Numbers 16:2-3

16:2 and rebelled against Moses, along with some of the Israelites, 250 leaders ¹  of the community, chosen from the assembly, ²  famous men. ³  16:3 And they assembled against Moses and Aaron, saying to them, “You take too much upon yourselves, ⁴  seeing that the whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the community of the Lord?”

Numbers 16:41

16:41 But on the next day the whole community of Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the Lord’s people!” ⁵ 

---

¹ tn Heb “princes” (so KJV, ASV).

² tn These men must have been counselors or judges of some kind.

³ tn Heb “men of name,” or “men of renown.”

⁴ tn The meaning of רַב־לָכֶם (rab-lakhem) is something like “you have assumed far too much authority.” It simply means “much to you,” perhaps “you have gone to far,” or “you are overreaching yourselves” (M. Noth, Numbers [OTL], 123). He is objecting to the exclusiveness of the system that Moses has been introducing.

⁵ sn The whole congregation here is trying to project its guilt on Moses and Aaron. It was they and their rebellion that brought about the deaths, not Moses and Aaron. The Lord had punished the sinners. The fact that the leaders had organized a rebellion against the Lord was forgotten by these people. The point here is that the Israelites had learned nothing of spiritual value from the event.