Numbers 16:36

³⁵And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.³⁶Then the LORD said to Moses,³⁷“Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to remove the censers from the flames and to scatter the coals far away, because the censers are holy.

Summary

In Numbers 16:36, after Korah's rebellion against Moses and Aaron, the Lord instructed Moses to tell Eleazar the priest to collect the censers of the rebels and scatter the burning coals from them. This act symbolized the separation of the holy from the profane, reaffirming God's authority and holiness. The judgment upon Korah and his followers served as a warning to the Israelites about the consequences of rebellion and disrespect towards God's appointed leaders. It underscores the importance of obedience, reverence, and the fear of the Lord in maintaining a right relationship with Him.

Commentary

Keil-Delitzsch
John Gill

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

(Or Numbers 17:1-5). After the destruction of the sinners, the Lord commanded that Eleazar should take up the censers "from between the burning," i.e., from the midst of the men that had been burned, and scatter the fire (the burning coals in the pans) far away, that it might not be used any more. "For they (the censers) are holy;" that is to say, they had become holy through being brought before Jehovah (Num 16:39); and therefore, when the men who brought them were slain, they fell as banned articles to the Lord (Lev 27:28). "The censers of these sinners against their souls" (i.e., the men who have forfeited their lives through their sin: cf. Pro 20:2; Hab 2:10), "let them make into broad plates for a covering to the altar" (of burnt-offering). Through this application of them they became a sign, or, according to Num 16:39, a memorial to all who drew near to the sanctuary, which was to remind them continually of this judgment of God, and warn the congregation of grasping at the priestly prerogatives. The words, יהיה ולא, in Num 16:40, introduce the predicate in the form of an apodosis to the subject, which is written absolutely, and consists of an entire sentence. היה with כּ signifies, "to experience the same fate as" another.