara taught that Proverbs 14:1 refers to On's wife when it says: "Every wise woman builds her house. So On's wife got him drunk with wine, and laid him down in their tent. His shipmates asked him what he was doing. The angels asked, in the words of Psalm 8:8, "What is man, that You are mindful of him, and the son of man, that You think of him?" deeds Treating Others Punishment, Nature Of Fruits Of Sin Punishment of the The Wicked. If he only has enough money for one redemption, he should redeem himself. Numbers 16:32 . Again, Exodus 20:12 (20:13 in the NJPS) says, "You shall not murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal," so Moses asked the angels whether there was jealousy among them and whether the Evil Tempter was among them. [100] Similarly, Fretheim reported that Moses and Aaron interceded arguing that not all should bear the consequences for one person. It constitutes Numbers 16:1–18:32. Only twice, when the position of Moses was severely attacked, was there unusual punishment: by cleaving the earth, as in this story, and by leprosy, when Miriam and Aaron challenged their brother (Numbers 12). [58], Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai compared the words of Numbers 16:22, "Shall one man sin, and will You be wrathful with all the congregation?" ", "Memory can be redemptive: We remember Korah and his companions to learn from their mistake. [70], A Baraita taught that Josiah hid away Aaron's rod with its almonds and blossoms referred to in Numbers 17:23, the Ark referred to in Exodus 37:1–5, the jar of manna referred to in Exodus 16:33, the anointing oil referred to in Exodus 30:22–33, and the coffer that the Philistines sent the Israelites as a gift along with the Ark and concerning which the priests said in 1 Samuel 6:8, “And put the jewels of gold, which you returned Him for a guilt offering, in a coffer by the side thereof [of the Ark]; and send it away that it may go.” Having observed that Deuteronomy 28:36 predicted, “The Lord will bring you and your king . [73], Rabbi Jonathan found evidence for the Levites' singing role at Temple services from the warning of Numbers 18:3: "That they [the Levites] do not die, neither they, nor you [Aaron, the priest]." The Midrash answered that Korah took issue with Moses because Moses had (as Numbers 3:30 reports) appointed Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as prince of the Kohathites, and Korah was (as Exodus 6:21 reports) son of Uzziel's older brother Izhar, and thus had a claim to leadership prior to Elizaphan. draw near to burn incense . [108], Some Jews read about how the earth swallowed Korah up in Numbers 16:32 and how the controversy of Korah and his followers in Numbers 16 was not for the sake of Heaven as they study Pirkei Avot chapter 5 on a Sabbath between Passover and Rosh Hashanah. The fourth book of the Pentateuch, which derives its English name from the two numberings of the sons of Israel mentioned therein. "I will lay waste your cities And you will become a desolation. "Because you have had everlasting enmity and have delivered the sons of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of the punishment of the end," Ezekiel 35:3-5. Afterwards, he recites the shehecheyanu blessing and then gives the redemption money to the Cohen. Korah’s argument turns on the eternal tension between authority and freedom. But Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya'akov said it means "Terrible enough (דַּי‎, dai) is this sin that Israel was punished to last from now until the resurrection of the dead. In each case the rebels were reported to have died of plague, or fire, or in battle. Again, Exodus 20:7 (20:8 in the NJPS) says, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," so Moses asked the angels whether they performed work from which they needed to rest. For Numbers 16:27 says, "with their wives, and their sons, and their little ones. [38], The first-century Roman-Jewish scholar Josephus wrote that Korah was an Israelite of principal account, both by family and wealth, who was able to speak well and could easily persuade the people. But the question still seeks its answer. Levites: Supervised Weights and Measures As Standards of Doing Business . The words "In the wilderness" alludes to the Golden Calf, as Exodus 32:8}HE reports. . But Rabbi Eliezer disagreed, reading 1 Samuel 2:6 to speak of Korah's assembly when it said: "The Lord kills, and makes alive; He brings down