פירוש על במדבר 17:6

YE HAVE KILLED THE PEOPLE OF THE ETERNAL.’ Onkelos rendered it: “You have caused the death of the people of the Eternal.” Thus he interprets the verse [to mean that] the people accused Moses and Aaron that because they advised Korach and his company to offer up strange incense to G-d of their own accord, those who offered it up were burnt, since G-d had not told Moses to offer up this incense, nor did he tell Israel to do so in the name of G-d; thus they of their own accord proposed this matter as a result of which the people died — when they could have [just as well] given another sign or miracle, through the rod, or [through] some other [harmless] test.
And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said [that the verse means that the people said]: “What proof is this that the tribe of Levi has been chosen, and that Aaron was chosen to be the High Priest? It is possible that by your prayer or by some [secret] wisdom which you possess you burnt those that offered the incense.” [All this is the language of Ibn Ezra]. And so indeed it appears, that they did not yet believe [in the Divine selection of the tribe of Levi], for when He stated afterwards, Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of them rods, one for each fathers’ house;¹⁷⁷Further, Verse 17. And it shall come to pass, that the man whom I shall choose, his rod shall bud, and I will make to cease from Me the murmurings etc.¹⁷⁸Ibid., Verse 20. — this proves that the people did not [yet] believe, as a result of the fire, that the Levites were chosen [for service in the Sanctuary] and that the firstborn had been exchanged for them, but they thought that Moses and Aaron had caused the fire [of their own accord]. Or [it may be that the people thought] that the punishment came because they burnt the incense with strange fire which He had not commanded them,¹⁷⁹Leviticus 10:1. and [that Aaron was saved because] Aaron’s incense was the [daily] incense of the morning [commanded by G-d],¹⁸⁰Exodus 30:7. as I have explained.¹⁸¹Above, 16:5. [According to this interpretation] the complaint [of the people] was only about [those two hundred and fifty men who offered the incense and who were consumed by] the fire,¹⁸²Ibid., Verse 35. but not about those men [Korach, Dathan, and Abiram] who were swallowed up by the earth,¹⁸³Ibid., Verse 32. for G-d had said to Moses, Get you up from about the dwelling of Korach, Dathan, and Abiram,¹⁸⁴Ibid., Verse 24. and this alluded to the opening of the mouth of the earth. Moses had told this to Israel in the name of G-d. Furthermore, Dathan and Abiram were guilty to a greater extent [in this incident than the two hundred and fifty others], since they mocked the messengers of G-d, and despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets.¹⁸⁵II Chronicles 36:16. [Hence the people did not complain about the punishment meted out to Korach, Dathan, and Abiram, but only about the fire that consumed the two hundred and fifty men who offered up the incense.]¹⁸⁶Ramban wrote all the above as a commentary on Ibn Ezra’s interpretation. In the following text, he presents his own view of this matter.
The correct interpretation appears to me to be that the people now believed in the priesthood of Aaron [that he and his descendants were chosen by G-d to serve as priests], since a fire had already come forth from before the Eternal and consumed his offerings,¹⁸⁷See Leviticus 9:24. but they wanted the firstborn to minister in the Tabernacle instead of the Levites, and they did not like the exchange [for the Levites] which they had done to them, but they wanted all the tribes [through their firstborn] to have a share in the Service of the House of G-d. Thus they complained: “You have killed them, for you advised them that they should offer up incense like priests, when they were only fit to do the service of the Levites, but not to act as priests who offer up the incense.” This is the meaning of the expression, and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded¹⁸⁸Further, Verse 23. [thus showing that the people’s complaint was because of the appointment of the tribe of Levi to minister in the Tabernacle, and now it was confirmed that they were indeed chosen instead of the firstborn of all the tribes].

'אתם המתם את עם ה, by telling all these people to test G’d by offering incense, something that is only fit to be offered together with the public burnt-offering burned on the altar every day in the morning and evening by the individual priest performing that service. If you wanted to make such a test you should have done so with meat offerings, a procedure in which a large number of priests can participate.

וילנו כל עדת בני ישראל, The whole congregation of Israel murmured, etc. What is the meaning of the word לאמר in this verse? Seeing the complaint was directed only at Moses and Aaron as has been stated what could the word לאמר possibly add? Perhaps the people did not spell out their complaint as did the Torah., i.e. they did not actually say: "you have killed the people of G'd." They merely voiced complaints which amounted to much the same as if they had made this direct accusation which the Torah summarised here. The words וילנו לאמר read together were equivalent to their having said the words quoted in their name in our verse.