מדרש אויף שמואל א 17:4

(Numb. 16:1:) “Now Korah […] took.” [What] he took [was] his prayer shawl and he went to get counsel from his wife.¹¹Numb. R. 18:4. When the Holy One, blessed be He, said (in Numb. 8:6–7), “Take the Levites from among the Children of Israel and purify them. Now this is what you shall do for them to purify them [… and have them pass a razor over all of their flesh].” [Moses] immediately did so to Korah. [Korah] began to go around all Israel, but they did not recognize him. They said to him, “Who did this to you?” He told them, “Moses. And not only that, but taking me by my hands and by my feet, they waved me and said to me, ‘See, you are purified.’ Moreover, he brought his brother Aaron, adorned him like a bride, and had him sit in the tent of meeting.” The enemies of Moses immediately began to incite Israel against him. So they said, “Moses is king, his brother Aaron is high priest, and his children are deputy high priests! The priest has a priestly offering (terumah); the priest has a priestly offering from the tithe¹²See Ter. 4:1.; the priest has twenty-four priestly gifts!”¹³See THal. 2:7-10 for a listing. Immediately (in Numb. 16:3) “They gathered together against Moses and against Aaron, and they said unto them, ‘You have gone too far (rb), for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is in the midst of them; so why do you elevate yourselves over the community of the Lord?’” R. Levi said, “At that very time Korah gathered his company and said to them (i.e., to Moses and Aaron), ‘You have increased (rt.: rbh) the burden upon us to be more than the slavery of Egypt. We were better off under the Egyptians than under your authority, for in each and every year fifteen thousand and forty-five of us die.’”¹⁴As the yearly punishment for the sin of the spies amortized over forty years, during which a whole generation Israelites died in the desert (Numb. 14:20–24.) Now they wished to stone him. [Therefore] (according to vs. 4), “When Moses heard this, he fell on his face.” Moses said to them, “I do not desire kingship, nor does Aaron [desire] high priesthood. Thus it is stated (in vs. 11), “and as for Aaron, what is he that you should murmur against him?” Moses said to the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master of the world, did you not command me thus (in Exod. 28:1), ‘And you shall bring near unto yourself Aaron [… to serve me as priests]?’ Now they have arisen against us to kill us.” [So Moses] said to them (in Numb. 16:5), “In the morning the Lord will make known those who [belong to Him…].” What does “morning” mean? R. Nathan said, “The Holy One, blessed be He, said, ‘If all the magicians of Egypt gathered together and tried to turn the morning into the evening and the evening into morning, they would be unable [to do so]; but just as I [formerly] separated the light and the darkness (in Gen. 1:4), so have I separated out Aaron to sanctify him in the holy of holies.’” Immediately (in Numb. 16:12), “Then Moses sent to summon [Dathan and Abiram…, but they said, ‘We will not come up.’” "We will not go" or "We will not come" is not written here, but “We will not come up.” (Prov. 18:7:) “A fool's mouth is his ruin!” They opened their mouth for a calamity, by saying that they would die by going down and not going up. Just as they spoke, so did they die (according to Numb. 16:33), “So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol.” Moses said, “In as much as they did not want to come [to me], I shall go to them. Perhaps they will be ashamed and repent.” It is so stated (in Numb. 16:25), “Then Moses arose and went unto Dathan and Abiram.” When they saw him they began to curse and blaspheme, as stated (in vs. 27), “and Dathan and Abiram came out standing (rt.: ntsb).” Does one go out sitting, kneeling, or lying prostrate?¹⁵The point here is that to mention that Dathan and Abiram were standing seems unnecessary and therefore implies some deeper meaning. It is simply that it is to teach that they went out cursing and blaspheming. As going out and standing upright (rt.: ytsb) is mentioned here, and going out and standing upright (rt.: ntsb) is [also] mentioned in reference to Goliath the Philistine, where it is written (in I Sam. 17:4, 16), “And there went out a champion [….] Then the Philistine drew near at dawn and in the evening, and he took his stand (rt.: ytsb) for forty days.” Just as going out and standing upright (rt.: ntsb) involved cursing and blaspheming in that case,¹⁶The cursing and blaspheming is specifically mentioned in I Sam.17:8-10. so also in this case did going out and standing upright (rt.: ntsb) involve cursing and blaspheming. Moses therefore began by saying (in Numb. 16:29, 32), “If these [people] die….” And it is also written (in Numb. 16:32), “And the earth opened its mouth [and swallowed them].” Come and see how [harmful] dissension is! As anyone who [even] aids dissension, the Holy One, blessed be He, eradicates his memory. Thus it is stated (in Numb. 16:35), “And a fire went forth from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men [coffering the incense].” R. Berekhyah said, “How harmful is dissension! An emissary of the court on high only imposes a penalty¹⁷QNS; cf. Lat.: censere, which can mean “to tax.” [on people] from the age of twenty years, while the court below [only imposes a penalty] from the age of thirteen years. In the case of Korah's dissension, however, one-day-old babies were burned and swallowed up in nethermost Sheol. Thus it is written (in Numb. 16:27, 33), ‘[and Dathan and Abiram came out standing at the entrance of their tents] with their wives, their children, and their little ones. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol.’” It is therefore stated (Numb. 16:1), “Now Korah […] took.”

