Comentários de Citação sobre Números 16:5

ועשית פסח, “and you must observe the Passover;” the Torah was forced to repeat this law as in verse 5 of this chapter it stipulated that once the people were in their own land they were forbidden to offer this offering and consume it in their own dwellings, outside of Jerusalem.

AND MOSES SENT TO CALL DATHAN AND ABIRAM. Now Dathan and Abiram were the instigators of this controversy as much as Korach was, as Scripture states, Now Korach took … and Dathan and Abiram … and they rose up in the face of Moses with certain of the children of Israel etc.,⁸⁴Above, Verses 1-2. meaning that they were the ones who roused them together against Moses and Aaron. Then Moses spoke [once] to Korach and to all his company,⁸⁰Verse 5. and furthermore said to him: thou and all thy company,⁸⁵Verse 11. for it was to him [Korach] that he spoke first, since he was the leader amongst them. Now amongst those that were gathered together were also the followers of Dathan and Abiram; therefore Moses wanted to speak to them also now, and to warn them about themselves and all those who were gathered together [with them], who were their company, and to appease them with good words, even comforting words⁸⁶Zechariah 1:13. to Israel, since his [earlier] words to Korach were a conciliation only to the Levites.
The meaning of the expression and Moses sent is that Dathan and Abiram had gone away from his presence whilst he was speaking to Korach [as stated in Verses 5-7], and afterwards it again says, And Moses said unto Korach [Verse 8], who was still standing before him there, or maybe since Korach was a Levite he stayed in the camp of the Levites near the tent of Moses.⁸⁷Accordingly, the speech of Moses to Korach, which is recorded in Verses 8-11, took place near Moses’ and Korach’s tents, and not near the Tent of Meeting. All this happened on the first day [of the rebellion], just as Moses said, thou and they, and Aaron tomorrow,⁸⁰Verse 16. — this being the “morning” he mentioned to them: In the ‘morning’ the Eternal will make it known who are His.⁸⁸Above, Verse 5.
It is possible that Dathan and Abiram, as princes of the congregation,⁵⁴Above, Verse 2. were more distinguished than On the son of Peleth,⁵⁴Above, Verse [1]. and if they would have been won over to Moses, On would have followed their counsel; therefore Moses did not send for him. Thus On did not come, and was not present together with them [Dathan and Abiram], nor was he with Korach’s company; since he left him when Dathan and Abiram went away, while Moses was debating with Korach, and he never returned [to Korach’s company], because he changed his mind [after his original participation] on the advice of his wife who saved him, according to the words of our Rabbis.⁸⁹Sanhedrin 109b. She said to her husband: “What benefit will you have from this controversy? Either Moses remains master and you are his disciple, or Korach becomes master and you are his disciple!” For Scripture does not mention him [On] as one who was swallowed up [in the earth] together with Dathan and Abiram, nor was he among the company of those that gathered together against the Eternal⁹⁰See further, 27:3. who offered the incense, since there were two hundred and fifty men besides the four⁹¹I.e., Korach, Dathan, Abiram, and On the son of Peleth. Now since Scripture mentions these four men besides the two hundred and fifty (Verse 2), and the fire which burnt those who offered the incense, destroyed two hundred and fifty men (further, Verse 35), it follows that On must have been saved. The death of Korach, Dathan, and Abiram, however, is expressly mentioned separately (ibid., Verses 27, and 32-33). mentioned at first.

הבוקר היה ורוח הקדים נשא את הארבה, “when it had become morning, the easterly wind had carried the locusts.” The easterly wind brought disaster with it, whereas a westerly wind removed disaster. This is why the Torah wrote (verse 19) Hashem turned back a powerful west wind; it carried the locusts away toward the sea and spewed it out there. The reason the Torah had spoken about “it was morning,” is an allusion to the fact that usually disaster strikes the wicked in the morning. We have scriptural support for this from Psalms 101,8: “each morning I (G’d) will destroy all the wicked of the land.” When Moses predicted the disaster which would strike Korach and his fellow rebels, he said (Numbers 16,5) “in the morning G’d will make known who is His and who is holy.” We also find that the salvation of the righteous occurs in the morning such as in Exodus 34,2 where G’d told Moses to be ready in the morning to ascend the mountain and to receive the replacement of the first set of tablets which he had smashed. Isaiah 33,2 also speaks of salvation for the righteous in the morning when he writes: ”be their arm every morning, also our deliverance in time of stress.” Lamentations 3,23 also refers to G’d’s mercies being renewed every morning and His grace being ample.