Korach (parashah)

Portion of the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading

Korach or Korah ( 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 Korach's failed attempt to overthrow Moses. It comprises Numbers 16:1–18:32. 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). Korach is generally read in June or July.

In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or עליות, aliyot.

In the first reading, the Levite Korah son of Izhar joined with the Reubenites Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On, son of Peleth and 250 chieftains of the Israelite community to rise up against Moses. Korah and his band asked Moses and Aaron why they placed themselves above the rest of the community, for the entire congregation is holy. Moses told Korah and his band to take their fire pans and put fire and incense on them before God. Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, but they refused to come.

In the second reading, the next day, Korah and his band took their fire pans and gathered the whole community against Moses and Aaron at the entrance of the Tabernacle.

In the third reading, the Presence of the Lord appeared to the whole community, and God told Moses and Aaron to stand back so that God could annihilate the others. Moses and Aaron fell on their faces and implored God not to punish the whole community. 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. 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. Just as Moses finished speaking, the earth opened and swallowed them, their households, and all Korah's people, and the Israelites fled in terror. And a fire consumed the 250 men offering the incense. God told Moses to order Eleazar the priest to remove the fire pans—as they had become sacred—and have them made into plating for the altar to remind the Israelites that no one other than Aaron's offspring should presume to offer incense to God. The next day, the whole Israelite community railed against Moses and Aaron for bringing death upon God's people. A cloud covered the Tabernacle and the God's Presence appeared.

In the fourth reading, God told Moses to remove himself and Aaron from the community, so that God might annihilate them, and they fell on their faces. Moses told Aaron to take the fire pan, put fire from the altar and incense on it, and take it to the community to make expiation for them and to stop a plague that had begun, and Aaron did so. Aaron stood between the dead and the living and halted the plague, but not before 14,700 had died.

In the fifth reading, 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 next day, Moses entered the Tent and Aaron's staff had sprouted, blossomed, and borne almonds.

In the sixth reading, 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. But the Israelites cried to Moses, "We are doomed to perish!" 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. God assigned the Levites to Aaron to aid in the performance of these duties. God prohibited any outsider from intruding on the priests as they discharged the duties connected with the Shrine, on pain of death. And God gave Aaron and the priests all the sacred donations and firstfruits as a perquisite for all time for them and their families to eat. God gave them olive oil, wine, grain. The priestly covenant was described as a "covenant of salt", but God also told Aaron that the priests would have no territorial share among the Israelites, as God was their portion and their share.

In the seventh reading, 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. God told Moses to instruct the Levites to set aside one tenth of the tithes they received as a gift to God.

In Numbers 16:22, Moses interceded on behalf of the community, as Abraham had in Genesis 18:23, when Abraham asked God whether God would "sweep away the righteous with the wicked." Similarly, in Numbers 16:22, Moses raised the question of collective responsibility: If one person sins, will God punish the entire community? And similarly, in 2 Samuel 24:17 and 1 Chronicles 21:17, David asked why God punished all the people with pestilence. 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.

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." 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. 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." Tithes, which are addressed in Numbers 18:21–24, are also addressed in Leviticus 27:30–33, and Deuteronomy 14:22–29 and 26:12–14.

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. 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 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. 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. Josephus wrote that Moses called on God to punish those who had endeavored to deal unjustly with the people, but to save the multitude who followed God's commandments, for God knew that it would not be just that the whole body of the Israelites should suffer punishment for the wickedness of the unjust.

