Numbers 16:30

But if the LORD brings about something unprecedented, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them and all that belongs to them so that they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Moses addresses the Israelite assembly and Korah’s rebels, announcing a specific supernatural sign to validate his commission at the precise moment of their challenge.

The words — The Hebrew בְּרִיאָה (be.ri.'Ah) and יִבְרָא (yiv.Ra') translate literally to “a creation” and “he will create,” framing the earth’s action as a direct act of Yahweh rather than ordinary death.

The thread — The pattern of descending to Sheol alive appears in Psalms 55:15 and is realized in Numbers 16:33, while Job 31:3 reinforces the principle of sudden calamity striking the unjust.

Why it lands — The text states that divine authority will be proven only through an unprecedented act of judgment, requiring readers to accept God’s sovereign verdict without rationalizing rebellion.

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.

The Hebrew words

וְאִם־ve./'im-and/ if בְּרִיאָ֞הbe.ri.'Aha creation יִבְרָ֣אyiv.Ra'he will create יְהוָ֗הYah.wehYahweh וּפָצְתָ֨הu./fa.tze.Tahand/ it will open הָאֲדָמָ֤הha./'a.da.Mahthe/ ground אֶת־'et-<obj.>פִּ֙יהָ֙pi./hamouth/ its וּבָלְעָ֤הu./val.'Ahand/ it will swallow אֹתָם֙'o.Ta/m<obj.>/ them וְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ <obj.>כָּל־kol-all אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.Sherthatלָהֶ֔םla./Hem[belongs] to <the>/ themוְיָרְד֥וּve./ya.re.Duand/ they will go down חַיִּ֖יםchai.Yimalive שְׁאֹ֑לָהshe.'O.la/hSheol/ towards וִֽידַעְתֶּ֕םvi./da'.Temand/ you will know כִּ֧יkithat נִֽאֲצ֛וּni.'a.Tzuthey have spurned הָאֲנָשִׁ֥יםha./'a.na.Shimthe/ men הָאֵ֖לֶּהha./'E.leh<the>/ these אֶת־'et-<obj.>יְהוָֽה׃Yah.wehYahweh

King James Version

But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord.

Cross-references

Psalms 55:15 Let death seize them by surprise; let them go down to Sheol alive, for evil is with them in their homes.
Numbers 16:33 They went down alive into Sheol with all they owned. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly.
Job 31:3 Does not disaster come to the unjust and calamity to the workers of iniquity?
Isaiah 28:21 For the LORD will rise up as at Mount Perazim. He will rouse Himself as in the Valley of Gibeon, to do His work, His strange work, and to perform His task, His disturbing task.
Isaiah 43:19 Behold, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
Isaiah 45:7 I form the light and create the darkness; I bring prosperity and create calamity. I, the LORD, do all these things.
Isaiah 45:12 It is I who made the earth and created man upon it. It was My hands that stretched out the heavens, and I ordained all their host.
Jeremiah 31:22 How long will you wander, O faithless daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing in the land—a woman will shelter a man.”