Parshat Korach5 min read

Dathan and Abiram Followed Moses From Egypt to the Grave

Two men followed Moses with opposition from Egypt to the edge of the grave. They are the first to resist in Exodus and the last to resist in Numbers.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. The First Fight Happened in Egypt
  2. The Manna They Saved Overnight
  3. The Rebellion They Joined
  4. The Earth That Swallowed Them

Moses had just killed the Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave. The next morning he found two Hebrews fighting in the street and asked the violent one why he was striking his fellow. The answer he received was not an explanation. It was a prosecution. Who made you a prince and judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?

That sentence drove Moses into exile. The rabbis heard the voices of Dathan and Abiram inside it, because they wanted the wound to have continuity.

The First Fight Happened in Egypt

The Torah gives no names for the two fighting Hebrews. Midrash Aggadah on Exodus names them: Dathan and Abiram. The identification marks the same men who would later shout against Moses in the wilderness were already using his mercy against him in Egypt. He saved one slave. They turned the rescue into evidence for the prosecution. The anti-redemption instinct inside the story is not anonymous. It has names and a history.

Their names themselves carried meaning in the midrashic reading. Dathan from a root suggesting transgressor of divine law. Abiram meaning the obdurate, the one who refuses to yield. These were not descriptive labels applied after the fact. The tradition reads them as character diagnoses written into the names before the story began.

The Manna They Saved Overnight

In the wilderness of Sin, when manna began falling from the sky, Moses gave one instruction: gather what you need for today and leave none of it for morning. Some of the people did not listen. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus names them by name: Dathan and Abiram, men of wickedness. They kept manna overnight. By morning it had produced worms and rotted. Moses was angry with them.

The Targum is drawing a line. These are the same men who will side with Korach in his rebellion. Here in Exodus, they make their first appearance as troublemakers, and the Targumist wants readers to recognize the face even this early. The pattern of defiance is not a response to anything Moses did wrong. It is a character trait that survived Egypt, survived the sea, and would survive for another forty years in the desert.

The Rebellion They Joined

Korach's challenge to Moses drew two hundred and fifty princes and the two men who had been waiting since Egypt. Dathan and Abiram added a specific dimension to the rebellion that Korach alone could not provide. They refused to come when Moses summoned them. He had summoned them to hear their grievances in court, to give them the process of law, to let them speak before any judgment fell. They sent back a message instead: we will not come up. You brought us out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness. That land was Egypt. They called their slavery a paradise and their liberation a murder attempt.

Moses walked to them. He would not drag them, would not send soldiers, would not use his authority to compel what they refused to give voluntarily. He came to their tents, and he pleaded, and the rabbis read this as one of Moses' finest moments precisely because it happened on the day of his greatest humiliation.

The Earth That Swallowed Them

When the ground opened to take Korach's household, it swallowed Dathan and Abiram with everything they owned. But Korach himself died separately. He had stood with the two hundred and fifty who offered incense, and fire came out and consumed that group. His body, burned but not buried, rolled across the ground. It rolled until it arrived precisely at the opening the earth had made for Dathan and Abiram. The instant his charred remains reached that gap, the earth swallowed them too. Both deaths, fire and earth, fell on Korach. Dathan and Abiram got only one.

The midrash counted this as fitting. Korach had been the architect of the challenge to Moses. Dathan and Abiram had been the persistent shadow, the ones who kept the opposition alive from Egypt through every episode in between. Their punishment was being swallowed by the earth they had tried to use as evidence against Moses: you brought us out of a land flowing with milk and honey. The earth answered them directly.

KorachMosesRebellionEgyptMiracles
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From the tradition

Sources

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The texts this telling draws on, in full. Open a card to read inline, or expand it for a wider, quieter read.

Midrash Aggadah, Exodus 2:13Midrash Aggadah

"And behold, two Hebrew men were striving together" (Exodus 2:13). And who were they? These were Dathan and Abiram. And they were the ones who said, "Let us appoint a chief and let us return to Egypt" (Numbers 14:4). And they were the ones who rebelled at the Red Sea. And they were the ones who left over from the manna, as it is said, "But they did not hearken to Moses, and some men left of it until the morning" (Exodus 16:20). And they were in the dispute of Korah, as it is said, "This is that Dathan and Abiram, the called of the assembly, who strove" (Numbers 26:9), for they persisted in their wickedness from beginning to end.

"And he said to the wicked one, Why do you strike your fellow?" (Exodus 2:13). He answered and said, "A wicked one like yourself."

