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

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

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 ().

Background

The Sons of Korah were the sons of

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

' cousin

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

. 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 ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of H ...

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 ( , "words of the days") 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 section of the Jewish Tan ...

, the prophet

Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...

was descended from Korah.

Findings

Excavations by

Yohanan Aharoni Yohanan Aharoni (; 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 University. Life Born to the Ar ...

Tel Arad Tel Arad () or Tell 'Arad () is an archaeological site consisting of a lower section and a Tell (archaeology), tell or mound, located west of the Dead Sea, about west of the Israeli city of Arad, Israel, Arad in an area surrounded by mountain r ...

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

Levites Books of Chronicles people {{Tanakh-stub