to the grave, and brings up." [63], Rabbi Akiva interpreted Numbers 16:33 to teach that Korah's assembly will have no portion in the World To Come, as the words "the earth closed upon them" reported that they died in this world, and the words "they perished from among the assembly" implied that they died in the next world, as well. [10] God told Moses to instruct the community to move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and they did so, while Dathan, Abiram, and their families stood at the entrance of their tents. . "[60], A Midrash expanded on the plea of Moses and Aaron to God in Numbers 16:22 and God's reply in Numbers 16:24. ", "Restraining Ambition: How can we each fulfill the uniqueness of our potential, while doing so with humility and a spirit of service? That is why Moses and Aaron asked God in Numbers 16:22, "Shall one man sin, and will You be wrath with all the congregation?" Elyse D. Frishman. . If it intimates trouble, there is no trouble to compare with it, and if it itimatres joy, there is no joy to compare with it. It was also taught that the words of Numbers 18:3, "That they [the Levites] do not die, neither they, nor you [Aaron, the priest]," mean that priests would incur the death penalty by engaging in Levites' work, and Levites would incur the death penalty by engaging in priests' work, although neither would incur the death penalty by engaging in another's work of their own group (even if they would so incur some penalty for doing so). In, For more on early nonrabbinic interpretation, see, e.g., Esther Eshel. [11] Moses told the Israelites that if these men were to die of natural causes, then God did not send Moses, but if God caused the earth to swallow them up, then these men had spurned God. This was the same fire that came forth and consumed the sons of Aaron, as Leviticus 10:2 says, "And there came forth fire from before the Lord." Korah was thus a dangerous demagogue. The second tradition tells of the rebellion of Dathan and Abiram, and members of the tribe of Reuben, against the civil authority of Moses. . . [84], Maimonides explained the laws governing the redemption of a firstborn son (פדיון הבן‎, pidyon haben) in Numbers 18:15–16. While a clear division is no longer possible, there appears to be a Korah rebellion that is directed against Aaron and levitic privilege and an anti‑Moses uprising led by Dathan and Abiram. If a father fails to redeem his son, when the son comes of age, he is obligated to redeem himself. Rabbi Abba bar Aibu explained that God (in the words of Isaiah 46:10), “declar[es] the end from the beginning,” and provides beforehand for things that have not yet occurred. In, Suzanne A. Brody. Kugel wrote that ancient interpreters thus taught that Korah was not really interested in changing the system, but merely in taking it over. ", The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these early nonrabbinic sources:[37], The 1st or 2nd century CE author Pseudo-Philo read the commandment to wear blue tassels, or tzitzit, in Numbers 15:37–40 together with the story of Korah's rebellion that follows immediately after in Numbers 16:1–3. And in Deuteronomy 9:22, it says, "At Tav'erah, and at Masah, and at Kivrot HaTa'avah." Psalm 91:8. to the case of men on a ship, one of whom took a borer and began boring beneath his own place. Rabinai the brother of Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba taught that we derive this by drawing an analogy between the two occurrences of the word "among" (תּוֹךְ‎, toch) in Leviticus 22:32 ("I will be hallowed among the children of Israel") and in Numbers 16:21, in which God tells Moses and Aaron: "Separate yourselves from among this congregation," referring to Korah and his followers. [69], Rabbi Joshua ben Levi explained how, as Numbers 17:11–13 reports, Moses knew what to tell Aaron what to do to make atonement for the people, to stand between the dead and the living, and to check the plague. Korach or Korah (Hebrew: קֹרַח ‎ Qoraḥ — the name "Korah," which in turn means baldness, ice, hail, or frost, the second word, and the first distinctive word, in the parashah) is the 38th weekly Torah portion (פָּרָשָׁה ‎, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the fifth in the Book of Numbers.It tells of Korah's failed attempt to overthrow Moses. The description of the Aaronic covenant as a "covenant of salt" in Numbers 18:19 is mirrored by the description in 2 Chronicles 13:5 of