The Korahites ( Qārəḥî also בני קרח bənê Qōraḥ, "sons of Korah") in the Bible were that portion of the Kohathites that descended from the Sons of Korah. They were an important branch of the singers of the Kohathite division ().
Background
The Sons of Korah were the sons of
Moses' cousin Korah. The story of Korah is found in Numbers 16. Korah led a revolt against Moses; he died, along with all his co-conspirators, when God caused "the earth to open her mouth and swallow him and all that appertained to them" (Numbers 16:31–33). Immediately after this event, the Lord's anger burned and a plague struck killing another 14,700 Israelites. However, "the children of Korah died not" (). Several
are described in their opening verses as being by the Sons of Korah: numbers 42, 44–49, 84, 85, 87 and 88.
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Some of the Korahites were also "porters" of the temple (); one of them was over "things that were made in the pans" (v31), i.e. the baking in pans for the meat-offering (). According to the genealogies in 1 Chronicles, the prophet Samuel was descended from Korah.[ OzTorah, accessed 22 Nov 2018]
Findings
Excavations by
Yohanan Aharoni at
Tel Arad from 1962 to 1967 uncovered an 8th-century B.C. ostracon bearing an inscription that listed several family names, among which were “the sons of Korah.”
The psalms-based band Sons of Korah take their name from the Sons of Korah in the Bible.
