📖 Biblical Definition
Korah was a Levite of the Kohathite clan who led a rebellion of 250 Israelite leaders — princes of the assembly, men of renown — against Moses’ and Aaron’s authority in the wilderness (Numbers 16). The accusation was characteristically populist: "Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them" (v. 3). The LORD judged Korah and his coalition decisively: the earth opened her mouth and swallowed Korah, his household, and all that pertained to him; fire from the LORD consumed the 250 with their censers (vv. 31-35). Jude names "the gainsaying of Core" (Jude 11) as a perpetual warning against rebellion against God-ordained authority. The pattern is permanent: every Korah eventually meets the same earth.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Levite rebel against Moses; swallowed by the earth.
expand to see more
Kohathite Levite who organized 250 "princes of the assembly" to challenge Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, claiming "all the congregation are holy, every one of them" (Num 16:3). YHWH separated the rebels: the earth opened and swallowed Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and their families; fire from YHWH consumed the 250. Korah's psalm-writing descendants (sons of Korah) survived; Numbers 26:11 specifies the line was not cut off. "The gainsaying of Core" (Jude 11) is the perpetual emblem of unauthorized rebellion against legitimate spiritual authority.
📖 Key Scripture
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."
Numbers 16:32-33 — "And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit."
Jude 1:11 — "Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Korah's rebellion gets read as ancient story; the perpetual pattern of unauthorized challenge to spiritual authority gets missed.
expand to see more
Jude says we are still warned by "the gainsaying of Core." The pattern: democratic-sounding objection ("all the congregation are holy"), self-promoting agenda dressed as principled objection, organizing of sympathetic followers, defiance of legitimate authority. Recur in church history regularly.
Recover the warning: not all challenges to leadership are Korahs — sometimes the leadership is wrong — but Korahs do recur. The warning is to weigh whose authority is being challenged and whose agenda is driving.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew Korach.
expand to see more
['Hebrew', 'H7141', 'Qorach', 'Korah']
Usage
"The gainsaying of Core is a perpetual warning."
"Democratic rhetoric can mask self-promotion."
"His sons survived and wrote psalms."