Rabbi Aḥa bar Yaakov read Numbers 17:3 to teach that in matters of sanctity, one always elevates to a higher level. Numbers 17:3 states with regard to the coal pans that the men of Korah's assembly used to burn incense: "The coal pans of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, and let them be made beaten plates for a covering of the altar, for they have become sacred because they were brought before the Lord, that they may be a sign to the children of Israel." At first, the coal pans had the status of articles used in the service of the altar, as they contained the incense, but when they were made into a covering for the altar, their status was elevated to that of the altar itself. 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. 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. Rabbi Joshua ben Levi taught that when Moses ascended on high (as Exodus 19:20 reports), the ministering angels asked God what business one born of woman had among them. God told them that Moses had come to receive the Torah. The angels questioned why God was giving to flesh and blood the secret treasure that God had hidden for 974 generations before God created the world. 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?" God told Moses to answer the angels. Moses asked God what was written in the Torah. In Exodus 20:2, God said, "I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the Land of Egypt." So Moses asked the angels whether the angels had gone down to Egypt or were enslaved to Pharaoh. As the angels had not, Moses asked them why then God should give them the Torah. Again, Exodus 20:3 says, "You shall have no other gods," so Moses asked the angels whether they lived among peoples that engage in idol worship. Again, Exodus 20:8 says, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," so Moses asked the angels whether they performed work from which they needed to rest. Again, Exodus 20:7 says, "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain," so Moses asked the angels whether there were any business dealings among them in which they might swear oaths. Again, Exodus 20:12 says, "Honor your father and your mother," so Moses asked the angels whether they had fathers and mothers. Again, Exodus 20:13 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. Immediately, the angels conceded that God's plan was correct, and each angel felt moved to love Moses and give him gifts. Even the Angel of Death confided his secret to Moses, and that is how Moses knew what to do when, as Numbers 17:11–13 reports, Moses told Aaron what to do to make atonement for the people, to stand between the dead and the living, and to check the plague. 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 . to a nation that you have not known," Josiah ordered the Ark hidden away, as 2 Chronicles 35:3 reports, "And he [Josiah] said to the Levites who taught all Israel, that were holy to the Lord, 'Put the Holy Ark into the house that Solomon the son of David, King of Israel, built; there shall no more be a burden upon your shoulders; now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel.' Rabbi Eleazar deduced that Josiah hid the anointing oil and the other objects at the same time as the Ark from the common use of the expressions "there" in Exodus 16:33 with regard to the manna and "there" in Exodus 30:6 with regard to the Ark, "to be kept" in Exodus 16:33 with regard to the manna and "to be kept" in Numbers 17:25 with regard to Aaron's rod, and "generations" in Exodus 16:33 with regard to the manna and "generations" in Exodus 30:31 with regard to the anointing oil.

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. But whoever among them rebels against God falls from those high degrees in this world, and will suffer severe pain in the World To Come, as was seen from what befell Korah and his company. 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. 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. Ibn Ezra acknowledged that some say that "God of the spirits" means that God has the power to investigate human souls, and that God knew that one man—Korah—alone sinned and caused the others to sin. But Ibn Ezra wrote that he believed that the words "Separate yourselves from among this congregation" in Numbers 16:21 refer to Korah and his congregation—and not to the entire congregation of Israel—and that God destroyed Korah's congregation.

Maimonides explained the laws governing the redemption of a firstborn son (פדיון הבן, pidyon haben) in Numbers 18:15–16. 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." Maimonides taught that a mother is not obligated to redeem her son. If a father fails to redeem his son, when the son comes of age, he is obligated to redeem himself. If it is necessary for a man to redeem both himself and his son, he should redeem himself first and then his son. If he only has enough money for one redemption, he should redeem himself. A person who redeems his son recites the blessing: "Blessed are You . who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us concerning the redemption of a son." Afterwards, he recites the shehecheyanu blessing and then gives the redemption money to the Cohen. If a man redeems himself, he should recite the blessing: "Blessed . who commanded us to redeem the firstborn" and he should recite the shehecheyanu blessing. The father may pay the redemption in silver or in movable property that has financial worth like that of silver coins. If the Cohen desires to return the redemption to the father, he may. The father should not, however, give it to the Cohen with the intent that he return it. The father must give it to the Cohen with the resolution that he is giving him a present without any reservations. Cohens and Levites are exempt from the redemption of their firstborn, as they served as the redemption of the Israelites' firstborn in the desert. One born to a woman of a priestly or Levite family is exempt, for the matter is dependent on the mother, as indicated by Exodus 13:2 and Numbers 3:12. A baby born by Caesarian section and any subsequent birth are exempt: the first because it did not emerge from the womb, and the second, because it was preceded by another birth. The obligation for redemption takes effect when the baby completes 30 days of life, as Numbers 18:16 says, "And those to be redeemed should be redeemed from the age of a month."