"Who made you a man?", And you are not yet a man, yet you wish to be a prince and a judge over us, and you are not a man.

"Do you say to kill me?", "Do you seek" is not written, but rather "do you say," that is to say, by speech. From here you learn that he uttered a [divine] name upon the Egyptian and killed him.

"And he said, Surely the thing is known." He said to them: There is slander among you. And how are you fit for redemption?

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Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus 16:20Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 16:20) names names. The Hebrew only tells us that "some of them" kept manna overnight against Moses's word. The Targum identifies the culprits: But some of them hearkened not to Mosheh: Dathan and Abiram, men of wickedness, did reserve of it till the morning; but it produced worms and putrefied; and Mosheh was angry with them.

Dathan and Abiram. The Sages recognized them. These are the same two troublemakers who will later side with Korah in his rebellion (Numbers 16) and be swallowed alive by the earth along with their tents. Here, in Exodus 16, they are making their first cameo as anshei rish'a, men of wickedness. The Targumist is drawing a narrative arc.

What did they do wrong? They did not trust the daily dispensation. Moses had said: gather the matter of a day by the day. Dathan and Abiram thought they knew better. They stockpiled. The next morning, their private stash had bred worms and stank. The Sages read this as a physical judgment that fit the sin exactly. The manna they hoarded mimicked, in miniature, what hoarding does to a soul: it rots.

The aggadic tradition amplifies the detail. The daily gift of manna was not just food. It was a pedagogy of trust. Those who could not practice it in the small matter of breakfast would, predictably, also fail in the large matter of loyalty to Moses's leadership. The worms in the pot foreshadowed the earth that would open under their feet.

The Maggid's takeaway is blunt. The sin of hoarding is not that it offends an arbitrary rule. It is that it betrays a lack of faith in tomorrow's portion. If you cannot trust the Holy One to send tomorrow's manna, you will also find yourself unable to trust Him in any larger test. Small distrust breeds worms. Large distrust opens the ground.

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Legends of the Jews 5:4Legends of the Jews

Legends of the Jews turns to Dathan and Abiram Join Korah's Rebellion Against Moses.

Korah wasn't alone. Oh no, discontent rarely travels solo. According to the ancient texts, several others joined him in his quest to unseat Moses. First, there were the Reubenites, Dathan and Abiram. Now, their names themselves are almost like a warning! Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) tells us that Dathan signifies “transgressor of the Divine law,” and Abiram means "the obdurate", They were, shall we say, destined for trouble.

It didn't stop there. Two hundred and fifty men, prominent figures in Israel, even princes of the tribes, threw their lot in with Korah. Can you imagine the buzz? The whispers? The sheer scale of this challenge to Moses's leadership?

What was the link? What brought them together? The text gives us a clue: geography! Korah, a Kohathite, had his station south of the Tabernacle, the Mishkan, the portable sanctuary that accompanied the Israelites in the desert. The Reubenites were also encamped there. As the proverb goes, "Woe to the wicked, woe to his neighbor!" It seems like proximity bred familiarity, and familiarity, in this case, bred rebellion. A friendship blossomed, and Dathan and Abiram became loyal followers in Korah’s plot against Moses.

It makes you wonder about the company we keep, doesn't it? How our surroundings and the people we associate with can influence our own path. And it also highlights the incredible challenges that leaders throughout history have faced. And the constant need to navigate dissent and maintain unity, even in the face of powerful opposition.

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Legends of the Jews 5:12Legends of the Jews

The story of Korah's rebellion, found in the Book of Numbers, is one of the most dramatic and unsettling in the Torah, and the defiant words of Dathan and Abiram, two key figures in that rebellion, still echo through the ages.

Moses, ever the just leader, understood that even in the face of such opposition, the law had to be followed. He knew he couldn't just condemn Dathan and Abiram without giving them a chance to be heard. After all, Jewish law, as we see reflected in later rabbinic codes, always prioritized due process. So, Moses sent a messenger to summon them to his court. He wanted to give them an opportunity to explain themselves, to perhaps even find a path to reconciliation. He didn't want them punished without a fair hearing.

Their response? Utter defiance. "We will not come up!" they declared.

It's a chilling response, isn't it? And as the narrative unfolds, that simple refusal carries a weight far beyond just their disobedience. The text sees in it an "unconscious prophecy." As their end would show, they weren't going "up" at all. They were going down.

