The Korahites ( ''Qārəḥî'' also בני קרח ''bənê Qōraḥ'', "sons of Korah") in the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

were that portion of the

Kohathites The Kohathites were one of the four main divisions among the Levites in biblical times, the other three being the Gershonites, the Merarites, and the Aaronites (more commonly known as Kohanim). The Bible claims that the Kohathites were all desce ...

that descended from the Sons of Korah. They were an important branch of the singers of the Kohathite division (). The Sons of Korah were the sons of Moses' cousin

Korah Korah ( he, ''Qōraḥ''; ar, قارون ''Qārūn''), son of Izhar, is an individual who appears in the Book of Numbers of the Hebrew Bible and four different verses in the Quran, known for leading a rebellion against Moses. Some older Englis ...

. 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

psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...

s are described in their opening verses as being by the Sons of Korah: numbers 42, 44– 49, 84, 85, 87 and 88. 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 Book of Chronicles ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third sect ...

, the prophet Samuel was descended from Korah. Excavations by

Yohanan Aharoni Yohanan Aharoni (Hebrew:יוחנן אהרוני)(7 June 1919 – 9 February 1976) was an Israeli archaeologist and historical geographer, chairman of the Department of Near East Studies and chairman of the Institute of Archaeology at Tel-Aviv Unive ...

Tel Arad Tel Arad ( he, תל ערד), in Arabic Tell 'Arad (تل عراد), is an archaeological tell, or mound, located west of the Dead Sea, about west of the modern Israeli city of Arad in an area surrounded by mountain ridges which is known as the ...

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.

References

{{Tanakh-stub Hebrew Bible people Levites Books of Chronicles people