James Kugel wrote that early interpreters saw in the juxtaposition of the law of tzitzit in Numbers 15:37–40 with the story of Korah's rebellion in Numbers 16:1–3 a subtle hint as to how Korah might have enlisted his followers. Forcing people to put a special blue tassel on their clothes, ancient interpreters suggested Korah must have argued, was an intolerable intrusion into their lives. 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. But this question, ancient interpreters implied, was really a metaphorical version of Korah's complaint in Numbers 16:3: "Everyone in the congregation [of Levites] is holy, and the Lord is in their midst. So why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?" In other words, Korah asserted that all Levites were part of the same garment and all blue, and asked why Moses and Aaron thought that they were special just because they were the corner thread. 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?" Kugel wrote that ancient interpreters thus taught that Korah was not really interested in changing the system, but merely in taking it over. Korah was thus a dangerous demagogue. Gunther Plaut reported that source critics saw two traditions in Numbers 16, a Korah rebellion directed against Aaron and Levitical privilege (assigned to the Priestly source), and an anti Moses uprising led by Dathan and Abiram (assigned to the J/E source). Plaut wrote that the Korah story appears to reflect a struggle for priestly privilege in which Korah's people, originally full priests and singers, were after a power struggle reduced to doorkeepers. 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. Plaut read the words "Korah gathered the whole community" in Numbers 16:19 to indicate that the people did not necessarily side with Korah but readily came out to watch his attack on the establishment. Plaut noted, however, that Numbers 17:6 indicates some dissatisfaction rife among the Israelites. Plaut concluded that by not backing Moses and Aaron, the people exposed themselves to divine retribution. Robert Alter noted ambiguity about the scope of the noun "congregation" (עֵדָה, edah) in Numbers 16:21. 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. 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. Nili Fox and Terence Fretheim shared the latter view. Fox wrote that God was apparently ready to annihilate Israel, but Moses and Aaron appealed to God as Creator of humanity in Numbers 16:22a and appealed to God's sense of justice in Numbers 16:22b, arguing that sin must be punished individually rather than communally. Similarly, Fretheim reported that Moses and Aaron interceded arguing that not all should bear the consequences for one person. 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. In Fretheim's view, God responded positively, separating the congregation from the rebels and their families.

Robert A. Oden 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", 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. Jacob Milgrom taught that the verbs used in the laws of the redemption of a firstborn son (פדיון הבן, pidyon haben) in Exodus 13:13–16 and Numbers 3:45–47 and 18:15–16, "natan, kiddesh, he‘evir to the Lord," as well as the use of padah, "ransom," indicate that the firstborn son was considered God's property. 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. Thus the Bible may be preserving the memory of the firstborn bearing a sacred status, and the replacement of the firstborn by the Levites in Numbers 3:11–13, 40–51; and 8:14–18 may reflect the establishment of a professional priestly class. Milgrom dismissed as without support the theory that the firstborn was originally offered as a sacrifice. 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 Committee thus concluded that mothers and fathers are equally responsible for the redemption of their firstborn sons and daughters. Plaut reported that most Reform Jews have abandoned the ceremony of redemption of the firstborn 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. Numbers 18:16 reports that a shekel equals 20 gerahs. This table translates units of weight used in the Bible:

+Weight Measurements in the BibleUnitTextsAncient EquivalentModern Equivalentgerah (גֵּרָה)Exodus 30:13; Leviticus 27:25; Numbers 3:47; 18:16; Ezekiel 45:121/20 shekel0.6 gram; 0.02 ouncebekah (בֶּקַע)Genesis 24:22; Exodus 38:2610 gerahs; half shekel6 grams; 0.21 ouncepim (פִים)1 Samuel 13:212/3 shekel8 grams; 0.28 ounceshekel (שֶּׁקֶל)Exodus 21:32; 30:13, 15, 24; 38:24, 25, 26, 2920 gerahs; 2 bekahs12 grams; 0.42 ouncemina (maneh, מָּנֶה)1 Kings 10:17; Ezekiel 45:12; Ezra 2:69; Nehemiah 7:7050 shekels0.6 kilogram; 1.32 poundstalent (kikar, כִּכָּר)Exodus 25:39; 37:24; 38:24, 25, 27, 293,000 shekels; 60 minas36 kilograms; 79.4 pounds

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. And similarly, some Jews refer to the 24 priestly gifts deduced from Leviticus 21 and Numbers 18 as they study chapter 6 of Pirkei Avot on another Sabbath between Passover and Rosh Hashanah.

The haftarah for the parashah is 1 Samuel 11:14–12:22. When the parashah coincides with Shabbat Rosh Chodesh, the haftarah is Isaiah 66:1–24.

Exodus 13:1–2 (firstborn); 13:12–13 (firstborn); 22:28–29 (firstborn). Numbers 3:11–13 (firstborn); 26:9–11 (Korach, Dathan, Abiram). Deuteronomy 15:19–23 (firstborn). 1 Samuel|12:3 (not having taken a donkey). Jeremiah 31:8 (firstborn). Ezekiel 7:10 (rod blossomed); 8:9–12 (elders burning incense); 18 (individual responsibility). Psalms 16:5 (God as inheritance); 55:16 (go down alive into the nether world); 105:26 (Moses as God's chosen); 106:16–18, 29–30 (rebellion and earth swallowing; plague as God's punishment).