And it wasn't just a refusal to comply. They followed up their insolence with a scathing message to Moses. Their words drip with resentment and accusation: "Why dost thou set thyself up as master over us?" they demanded. What good had Moses ever done for them? "What benefit didst thou bring to us?"

They painted a picture of Egypt as a paradise lost, "a land 'like the garden of the Lord,'" and blamed Moses for leading them out, only to abandon them in the desolate wilderness. "Thou didst lead us out of Egypt... but hast not brought us to Canaan, leaving us in the wilderness where we are daily visited by the plague." The bitterness is palpable.

They even accused him of trickery, saying, "Thou didst beguile the people in their exodus from Egypt, when thou didst promise to lead them to a land of milk and honey; in their delusion they followed thee and were disappointed." They believed he’d deceived them with promises he couldn't keep. Now, they declared, they wouldn’t be fooled again. “We will not come and obey thy summons."

Their refusal wasn't just about disobeying Moses. It was a rejection of his leadership, a denial of his authority, and ultimately, a rejection of the divine plan itself. It’s a stark reminder of how easily resentment and disillusionment can fester, leading to rebellion against even the most well-intentioned leaders.

As we read this passage, we can't help but wonder: What were Dathan and Abiram really after? Was it truly about the hardships of the desert, or was there something deeper, a thirst for power, a resentment of authority that drove their defiance? And what lessons can we draw from their tragic story about the dangers of unchecked resentment and the importance of unity in the face of adversity?

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Midrash Aggadah, Numbers 16:32Midrash Aggadah

"And all the men that belonged to Korah." Korah was among those who were burned and among those who were swallowed, as it is said, "and the earth swallowed them up together with Korah" (Numbers 26:10). And he was among the burned, among those who offered the incense. And how did this come about? The fire burned him, and he rolled until he came to the place of the swallowing; immediately "and the earth swallowed them up."

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Midrash Tanchuma, Shemot 10Midrash Tanchuma

And he went out on the second day, and behold, two men of the Hebrews were striving together (Exod. 2:13). Who were these men? They were Dathan and Abiram, who later said: Let us make a captain, and let us return to Egypt (Num. 14:4). They were the ones who rebelled at the Red Sea and kept some of the manna (as “leftovers,” not believing that God would supply them with more the next day), as it is written: But some of them left of it until the morning (Exod. 16:20). Likewise, they were the ones who went out to gather it up (on the Sabbath, which was forbidden), but were unable to find any (as Moses had warned). They were also the ones who participated in his (Moses’) conflict with Korah. Hence it is said: It was Dathan and Abiram. They were involved in wickedness from beginning to end. He said to him that did wrong: “Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?” (Exod. 2:13), that is to say: “Why do you strike one who is just as wicked as you are?” And they retorted: Who made thee a man, ruler and judge over us? This implied: “You are not yet a man, indeed you are only a lad, and yet you try to act as though you are a ruler and a judge over us.”

Thinkest thou to kill me? It does not say here “Do you desire to kill me?” but rather Thinkest thou to kill me? Thus you learn from this that he slew him merely by reflecting upon the Tetragrammaton. And Moses became fearful and said: Surely this thing is known (Exod. 2:14). He said to them: “You tell tales on each other, how can you be worthy of redemption?” And when Pharaoh hear this thing (ibid., v. 15). Apparently Dathan and Abiram informed against him (Moses), and he fled to Midian, where he remained twenty years, until Israel became worthy of redemption.

Forthwith he sought to slay Moses, but Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh. They had placed Moses upon the scaffold, and Pharaoh was about to have him executed when the Holy One, blessed be He, made Pharaoh mute, the counselors deaf, and the executioner blind. Thereupon, Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh. Whence do we know this? R. Johanan said: At the time that Moses replied: I am not a man of words (Exod. 4:10), the Holy One, blessed be He, declared: Who hath made man’s mouth? (ibid., v. 11). Pharaoh’s mouth ordered that Moses be placed upon the scaffold and executed but who made him mute, the counselor deaf, and the executioner blind? Who gave you the good sense to escape from Pharaoh? Is it not I (ibid.), the Holy One, blessed be He?

And he dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well. In so doing, he repeated what his ancestors had done previously. There were three who met their mates at a well: Isaac, Jacob, and Moses. Isaac, as it is written: And Isaac came from the way of Beer-lahai-roi (Gen. 24:62). Jacob, as it is written: And he looked up, and behold, a well in the field (ibid. 29:2). Moses, as it is written: And he sat down by a well.

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