Study Desk

Korah son of Izhar was a Levite from the Kohathite clan. One day he called together Dathan, Abiram, and On from the Reuben tribe, and the four of them decided to rebel against Moses. So they asked two hundred fifty respected Israelite leaders for their support, and together they went to Moses

Then Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, but they sent back this message: "We won't come!

But suppose the Lord does something that has never been done before. For example, what if a huge crack appears in the ground, and these men and their families fall into it and are buried alive, together with everything they own? Then you will know they have turned their backs on the Lord !"

because they were used for offering incense to me. Have them hammered into a thin layer of bronze as a covering for the altar. Those men died because of their sin, and now their fire pans will become a warning for the rest of the community."

Eleazar collected the pans and had them hammered into a thin layer of bronze as a covering for the altar,

"Stand back! I am going to wipe out these Israelites once and for all." They immediately bowed down and prayed.

The Israelites cried out to Moses, "We're done for

The Lord said to Aaron: You, your sons, and the other Levites of the Kohath clan, are responsible for what happens at the sacred tent. And you and your sons will be responsible for what the priests do.

The Lord said to Aaron: I have put you in charge of the sacred gifts and sacrifices that the Israelites bring to me. And from now on, you, your sons, and your descendants will receive part of the sacrifices for sin, as well as part of the grain sacrifices, and the sacrifices to make things right. Your share of these sacrifices will be the parts not burned on the altar.

You will also receive part of the special gifts and offerings that the Israelites bring to me. Any member of your family who is clean and acceptable for worship can eat these things.

For example, when the Israelites bring me the first batches of oil, wine, and grain, you can have the best parts of those gifts.

The price for a first-born son who is at least one month old will be five pieces of silver, weighed according to the official standards.

The Lord said to Aaron: Ten percent of the Israelites' crops and one out of every ten of their newborn animals belong to me. But I am giving all this to the Levites as their pay for the work they do at the sacred tent.

Your share may be eaten anywhere by anyone in your family, because it is your pay for working at the sacred tent.

You won't be punished for eating it, as long as you have already offered the best parts to me. The gifts and sacrifices brought by the people must remain sacred, and if you eat any part of them before they are offered to me, you will be put to death.

The Lord gave Moses and Aaron the following law: The people of Israel must bring Moses a reddish-brown cow that has nothing wrong with it and that has never been used for plowing.

After the ceremony, the priest is to take a bath and wash his clothes. Only then can he go back into the camp, but he remains unclean and unfit for worship until evening.

The Lord said: If you touch a dead body, you will be unclean for seven days.

But if you wash with the water mixed with the cow's ashes on the third day and again on the seventh day, you will be clean and acceptable for worship. You must wash yourself on those days; if you don't, you will remain unclean.

If someone dies in a tent while you are there, you will be unclean for seven days. And anyone who later enters the tent will also be unclean.