Pseudo Philo 16:1–17:4. Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 4:2:1–4, 3:1–4, 4:1–2, 4. c. 93–94. In, e. g., The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition. Translated by William Whiston, pp. 102–07. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1987. Jude 1:11 (Korah's rebellion). Pausanias. Description of Greece, 2:31:10. Greece, 2nd Century C. E. (After Heracles leaned his club against the image of Hermes, the club took root and grew.). Qur'an: 28:76–82; 29:39; 40:24–25. Arabia, c. 609–632. In, e. g., The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an. Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, pp. 981–84, 996, 1211 12. Beltsville, Maryland: Amana Publications, 10th ed., 1997. And in The Qur'an With Annotated Interpretation in Modern English. Translated by Ali Ünal, pp. 815–17, 828, 965. Clifton, New Jersey: Tughra Books, 2015. (In the Qur'an, Korah is called Qarun.)

Mishnah: Demai 1:1–7:8; Terumot 1:1–11:10; Challah 1:3; 4:9; Bikkurim 1:1–3:12; Chagigah 1:4; Sanhedrin 9:6; 10:3; Avot 5:6, 17; Bekhorot 8:8. Land of Israel, c. 200 CE. In, e. g., The Mishnah: A New Translation. Translated by Jacob Neusner, pp. 36–49, 93–120, 148, 157, 329, 345–53, 604–05, 686, 688, 806. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. And in, e. g., The Oxford Annotated Mishnah. Edited by Shaye J. D. Cohen, Robert Goldenberg, and Hayim Lapin. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022. Tosefta: Demai 1:1–8:24; Terumot 1:1–10:18; Maaser Sheni 3:11; Challah 2:7, 9; Shabbat 15:7; Chagigah 3:19; Sotah 7:4; Sanhedrin 13:9; Bekhorot 1:5. Land of Israel, c. 300 CE. In, e. g., The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew, with a New Introduction. Translated by Jacob Neusner, volume 1, pp. 77–202, 313, 339, 414, 677, 861; volume 2, pp. 1190, 1469. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2002. Jerusalem Talmud: Demai 1a–77b; Terumot 1a–107a; Maaser Sheni 4a, 5a, 53b–54a; Challah 9b, 23b, 29a, 33a; Orlah 18a, 20a; Bikkurim 1a–26b; Pesachim 42b, 58a; Yoma 11a; Yevamot 51b–52a, 65b, 73b–74a; Ketubot 36a; Gittin 27b; Sanhedrin 11a, 60b, 62b, 68a–b; Avodah Zarah 27b. Tiberias, Land of Israel, c. 400 CE. In, e. g., Talmud Yerushalmi. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, volumes 4, 7–8, 10–12, 18–19, 21, 30–31, 39, 44–45, 48. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2006–2018. And in, e. g., The Jerusalem Talmud: A Translation and Commentary. Edited by Jacob Neusner and translated by Jacob Neusner, Tzvee Zahavy, B. Barry Levy, and Edward Goldman. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2009. Genesis Rabbah 19:2; 22:10; 26:7; 43:9. Land of Israel, 5th century. In, e. g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, volume 1, pp. 149, 189–90, 217–19, 358–59; volume 2, pp. 528, 656–57, 817, 899, 952–53, 980. London: Soncino Press, 1939. Mekhilta of Rabbi Simeon 19:3:2; 43:1:13; 46:2:4; 79:4:2; 84:1:9. Land of Israel, 5th century. In, e. g., Mekhilta de Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai. Translated by W. David Nelson, pp. 77, 182, 199, 367, 377. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2006. Babylonian Talmud: Berakhot 21b, 45a, 47a–b; Shabbat 25a, 31a, 26a, 88b–89a, 127b, 135b; Eruvin 19a, 31b; Pesachim 23a, 34a, 35b, 54a, 64b, 73a, 121b; Yoma 24a, 27a, 44a, 45b, 52b, 74b; 9a; Beitzah 3b, 12b–13b; Rosh Hashanah 12b; 9b, 23b; Moed Katan 5a–b, 12a, 13a, 16a, 18b, 28a; Chagigah 7b, 10b, 11b; Yevamot 74a, 85b–86b, 89b, 99b; Ketubot 8b, 72a, 102a; Nedarim 7b, 12b, 18b, 38a, 39b, 64b; Nazir 4b; Sotah 2a, 13b, 15a; Gittin 11b, 23b, 25a, 30b, 52a; Kiddushin 11b, 17a, 29a, 46b, 52b–53a; Bava Kamma 13a, 67a, 69b, 78a, 79a, 80a, 110b, 114a, 115b; Bava Metzia 6b, 22a, 56a, 71b, 88b, 102b ; Bava Batra 74a, 84b, 112a, 118b, 143a; Sanhedrin 17a, 37b, 52a–b, 74b, 82b–84a, 90b, 108a, 109b–10a; Makkot 4a, 12a, 13a, 14b, 17a–b, 19a–b, 23b; Shevuot 4b, 17b, 39a; Avodah Zarah 15a, 24b; Horayot 12a; 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; Arakhin 4a, 11b, 16a, 28b–29a; Temurah 3a, 4b–5b, 8a, 21a–b, 24a; Keritot 4a, 5b; Meilah 8b; Tamid 26b; Niddah 26a, 29a. Sasanian Empire, 6th Century. In, e. g., Talmud Bavli. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 volumes. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2006.

