Numbers 16:12-14 · Bible study
Numbers 16:12-14 Commentary: The Defiance of Dathan and Abiram
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why Dathan and Abiram refused Moses' summons, twisting God's promises and rejecting his appointed leadership in the wilderness.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Dathan and Abiram's defiant refusal to appear before Moses, accusing him of failure and deception, reveals rebellion against God's appointed leadership.
- Key words: 'Come up' (עלה), refusing to submit to judicial authority; 'land flowing with milk and honey', sarcastically misapplied to Egypt; 'put out the eyes' (נקר), metaphor for blinding through deceit.
- Main debate: Whether 'put out the eyes' is a literal threat (unlikely) or a metaphor for deception (the consensus of the commentators).
- Theological theme: Human rebellion against God's order takes the form of slandering the deliverer and distorting the memory of grace.
- Best use: A cautionary passage on ingratitude, authority, and the danger of redefining deliverance as oppression.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
12Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come!
13Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? Must you also appoint yourself as ruler over us?
14Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? No, we will not come!”
WEB World English Bible 2000
12Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; and they said, “We won’t come up!
13Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, but you must also make yourself a prince over us?
14Moreover you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We won’t come up.”
KJV King James Version 1769
12And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up:
13Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us?
14Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
12And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; and they said, We will not come up:
13is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, but thou must needs make thyself also a prince over us?
14Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
12And Moses sendeth to call for Dathan and for Abiram sons of Eliab, and they say, `We do not come up;
13is it little that thou hast brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to put us to death in a wilderness that thou also certainly makest thyself prince over us?
14Yea, unto a land flowing with milk and honey thou hast not brought us in, nor dost thou give to us an inheritance of field and vineyard; the eyes of these men dost thou pick out? we do not come up.'
Darby Darby Bible 1890
12And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, We will not come up!
13Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that thou must make thyself altogether a ruler over us?
14Moreover, thou hast not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up!
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
12Then Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiron the sons of Eliab. But they answered: We will not come.
13Is it a small matter to thee, that thou hast brought us out of a land that flowed with milk and honey, to kill us in the desert, except thou rule also like a lord over us?
14Thou hast brought us indeed into a land that floweth with rivers of milk and honey, and hast given us possessions of fields and vineyards; wilt thou also pull out our eyes? We will not come.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Numbers 16:12
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
The commentators agree that Dathan and Abiram's refusal to 'come up' (v12) is a direct rejection of Moses' authority as God's appointed leader. Calvin notes that Moses sought to 'withhold them from destruction' by calling them, but they used the summons as an occasion to 'contumaciously repudiate' his authority. Barnes highlights their 'perverse contempt for the promises' in twisting the phrase 'land flowing with milk and honey' to describe Egypt, the very land of slavery from which God had rescued them. Gill calls this 'great impudence and want of reverence of the divine Being.'
Their accusation that Moses intended 'to kill us in the wilderness' (v13) and had not brought them into Canaan (v14) is, according to Keil & Delitzsch, a refusal to acknowledge that their own disobedience had delayed the inheritance. The Cambridge Bible identifies the phrase 'will you put out the eyes of these men?' as a strong metaphor for 'blinding them by false promises', the exact opposite of what Moses had done. Together, these verses reveal a rebellion that slanders the deliverer, distorts God's promises, and ultimately sets itself against God.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The central meaning is not in dispute: Dathan and Abiram rejected Moses' authority through twisted accusations and a refusal to submit, revealing a heart set against God's purposes.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of Dathan and Abiram's rebellion | All major traditions agree their refusal to 'come up' was a direct rejection of Moses' authority as God's deputy. | Some emphasize the political dimension (rejection of civil leadership), others the spiritual (hardening of heart against God). The text supports both. |
| Use of 'land flowing with milk and honey' | Commentators agree the phrase is an ironic and contemptuous misapplication of God's promise for Canaan to Egypt. | There is no debate: all see it as a deliberate distortion. The nuance lies in whether the phrase is purely sarcastic or also betrays a genuine longing for Egypt's comforts. |
| Meaning of 'put out the eyes' | The phrase is understood as a metaphor for blinding or deceiving (cf. 'throwing dust in the eyes'). | A literal reading (gouging out eyes) is possible grammatically but rejected by all consulted sources as unlikely in context. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Numbers 16 recounts a two-front rebellion against Moses and Aaron. Korah, a Levite, challenged the exclusive priesthood of Aaron (v3). Dathan and Abiram, Reubenites, challenged Moses' civil authority, 'you must also make yourself a prince over us' (v13). Their tribe of Reuben was the firstborn of Jacob, a position of honor that had been lost through Reuben's sin (Genesis 49:3, 4). Some commentators suggest this resentment simmered behind their defiance.
