Numbers 16:3

Numbers 16:3

And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?

a. NLT: They united against Moses and Aaron and said, “You have gone too far! The whole community of Israel has been set apart by the LORD, and he is with all of us. What right do you have to act as though you are greater than the rest of the LORD’s people?”

b. NIV: They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the LORD’s assembly?”

c. YLT: And they are assembled against Moses and against Aaron, and say unto them, 'Enough of you! for all the company -- all of them are holy, and in their midst is Jehovah; and wherefore do ye lift yourselves up above the assembly of Jehovah?'

d. Amplified Bible Classic: And they gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, [Enough of you!] You take too much upon yourselves, seeing that all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you lift yourselves up above the assembly of the Lord?

e. Septuagint: They rose up against Moses and Aaron, and said, Let it be enough for you that all the congregation [are] holy, and the Lord [is] among them; and why do ye set up yourselves against the congregation of the Lord?

f. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/Writings: They gathered together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “It is too much for you! For the entire assembly—all of them—are holy and HASHEM is among them; why do you exhalt yourselves over the congregation of HASHEM?”

1. “And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them…”

a. [And they] gathered themselves together [Strong: 6950 qahal 'kaw-hal' a primitive root; to convoke:--assemble (selves) (together), gather (selves) (together).]

b. against [Strong: 5921 `al al properly, the same as 5920 used as a preposition (in the singular or plural often with prefix, or as conjunction with a particle following); above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications (as follow):--above, according to(-ly), after, (as) against, among, and, X as, at, because of, beside (the rest of), between, beyond the time, X both and, by (reason of), X had the charge of, concerning for, in (that), (forth, out) of, (from) (off), (up-)on, over, than, through(-out), to, touching, X with.]

c. Moses [Strong: 4872 Mosheh mo-sheh' from 4872; drawing out (of the water), i.e. rescued; Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiver:--Moses.]

d. and against [Strong: 5921 `al al properly, the same as 5920 used as a preposition (in the singular or plural often with prefix, or as conjunction with a particle following); above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications (as follow):--above, according to(-ly), after, (as) against, among, and, X as, at, because of, beside (the rest of), between, beyond the time, X both and, by (reason of), X had the charge of, concerning for, in (that), (forth, out) of, (from) (off), (up-)on, over, than, through(-out), to, touching, X with.]

e. Aaron [Strong: 175 'Aharown a-har-one' of uncertain derivation; Aharon, the brother of Moses:--Aaron.]

f. and said [Strong: 559 'amar aw-mar' a primitive root; to say (used with great latitude):--answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, + (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, X desire, determine, X expressly, X indeed, X intend, name, X plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), X still, X suppose, talk, tell, term, X that is, X think, use (speech), utter, X verily, X yet.]

g. unto [them] [Strong: 413 'el ale (but only used in the shortened constructive form sel {el}); a primitive particle; properly, denoting motion towards, but occasionally used of a quiescent position, i.e. near, with or among; often in general, to:--about, according to ,after, against, among, as for, at, because(-fore, -side), both...and, by, concerning, for, from, X hath, in(- to), near, (out) of, over, through, to(-ward), under, unto, upon, whether, with(-in).]

2. “…Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them…”

a. [Ye take] too much [Strong: 7227 rab rab by contracted from 7231; abundant (in quantity, size, age, number, rank, quality):--(in) abound(-undance, -ant, -antly), captain, elder, enough, exceedingly, full, great(-ly, man, one), increase, long (enough, (time)), (do, have) many(-ifold, things, a time), ((ship-))master, mighty, more, (too, very) much, multiply(-tude), officer, often(-times), plenteous, populous, prince, process (of time), suffice(-lent).]

          

b. upon [you] [Strong: 413 'el ale (but only used in the shortened constructive form sel {el}); a primitive particle; properly, denoting motion towards, but occasionally used of a quiescent position, i.e. near, with or among; often in general, to:--about, according to ,after, against, among, as for, at, because(-fore, -side), both...and, by, concerning, for, from, X hath, in(- to), near, (out) of, over, through, to(-ward), under, unto, upon, whether, with(-in).]

c. [seeing] all [Strong: 3605 kol kole or (Jer. 33:8) kowl {kole}; from 3634; properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense):--(in) all (manner, (ye)), altogether, any (manner), enough, every (one, place, thing), howsoever, as many as, (no-)thing, ought, whatsoever, (the) whole, whoso(-ever).]

d. the congregation [Strong: 5712 `edah ay-daw' feminine of 5707 in the original sense of fixture; a stated assemblage (specifically, a concourse, or generally, a family or crowd):--assembly, company, congregation, multitude, people, swarm.]

e. [are] holy [Strong: 6918 qadowsh kaw-doshe' or qadosh {kaw-doshe'}; from 6942; sacred (ceremonially or morally); (as noun) God (by eminence), an angel, a saint, a sanctuary:--holy (One), saint.]

f. everyone of them [Strong: 3605 kol kole or (Jer. 33:8) kowl {kole}; from 3634; properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense):--(in) all (manner, (ye)), altogether, any (manner), enough, every (one, place, thing), howsoever, as many as, (no-)thing, ought, whatsoever, (the) whole, whoso(-ever).]

g. [and the] LORD [Strong: 3068 Yhovah yeh-ho-vaw' from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God:--Jehovah, the Lord.]

h. is among [Strong: 8432 tavek taw'-vek from an unused root meaning to sever; a bisection, i.e. (by implication) the centre:--among(-st), X between, half, X (there- ,where-), in(-to), middle, mid(-night), midst (among), X out (of), X through, X with(-in).]

3. “…wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?”

a. wherefore [Strong: 4069 madduwa` mad-doo'-ah or madduaa {mad-doo'-ah}; from 4100 and the passive participle of 3045; what (is) known?; i.e. (by implication) (adverbially) why?:--how, wherefore, why.]

b. then lift ye up yourselves [Strong: 5375 nasa' naw-saw' or nacah (Psalm 4 : 6 (7)) {naw-saw'}; a primitive root; to lift, in a great variety of applications, literal and figurative, absol. and rel. (as follows):--accept, advance, arise, (able to, (armor), suffer to) bear(-er, up), bring (forth), burn, carry (away), cast, contain, desire, ease, exact, exalt (self), extol, fetch, forgive, furnish, further, give, go on, help, high, hold up, honorable (+ man), lade, lay, lift (self) up, lofty, marry, magnify, X needs, obtain, pardon, raise (up), receive, regard, respect, set (up), spare, stir up, + swear, take (away, up), X utterly, wear, yield.]

c. above [Strong: 5921 `al al properly, the same as 5920 used as a preposition (in the singular or plural often with prefix, or as conjunction with a particle following); above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications (as follow):--above, according to(-ly), after, (as) against, among, and, X as, at, because of, beside (the rest of), between, beyond the time, X both and, by (reason of), X had the charge of, concerning for, in (that), (forth, out) of, (from) (off), (up-)on, over, than, through(-out), to, touching, X with.]

e. the congregation [Strong: 6951 qahal kaw-hawl' from 6950; assemblage (usually concretely):--assembly, company, congregation, multitude.]

f. [of the] LORD [Strong: 3068 Yhovah yeh-ho-vaw' from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God:--Jehovah, the Lord.]

1). Gordon Lindsay’s Old Testament Series, Volume 11: Korah’s accusations were false, neither Moses or Aaron aspired to their positions, they were appointed by God, and since Israel was a theocracy, this act was high treason, direct rebellion against God.