Avot of Rabbi Natan, 36:3. c. 700–900 CE. In, e. g., The Fathers According to Rabbi Nathan. Translated by Judah Goldin, p. 149. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1955. The Fathers According to Rabbi Nathan: An Analytical Translation and Explanation. Translated by Jacob Neusner, 217. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1986. Midrash Tanḥuma Korach. c. 775–900 CE. In, e. g., The Metsudah Midrash Tanchuma. Translated and annotated by Avrohom Davis, edited by Yaakov Y. H. Pupko, volume 7 (Bamidbar volume 2), pp. 1–56. Tanna Devei Eliyahu. Seder Eliyyahu Rabbah 67, 77, 83, 106, 117. 10th Century. In, e. g., Tanna Debe Eliyyahu: The Lore of the School of Elijah. Translated by William G. Braude and Israel J. Kapstein, pp. 150, 172, 183, 233, 256. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1981. Midrash Tehillim 1:15; 19:1; 26:4; 24:7; 32:1; 45:1, 4; 46:3; 49:3; 90:5; 132:1, 3. 10th century. In, e. g., The Midrash on the Psalms. Translated by William G. Braude, volume 1, pp. 20–22. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1959. Rashi. Commentary. Numbers 16–18. Troyes, France, late 11th Century. In, e. g., Rashi. The Torah: With Rashi's Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, volume 4, pp. 189–224. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1997. Rashbam. Commentary on the Torah. Troyes, early 12th century. In, e. g., Rashbam's Commentary on Leviticus and Numbers: An Annotated Translation. Edited and translated by Martin I. Lockshin, pp. 225–46. Providence: Brown Judaic Studies, 2001. Numbers Rabbah 18:1–23. 12th Century. In, e. g., Midrash Rabbah: Numbers. Translated by Judah J. Slotki. London: Soncino Press, 1939. Abraham ibn Ezra. Commentary on the Torah. Mid 12th century. In, e. g., Ibn Ezra's Commentary on the Pentateuch: Numbers (Ba Midbar). Translated and annotated by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver, pp. 126–51. New York: Menorah Publishing Company, 1999. Maimonides. Mishneh Torah, Structure. Cairo, Egypt, c. 1170–1180. Maimonides. Mishneh Torah: Hilchot Talmud Torah (The Laws of Torah Study), chapter 3, ¶ 13. Egypt, c. 1170–1180. In, e. g., Mishneh Torah: Hilchot De'ot: The Laws of Personality Development: and Hilchot Talmud Torah: The Laws of Torah Study. Translated by Za'ev Abramson and Eliyahu Touger, volume 2, pp. 206–09. New York: Moznaim Publishing, 1989. Maimonides. Mishneh Torah: Hilchot Matnot Aniyiim (The Laws of Gifts to the Poor), chapter 6, ¶ 2; Hilchot Terumot (The Laws of Priestly Offerings); Hilchot Ma'aser (The Laws of Tithes); Hilchot Bikkurim (The Laws of First Fruits); Hilchot Shemita V'Yovel (The Laws of the Sabbatical and Jubilee Years), chapter 13, ¶ 12. Egypt, c. 1170–1180. In, e. g., Mishneh Torah: Sefer Zeraim: The Book of Agricultural Ordinances. Translated by Eliyahu Touger, pp. 154–55, 196–499, 600–715, 834–35. New York: Moznaim Publishing, 2005. Maimonides. Mishneh Torah: Hilchot Kli Hamikdash (The Laws of the Temple Utensils), chapter 3, ¶ 1. Egypt, c. 1170–1180. In, e. g., Mishneh Torah: Sefer Ha'Avodah: The Book of (Temple) Service. Translated by Eliyahu Touger, pp. 148–51. New York: Moznaim Publishing, 2007. Maimonides. The Guide for the Perplexed, part 1, chapters 15, 20. Cairo, Egypt, 1190. In, e. g., Moses Maimonides. The Guide for the Perplexed. Translated by Michael Friedländer, pp. 25, 29. New York: Dover Publications, 1956. Hezekiah ben Manoah. Hizkuni. France, c. 1240. In, e. g., Chizkiyahu ben Manoach. Chizkuni: Torah Commentary. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 4, pp. 933–50. Jerusalem: Ktav Publishers, 2013. Nachmanides. Commentary on the Torah. Jerusalem, c. 1270. In, e. g., Ramban (Nachmanides): Commentary on the Torah: Numbers. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, volume 4, pp. 158–93. New York: Shilo Publishing House, 1975. Zohar part 3, pp. 176a–178b. Spain, late 13th Century. In, e. g., The Zohar. Translated by Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon. 5 volumes. London: Soncino Press, 1934. Jacob ben Asher (Baal Ha Turim). Rimze Ba'al ha Turim. Early 14th century. In, e. g., Baal Haturim Chumash: Bamidbar/Numbers. Translated by Eliyahu Touger; edited and annotated by Avie Gold, volume 4, pp. 1547–79. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2003. Jacob ben Asher. Perush Al ha Torah. Early 14th century. In, e. g., Yaakov ben Asher. Tur on the Torah. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 3, pp. 1101–20. Jerusalem: Lambda Publishers, 2005. Isaac ben Moses Arama. Akedat Yizhak (The Binding of Isaac). Late 15th century. In, e. g., Yitzchak Arama. Akeydat Yitzchak: Commentary of Rabbi Yitzchak Arama on the Torah. Translated and condensed by Eliyahu Munk, volume 2, pp. 728–41. New York, Lambda Publishers, 2001.

