Numbers 16:20

Study note

Setting — The LORD addresses Moses and Aaron immediately after His glory appears to the assembly gathered at the Tent of Meeting in response to Korah’s rebellion.

The words — The Hebrew verb וַיְדַבֵּר (va/y.da.Ber) translates literally as “and he spoke,” introducing the divine address, while לֵאמֹר (le./Mor) functions as a technical marker meaning “saying” to introduce the forthcoming command.

The thread — This verse functions as a narrative pivot that shifts the scene from divine manifestation to direct instruction, a structural pattern that runs through Numbers 16:21 and establishes the sequence of revelation in the wilderness narrative.

Why it lands — It requires the reader to treat the divine speech as the immediate focus, directing attention to the forthcoming command rather than the preceding theophanic display.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.