Dathan and Abiram דָּתָן וַאֲבִירָם
two men of the tribe of Reuben who stood with Korach; the earth opened under them
Sons of Eliab, of the tribe of Reuben. In Korach's rebellion they stand beside him but speak for themselves.
Moses sends for them, and they answer: "We will not come up! Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness—that you must also make yourself a prince over us?" (Numbers 16:12–13). The land flowing with milk and honey they call Egypt—and that is the whole measure of where they are looking.
Moses goes to them himself—"and Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him" (16:25). He goes to those who would not come to him. And he says: if these die the common death of all men, then the Lord has not sent me.
"And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up and their households" (16:32). Of Korach's sons it is said separately: "but the sons of Korach did not die" (Numbers 26:11).
The Torah returns to this twice: in the reckoning of the families (26:9–11) and in Moses' reminder before the entry into the Land—"and what He did to Dathan and Abiram… and how the earth opened her mouth" (Deuteronomy 11:6).
On the timeline
Related
Sources
Tanakh
- Bamidbar 16:12–14 — “we will not come up” and Egypt called a land of milk and honey
- Bamidbar 16:25–33 — Moses goes to them himself; the earth opens
- Devarim 11:6 — the reminder before the entry into the Land
Basis: stated in the Tanakh.