Isaac Abravanel. Commentary on the Torah. Italy, between 1492–1509. In, e. g., Abarbanel: Selected Commentaries on the Torah: Volume 4: Bamidbar/Numbers. Translated and annotated by Israel Lazar, pp. 160–88. Brooklyn: CreateSpace, 2015. Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno. Commentary on the Torah. Venice, 1567. In, e. g., Sforno: Commentary on the Torah. Translation and explanatory notes by Raphael Pelcovitz, pp. 730–45. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1997. Moshe Alshich. Commentary on the Torah. Safed, c. 1593. In, e. g., Moshe Alshich. Midrash of Rabbi Moshe Alshich on the Torah. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 3, pp. 865–74. New York, Lambda Publishers, 2000. Avraham Yehoshua Heschel. Commentaries on the Torah. Cracow, Poland, mid 17th century. Compiled as Chanukat HaTorah. Edited by Chanoch Henoch Erzohn. Piotrkow, Poland, 1900. In Avraham Yehoshua Heschel. Chanukas HaTorah: Mystical Insights of Rav Avraham Yehoshua Heschel on Chumash. Translated by Avraham Peretz Friedman, pp. 260–64. Southfield, Michigan: Targum Press/Feldheim Publishers, 2004. Thomas Hobbes. Leviathan, 3:38, 40, 42. England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. Macpherson, pp. 485–86, 505, 563–64. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982. Shabbethai Bass. Sifsei Chachamim. Amsterdam, 1680. In, e. g., Sefer Bamidbar: From the Five Books of the Torah: Chumash: Targum Okelos: Rashi: Sifsei Chachamim: Yalkut: Haftaros, translated by Avrohom Y. Davis, pp. 270–327. Lakewood Township, New Jersey: Metsudah Publications, 2013. Chaim ibn Attar. Ohr ha Chaim. Venice, 1742. In Chayim ben Attar. Or Hachayim: Commentary on the Torah. Translated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 4, pp. 1496–528. Brooklyn: Lambda Publishers, 1999. Samson Raphael Hirsch. Horeb: A Philosophy of Jewish Laws and Observances. Translated by Isidore Grunfeld, pp. 189–95, 261–65. London: Soncino Press, 1962. Reprinted 2002. Originally published as Horeb, Versuche über Jissroel's Pflichten in der Zerstreuung. Germany, 1837. Samuel David Luzzatto (Shadal). Commentary on the Torah. Padua, 1871. In, e. g., Samuel David Luzzatto. Torah Commentary. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 3, pp. 1060–71. New York: Lambda Publishers, 2012. H. Clay Trumbull. The Salt Covenant. New York, 1899. In Kirkwood, Missouri: Impact Christian Books, 1999. Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter. Sefat Emet. Góra Kalwaria (Ger), Poland, before 1906. Excerpted in The Language of Truth: The Torah Commentary of Sefat Emet. Translated and interpreted by Arthur Green, pp. 243–48. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1998. Reprinted 2012. Hermann Cohen. Religion of Reason: Out of the Sources of Judaism. Translated with an introduction by Simon Kaplan; introductory essays by Leo Strauss, p. 431. New York: Ungar, 1972. Reprinted Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1995. Originally published as Religion der Vernunft aus den Quellen des Judentums. Leipzig: Gustav Fock, 1919. Alexander Alan Steinbach. Sabbath Queen: Fifty four Bible Talks to the Young Based on Each Portion of the Pentateuch, pp. 119–22. New York: Behrman's Jewish Book House, 1936. Julius H. Greenstone. Numbers: With Commentary: The Holy Scriptures, pp. 164–200. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1939. Reprinted by Literary Licensing, 2011. Thomas Mann. Joseph and His Brothers. Translated by John E. Woods, p. 55. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. Originally published as Joseph und seine Brüder. Stockholm: Bermann Fischer Verlag, 1943. A. M. Klein. "Candle Lights." Canada, 1944. In The Collected Poems of A. M. Klein, p. 13. Toronto: McGraw Hill Ryerson, 1974. Jacob Milgrom. "First fruits, OT." In The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible. Supp. volume, pp. 336–37. Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon, 1976. Joseph B. Soloveitchik. "The 'Common Sense' Rebellion Against Torah Authority." In Reflection of the Rav: Lessons in Jewish Thought. Adapted by Abraham R. Besdin, pp. 139–49. Jerusalem: Department for Torah Education and Culture in the Diaspora of the World Zionist Organization, 1979. In Ktav Publishing, 2nd ed., 1993. Philip J. Budd. Word Biblical Commentary: Volume 5: Numbers, pp. 178–207. Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1984. Pinchas H. Peli. Torah Today: A Renewed Encounter with Scripture, pp. 173–75. Washington, D. C.: B'nai B'rith Books, 1987. Jacob Milgrom. The JPS Torah Commentary: Numbers: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation, pp. 129–57, 414–36. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1990. Howard Handler. "Pidyon HaBen and Caesarean Sections." New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 1991. YD 305:24.1991. In Responsa: 1991–2000: The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Conservative Movement. Edited by Kassel Abelson and David J. Fine, pp. 171–74. New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 2002. Baruch A. Levine. Numbers 1–20, volume 4, pp. 403–53. New York: Anchor Bible, 1993. Gerald Skolnik. "Should There Be a Special Ceremony in Recognition of a Firstborn Female Child?" New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 1993. YD 305:1.1993. In Responsa: 1991–2000: The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Conservative Movement. Edited by Kassel Abelson and David J. Fine, pp. 163–65 New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 2002. Mary Douglas. In the Wilderness: The Doctrine of Defilement in the Book of Numbers, pp. 40, 59, 84, 103, 110–12, 122–23, 125, 130–33, 138, 140, 145, 147, 150, 194–95, 203, 211, 246. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993. Reprinted 2004. Elliot N. Dorff. "Artificial Insemination, Egg Donation and Adoption." New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 1994. EH 1:3.1994. In Responsa: 1991–2000: The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Conservative Movement. Edited by Kassel Abelson and David J. Fine, pp. 461, 497. New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 2002. (implications of the law of the firstborn son for deciding whether a child born from a donated egg is Jewish). Judith S. Antonelli. "Korach's Rebellion." In In the Image of God: A Feminist Commentary on the Torah, pp. 357–60. Northvale, New Jersey: Jason Aronson, 1995. Vernon Kurtz. "Delay of Pidyon HaBen" New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 1995. YD 305:11.1995. In Responsa: 1991–2000: The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Conservative Movement. Edited by Kassel Abelson and David J. Fine, pp. 166–70. New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 2002. Ellen Frankel. The Five Books of Miriam: A Woman's Commentary on the Torah, pp. 220–23. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1996. W. Gunther Plaut. The Haftarah Commentary, pp. 366–74. New York: UAHC Press, 1996. Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden. Teaching Torah: A Treasury of Insights and Activities, pp. 254–59. Denver: A. R. E. Publishing, 1997. Elyse D. Frishman. "Authority, Status, Power." In The Women's Torah Commentary: New Insights from Women Rabbis on the 54 Weekly Torah Portions. Edited by Elyse Goldstein, pp. 286–93. Woodstock, Vermont: Jewish Lights Publishing, 2000. Dennis T. Olson. "Numbers." In The HarperCollins Bible Commentary. Edited by James L. Mays, pp. 175–78. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, revised ed., 2000. Elie Wiesel. "Korah." Bible Review, volume 16 (number 3) (June 2000): pp. 12–15. Lainie Blum Cogan and Judy Weiss. Teaching Haftarah: Background, Insights, and Strategies, pp. 53–61. Denver: A. R. E. Publishing, 2002. Michael Fishbane. The JPS Bible Commentary: Haftarot, pp. 233–38. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2002. Robert Alter. The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary, pp. 762–77. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2004. Barbara Borts. "Haftarat Korach: I Samuel 11:14–12:22." In The Women's Haftarah Commentary: New Insights from Women Rabbis on the 54 Weekly Haftarah Portions, the 5 Megillot & Special Shabbatot. Edited by Elyse Goldstein, pp. 180–84. Woodstock, Vermont: Jewish Lights Publishing, 2004. Nili S. Fox. "Numbers." In The Jewish Study Bible. Edited by Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler, pp. 315–21. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Professors on the Parashah: Studies on the Weekly Torah Reading Edited by Leib Moscovitz, pp. 255–66. Jerusalem: Urim Publications, 2005. James Findlay. “The Priestly Ideology of the Septuagint Translator of Numbers 16–17.” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, volume 30 (number 4) (June 2006): pp. 421–29. W. Gunther Plaut. The Torah: A Modern Commentary. Revised ed. edited by David E. S. Stern, pp. 1001–21. New York: Union for Reform Judaism, 2006. Suzanne A. Brody. "Direct Line to G d." In Dancing in the White Spaces: The Yearly Torah Cycle and More Poems, p. 97. Shelbyville, Kentucky: Wasteland Press, 2007. Shai Cherry. "Korah and His Gang." In Torah Through Time: Understanding Bible Commentary, from the Rabbinic Period to Modern Times, pp. 132–60. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 2007. James L. Kugel. How To Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now, pp. 290, 330–34. New York: Free Press, 2007. Françoise Mirguet. “Numbers 16: The Significance of Place—An Analysis of Spatial Markers.” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, volume 32 (number 3) (March 2008): pp. 311–30. The Torah: A Women's Commentary. Edited by Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Andrea L. Weiss, pp. 893–914. New York: URJ Press, 2008. R. Dennis Cole. "Numbers." In Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary. Edited by John H. Walton, volume 1, pp. 363–69. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009. Reuven Hammer. Entering Torah: Prefaces to the Weekly Torah Portion, pp. 219–23. New York: Gefen Publishing House, 2009. Jane Rachel Litman. "Torah and Its Discontents: Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1–18:32)." In Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible. Edited by Gregg Drinkwater, Joshua Lesser, and David Shneer; foreword by Judith Plaskow, pp. 202–05. New York: New York University Press, 2009. Idan Dershowitz. “A Land Flowing with Fat and Honey.” Vetus Testamentum, volume 60 (number 2) (2010): pp. 172–76. Terence E. Fretheim. "Numbers." In The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha: An Ecumenical Study Bible. Edited by Michael D. Coogan, Marc Z. Brettler, Carol A. Newsom, and Pheme Perkins, pp. 213–17. New York: Oxford University Press, Revised 4th ed. 2010. Michal Hunt. "The Pentateuch Part IV: Numbers: Lesson 8: Chapters 16–18: The Kohathite Rebellion. Agape Bible Study, 2010. (Catholic study of Korah.) The Commentators' Bible: Numbers: The JPS Miqra'ot Gedolot. Edited, translated, and annotated by Michael Carasik, pp. 115–37. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2011. Calum Carmichael. "The Status of the Firstborn (Numbers 16–18)." In The Book of Numbers: A Critique of Genesis, pp. 90–102. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012. Shmuel Herzfeld. "Empowerment through Knowledge and Commitment." In Fifty Four Pick Up: Fifteen Minute Inspirational Torah Lessons, pp. 216–22. Jerusalem: Gefen Publishing House, 2012. Shlomo Riskin. Torah Lights: Bemidbar: Trials and Tribulations in Times of Transition, pp. 127–52. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2012. Josh Feigelson. "Restraining Ambition: How can we each fulfill the uniqueness of our potential, while doing so with humility and a spirit of service?" The Jerusalem Report, volume 24 (number 5) (June 17, 2013): p. 45. Daniel Greyber. "Memory can be redemptive: We remember Korah and his companions to learn from their mistake. By so doing we redeem them, and ourselves." The Jerusalem Report, volume 25 (number 6) (June 30, 2014): p. 47. Jonathan Sacks. Lessons in Leadership: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible, pp. 205–09. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2015. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg. Bewilderments: Reflections on the Book of Numbers, pp. 170–93. New York: Schocken Books, 2015. Jonathan Sacks. Essays on Ethics: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible, pp. 239–43. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2016. Shai Held. The Heart of Torah, Volume 2: Essays on the Weekly Torah Portion: Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, pp. 136–45. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2017. Steven Levy and Sarah Levy. The JPS Rashi Discussion Torah Commentary, pp. 127–29. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2017. Jonathan Sacks. Numbers: The Wilderness Years: Covenant & Conversation: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible, pp. 185–233. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2017. Bill Dauster. "What Was So Bad About Korach?" Washington Jewish Week, July 4, 2019, p. 21. Mira Balberg. "The Fruits of Halakhah." 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