John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 3. And they gathered themselves together against Moses, and against Aaron , etc.] They met together by appointment, and went up in a body to Moses and Aaron: and said unto them, [ye take] too much upon you ; the one to be king, and the other to be priest; for they imagined that Moses took the civil government into his hands, and Aaron the priesthood, of themselves, without any call of God to either; but the contrary is most certain, ( Hebrews 3:2 5:4); the Israelites, those of the other tribes besides Levi and Reuben, thought that Moses took too much upon him of his own head, to take the Levites instead of the firstborn, and confer a dignity on his own brethren, the sons of Kohath, who were near akin to him, and on all the sons of Levi, as Aben Ezra observes; and the Levites they conspired against him, because they were given to Aaron and his sons; and Dathan and Abiram entered into a conspiracy, as the same writer thinks, because he had removed the birthright from Reuben their father, and had given it to Joseph; for it is probable they suspected him, because of Joshua his minister; and Jarchi conjectures that Korah was angry because Moses had conferred the government of the Kohathites on Elizaphan, the son of Uzziel, the youngest son of Kohath, when he himself, Korah, was the eldest son of an elder son of Kohath: or “it is”, or “let it be enough for you” f223 ; or more than enough, as Jarchi; it is sufficient that you have had the government, both in things civil and religious, so long as you have; it is time to give it up to others, who are as well qualified as yourselves. The time past may suffice for the exercise of your despotic and arbitrary power; though it seems to be chiefly levelled against Aaron, and his priesthood, which they thought Moses had conferred on his brother of himself, any instruction from God: seeing all the congregation [are] holy, everyone of them ; having all heard the words of the Lord on Sinai, as Jarchi notes; and were all fit to be priests, and to offer sacrifice in and for their families, as they had used to do, before the separation of Aaron and his sons to the priesthood: and the Lord [is] among them ; in the tabernacle, to whom they could approach and offer their offerings without a priest to do it for them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord ? since they were all upon a level, everyone holy to the Lord, and might draw nigh unto him, and officiate as priests; wherefore they represent it as great pride and vanity in them; in Moses to take upon him to dispose of the priesthood at his pleasure, and make Aaron the high priest of the people; and in Aaron to take this office upon him, and to be an high priest, and not all the sons of Levi, but over all the children of Israel.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-11 - Pride and ambition occasion a great deal of mischief both in churche and states. The rebels quarrel with the settlement of the priesthoo upon Aaron and his family. Small reason they had to boast of the people's purity, or of God's favour, as the people had been so ofte and so lately polluted with sin, and were now under the marks of God' displeasure. They unjustly charge Moses and Aaron with taking honour to themselves; whereas they were called of God to it. See here, 1. What spirit levellers are of; those who resist the powers God has set ove them. 2. What usage they have been serviceable. Moses sough instruction from God. The heart of the wise studies to answer, and ask counsel of God. Moses shows their privileges as Levites, and convict them of the sin of undervaluing these privileges. It will help to kee us from envying those above us, duly to consider how many there ar below us.
Original Hebrew ויקהלו6950 על5921 משׁה4872 ועל5921 אהרן175 ויאמרו559 אלהם413 רב7227 לכם כי3588 כל3605 העדה5712 כלם3605 קדשׁים6918 ובתוכם8432 יהוה3068 ומדוע4069 תתנשׂאו5375 על5921 קהל6951 יהוה׃3068