Moses summoned them to 'come up' to a place of judgment, likely the tent of meeting or his own tribunal. The verb עלה ('come up') carries the sense of approaching a superior or judge (cf. Deuteronomy 25:7). By refusing, they declared that Moses had no right to judge them. Their accusations inverted reality. They called Egypt, a place of brutal bondage (Exodus 1:11, 22), a 'land flowing with milk and honey', the very phrase God used to describe Canaan (Exodus 3:17). This was not honest nostalgia but calculated mockery: they portrayed the exodus as a deadly deception and Moses as a self-appointed tyrant. The accusation 'Will you put out the eyes of these men?' was a proverb for blinding through trickery (Nakar in Piel means to bore out).
Moses' response (v15) shows his anguish: he had not taken a single donkey from them. His anger was righteous, not defensive. The narrative makes clear that rebellion against God's servant is rebellion against God himself.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for Numbers 16:12, 14. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscript traditions, and the verse sequence is consistent. One minor point: the Septuagint (LXX) renders verse 14 affirmatively ('you have brought us') rather than as a negative, but this reflects interpretive translation rather than a different Hebrew Vorlage. The WEB, KJV, ASV, BSB, YLT, Darby, and Douay all follow the negative reading of the Masoretic Text.
Reception History
This passage has been cited across church history as a warning against rebellion against spiritual authority. Calvin used it to illustrate how the reprobate grow only more hardened when God's servants extend an olive branch. Puritan commentators (drawing on the Geneva Note tradition) saw Dathan and Abiram as archetypes of those who reject God's order because they will not trust God's promises. In Catholic exegesis, the passage is often framed around the sin of 'murmuring' (murmuratio) against lawful authority, a sin that led to the earth swallowing the rebels (16:31, 33). Modern preachers regularly pair these verses with Isaiah 5:20 ('Woe to those who call evil good and good evil') to show how the human heart can invert God's definitions. Throughout these readings, the consensus holds: to despise God's servant is to despise God himself.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Refusing the summons, Dathan and Abiram will not 'come up' to Moses, rejecting his God-given authority. Their rebellion begins with a refusal to submit to God's established order (cf. Jude 1:8, Proverbs 29:9).
- Twisting the promises, They call Egypt 'a land flowing with milk and honey.' They take God's description of the promised gift and apply it to the place of slavery. This is ingratitude that redefines grace as harm.
- Accusing the leader, They charge Moses with failing to deliver and with 'putting out the eyes' of the people, blaming him for their own lack of faith. The accuser becomes the one who blinds others to truth.
Five-point outline
- Defiance of authority (v12), A flat refusal to appear before Moses, denying his legitimate role.
- Distorted memory (v13), Egypt remembered as good; deliverance seen as evil.
- False accusation (v13), Moses is called a self-seeking prince, not a servant-leader.
- Blaming God's servant (v14), The failure to enter Canaan is laid at Moses' feet, though the people themselves had refused to trust God (Numbers 13, 14).
- Final rejection (v14), 'We will not come up', the closing words seal their rebellion.
Illustration hooks
- Rewriting history. Someone who leaves a church and later tells others the pastor 'kept us in bondage,' when in reality the church helped them. The same facts seen through a bitter lens become accusations.
- Blindness projected. A person who refuses to follow wise advice accuses the advisor of 'trying to control them.' They throw dust in their own eyes.
- The phrase 'We will not come up.' This echoes in marriages, workplaces, churches, the moment when someone digs in and refuses to respond to a legitimate call to account.
Questions your congregation is asking
- How do I know when a leader's authority is from God and when it is abusive?
- What should I do if I feel disappointed with God's promises, is it honest to complain or is it rebellion?
- How can I tell if I am distorting the past in order to justify my grievances?