"Many are rising against me" - Many in stature. Many in Torah. (2 Samuel 10:18) "Shobach" - Why was he called Shobach? Because his stature was like this shobach (rod). And his name was "Shophach" (1 Chronicles 19:18) because he would shed blood. And so too Goliath, of whom it is written (1 Samuel 17:4) "Whose height was six cubits and a span." And so too, "Many in Torah" refers to Doeg and Ahithophel. Doeg was the head of the court, as it is stated (1 Samuel 21:8) "The chiefest of the herdsmen that belonged to Saul." And Ahithophel was a counselor, as it is stated (2 Samuel 16:23) "And the counsel of Ahithophel...was as if a man inquired of the word of God." "A man of my rank" - but it is not written "a man," for he was not a man but an angel. And so David says (Psalms 55:13) "For it is not an enemy who reproached me, then I could bear it." (Ibid. 14) "But you, a man like myself, my companion." (Ibid. 15) "We who enjoyed a friendly intimacy." This then is "Many are rising against me."

“Naomi had an acquaintance of her husband’s, a mighty man of valor, from the family of Elimelekh, and his name was Boaz” (Ruth 2:1).
“Naomi had an acquaintance [moda] of her husband’s, a mighty man of valor” – moda means relative. Rabbi Abbahu said: If a giant marries a giantess, what do they produce? Mighty men of valor. Boaz married Ruth; what did they produce? David, “who knows how to play, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, understanding in matters, a comely man, and the Lord is with him” (I Samuel 16:18). “Who knows how to play” – [refers to his expertise] in Bible; “a mighty man of valor” – in Mishna; “a man of war” – he knows to negotiate the battle of Torah; “understanding in matters” – in good deeds; “a comely man” – in Talmud. Alternatively: “Understanding in matters” – he infers one matter from another matter; “a comely man” – who displays understanding in halakha; “and the Lord is with him” – the halakha is in accordance with his opinion.
“From the family of Elimelekh, and his name was Boaz” – the wicked precede their name: “Goliath was his name” (I Samuel 17:4); “Naval is his name” (I Samuel 25:25); “Sheva son of Bikhri was his name” (II Samuel 20:21). However, the righteous, their names precede them: “And his name was Kish” (I Samuel 9:1); “and his name was Saul” (I Samuel 9:2); “and his name was Yishai” (I Samuel 17:12); “and his name was Mordekhai” (Esther 2:5); “and his name was Elkana” (I Samuel 1:1). It is because they are similar to their Creator, as it is written: “But with My name, the Lord, I was not known to them” (Exodus 6:3).
They objected to him: “And his name was Laban” (Genesis 24:29). Rabbi Yitzḥak said: This is an obvious characteristic.¹⁴⁹He was extremely white [lavan] or was a senior judge who sought to clarify matters. Laban was not his real name. Rabbi Berekhya said: He was blatant [meluban] in his wickedness. But is it not written: The sons of Samuel, “the name of the firstborn was Yoel and the name of his second, Aviya” (I Samuel 8:2), [and] the Rabbis say: Just as this one was wicked, so too, that one was wicked? Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: Because they changed their actions and merited the Divine Spirit, as it is stated: “The word of the Lord that was to Joel [Yoel] son of Petuel” (Joel 1:1).¹⁵⁰The midrash interprets Petuel as a reference to Samuel; see Bemidbar Rabba 10:5.