Korah, son of Izhar

→ Arabic language: قورح.

(baldness).

Son of Izhar the son of Kohath the son of Levi. He was leader of the famous rebellion against his cousins Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, for which he paid the penalty of perishing with his followers by an earthquake and flames of fire. (Numbers 16; 26:9-11) The particular grievance which rankled in the mind of Korah and his company was their exclusion from the office of the priesthood, and their being confined--those among them who were Levites-- to the inferior service of the tabernacle, and you can find more about that here on st-takla.org on other commentaries and dictionary entries. Korah's position as leader in this rebellion was evidently the result of his personal character, which was that of a bold, haughty and ambitious man. (B.C. 1490.) In the New Testament (Jude 1:11) Korah is coupled with Cain and Balaam.

* See other occurrences of the same term: Korah, Abiram, Dathan.