God's covenant with the Davidic kings of Israel as a "covenant of salt. The Midrash taught that Moses told God that a mortal king who is confronted with an uprising in a province of his kingdom would send his legions to kill all the inhabitants of the province — both innocent and the guilty — because the king would not know who rebelled and who did not. [25] God assigned the Levites to Aaron to aid in the performance of these duties. The Mishnah contrasted Korah's argument to those between Hillel and Shammai, which the Mishnah taught were controversies for the sake of Heaven, destined to result in something permanent. In, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, "A Complete Triennial Cycle for Reading the Torah. [20], In the fifth reading (עליה‎, aliyah), God told Moses to collect a staff from the chieftain of each of the 12 tribes, inscribe each man's name on his staff, inscribe Aaron's name on the staff of Levi, and deposit the staffs in the Tent of Meeting. The Midrash taught that God replied that they had spoken well, and God would make known who had sinned and who had not. "Korach's Rebellion." [28] God gave them olive oil, wine, grain. As the name Izhar (יִצְהָר‎) in Numbers 16:1 derived from the same Hebrew root as the word "noon" (צָּהֳרָיִם‎, tzohorayim), the Gemara deduced from "son of Izhar" that Korah was a son who brought upon himself anger hot as the noon sun. The Gemara reasoned that the words of Numbers 18:2, "That they [the Levites] may be joined to you [Aaron] and minister to you," must therefore have addressed the priests' service, and this was to be carried out with the priests watching above and the Levites below. Korah said: “All the community are holy… Why then do you raise yourselves above the Lord’s congregation?” The question implies the challenge: If God is in our midst, then whoever is leading us will have His support. This is also reflected in the Jacob tale, where the first‑born Reuben is passed over in favor of others. Rabbi Samuel replied that the occasion of the princes’ gifts did not indicate joy, because it was manifest to God that the princes would join with Korah in his dispute (as reported in Numbers 16:1–3). Superficially, his act may appear to be the usual attempt by someone out of power to displace the incumbent rulers. Land of Israel, circa 400 CE. The Rabbis’ View of Korah’s Punishment. All Rights Reserved. [101], Professor Robert A. Oden, formerly of Dartmouth College, taught that the idea that spoils of holy war were devoted to God (חֵרֶם‎, cherem) evident in Leviticus 27:28–29, Numbers 18:14, and Deuteronomy 7:26 was revelatory of (1) as "to the victor belong the spoils,"[102] then since God owned the spoils, then God must have been the victor and not any human being, and (2) the sacred and religiously obligatory nature of holy war, as participants gained no booty as a motivation for participation. Rather, reasoned Abaye, Numbers 3:38 must mean a "stranger" to a particular job. [22], In the sixth reading (עליה‎, aliyah), God instructed Moses to put Aaron's staff before the Ark of the Covenant to be kept as a lesson to rebels to end their mutterings against God. 5. It is in this light that we must see the assertion of Rabbi Akiba that Korah not only was punished in the desert but excluded from divine grace for all time to come (Sanhedrin 109b). On replied that he had sworn to participate. A rebellion against them and Moses as their leader was in fact a rebellion against God. [21] The next day, Moses entered the Tent and Aaron's staff had sprouted, blossomed, and borne almonds. In Fretheim's view, God responded positively, separating the congregation from the rebels and their families. [53], Rabbi Levi taught that God told Moses "enough!" Ezekiel 18:4 and 20 answer that God will punish only the individual who sins, and Ezekiel 18:30 affirms that God will judge every person according to that person's acts. This story may represent the memory of an intertribal struggle. Immediately, the angels conceded that God's plan was correct, and each angel felt moved to love Moses and give him gifts. Those who demurred were therefore exposed to divine wrath, which was demonstrably severe in behalf of His servant. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. But God knows the hearts and thoughts of each and every person, knows who sinned and who did not, and knows who rebelled and who did not. 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