Leading a Discussion
These verses show a rebellion that mixes truth (we are still in the wilderness) with poison (Moses is to blame, and Egypt was better). Small groups can use this passage to examine how disappointment can curdle into defiance against God's people and purposes.
Discussion questions
- Why did Dathan and Abiram refuse to 'come up'? What does their language reveal about their view of Moses' authority?
- In verse 13, they call Egypt 'a land flowing with milk and honey.' What makes this statement so striking? What does it tell us about their spiritual condition?
- How do Dathan and Abiram twist Moses' motives? Where do they assign blame for the wilderness delay?
- What does the phrase 'will you put out the eyes of these men?' mean? How does it compare to the English expression 'throwing dust in the eyes' (Cambridge Bible)?
- Read Exodus 2:14. How does that earlier accusation foreshadow this rebellion? What does it suggest about the pattern of resistance to God's deliverers?
- When have you been tempted to rewrite history, to call a place of bondage 'good' and a place of freedom 'bad' because the journey was harder than you expected?
- How can Christians today distinguish between legitimate disappointment with leaders and the kind of hard-hearted rebellion seen here? Where is the line?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Proverbs 29:9 | If a wise man goes to court with a foolish man, the fool rages or scoffs, and there is no peace. |
| Isaiah 3:5 | The people will be oppressed, everyone by another, and everyone by his neighbor. The child will behave himself proudly against the old man, and the wicked against the honorable. |
| I Peter 2:13 | Therefore subject yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether to the king, as supreme, |
| I Peter 2:14 | or to governors, as sent by him for vengeance on evildoers and for praise to those who do well. |
| Jude 1:8 | Yet in the same way, these also in their dreaming defile the flesh, despise authority, and slander celestial beings. |
| Exodus 1:11 | Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. They built storage cities for Pharaoh: Pithom and Raamses. |
| Exodus 1:22 | Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “You shall cast every son who is born into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.” |
| Exodus 2:14 | He said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you plan to kill me, as you killed the Egyptian?” Moses was afraid, and said, “Surely this thing is known.” |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes notes that Dathan and Abiram perversely apply terms meant for the land of Canaan to Egypt, showing their contempt for God's promises. Their question "wilt thou put out the eyes of these men?" means to blind them to Moses' failure to keep his word, like throwing dust in their eyes.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The rebels mock Moses by taking his own phrase "a land flowing with milk and honey," which he used for Canaan, and applying it sarcastically to Egypt as the land they left. The expression about boring out eyes is a strong figure meaning to blind people with false promises.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note highlights the rebels' audacious sarcasm as they twist Israel's history, calling Egypt itself a land flowing with milk and honey. Their refusal to come to Moses is not mere disobedience but a direct challenge to his God-given authority, accusing him of self-appointed tyranny while denying God's promises have been fulfilled.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill highlights how Dathan and Abiram twist God's own description of Canaan, sarcastically calling Egypt "a land flowing with milk and honey" to accuse Moses of bringing them out to die. Their question about "putting out the eyes" is defiant refusal, not confusion—they claim to see through his failure and will not obey.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB distinguishes between the two rebellions: Korah challenged the priesthood, while Dathan and Abiram opposed Moses' civil authority. They refused to meet him, accusing him of prolonging the desert stay for selfish reasons and leading them like blind men wherever it suited him.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch highlight that Moses distinguishes two groups in the rebellion: Korah the Levite, who already has special service but demands priesthood, and Dathan and Abiram the Reubenites, who reject Moses' leadership entirely. Each group receives a separate challenge tailored to their different motives and claims.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange reads the rebellion as a classic conspiracy where rival factions with clashing private interests unite under the demagogic slogan that all the congregation is holy. Korah really wanted Aaron's high priesthood, not universal priesthood, while the Reubenites resented Moses' authority. Moses suspends normal law and forces a divine verdict.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes how Dathan and Abiram twist reality by calling Egypt a land flowing with milk and honey and accusing Moses of playing the prince over them. Their refusal to come up is not just disobedience to Moses but a treasonable challenge to God's appointed leadership.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley explains that "come up" means Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram to appear for judgment at the tabernacle. He then highlights their defiant reply: they accuse Moses of making the people blind, of deceiving them and breaking his promises, as if no one can see the obvious failure.