Parashah Korach Comments 2024
All three portions of our readings this week carry a connecting thread that cries out for clarification and understanding.
Korach and the Confirmation of Moses
First, let’s look at a portion of the parashah (Korach) for this week.
28 Moshe said, “Here is how you will know that Adonai has sent me to do all these things and that I haven’t done them out of my own ambition: 29 if these men die a natural death like other people, only sharing the fate common to all humanity, then Adonai has not sent me. 30 But if Adonai does something new — if the ground opens up and swallows them with everything they own, and they go down alive to Sh’ol — then you will understand that these men have had contempt for Adonai.”
31 The moment he finished speaking, the ground under them split apart — 32 the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up with their households, all the people who had sided with Korach and everything they owned. 33 So they and everything they owned went down alive into Sh’ol, the earth closed over them and their existence in the community ceased. 34 All Isra’el around them fled at their shrieks, shouting, “The earth might swallow us too!”
In this passage, HaShem dramatically confirms to the Nation of Israel that He has chosen Moses to lead them. If Moses was not divinely selected, Korach and his followers would have lived out their lives as other men do. However, because Moses was HaShem’s chosen leader, the assembly witnessed the earth opening and swallowing the rebels, their households, and their belongings. Their destination is also declared: they went to Sh’ol.
What Is Sh’ol?
The Complete Jewish Bible defines Sh’ol (Sheol, Hades, hell) as “the place of the dead according to the Tanakh.” Some Jewish translations render it “the pit.” Unger’s Bible Dictionary notes the term must be defined by context across its many Tanakh references. From those references, Sh’ol emerges as a dark, dusty, forgotten place—a separation from the Almighty. Many passages imply that once a person goes to Sh’ol, they do not return. In Numbers 16, Sh’ol appears as a devourer of souls.
Rabbinic Reflections on Korach
The chumash edited by Chief Rabbi J. H. Hertz recounts a legend: Rabbah bar Ḥana, while traveling in the desert, was shown a crack in the ground where Korach’s company had been engulfed. Leaning close, he heard voices cry, “Moses and his Torah are true, and we are liars.” Another comment explains that Korach’s men descended alive so that Korach might proclaim forever, “Moses was right!” (The “Munchausen” note signals parable, not reportage.)
Hades, Gei-Hinnom, and Caesarea Philippi
In the Greek-speaking world of Yeshua’s day, Hades functioned as a cultural equivalent to Sh’ol. One famed “gate” of the underworld was at Paneas, later called Caesarea Philippi. There, Yeshua confronted the question of His identity.
“Who do you say I am?” … “You are the Mashiach, the Son of the living God.” … “You are Kefa [Rock], and on this rock I will build my Community, and the gates of Sh’ol will not overcome it.” … From that time on, Yeshua began making it clear that he had to go to Yerushalayim … be put to death; but that on the third day, he had to be raised to life.
Haftarah Korach and Isaiah’s Vision
“For just as the new heavens and the new earth that I am making will continue in my presence,” says Adonai, “so will your descendants and your name continue. Every month on Rosh-Ḥodesh and every week on Shabbat, everyone living will come to worship in my presence,” says Adonai. “As they leave, they will look on the corpses of the people who rebelled against me. For their worm will never die, and their fire will never be quenched; but they will be abhorrent to all humanity.”
Isaiah’s promise anticipates the New Jerusalem (cf. Revelation 21). Life with HaShem and His Messiah continues eternally. The corpses are a sign of the finality of rebellion—not a spectacle of ongoing torture.
Gei-Hinnom in Yeshua’s Day
In Yeshua’s time, Gei-Hinnom (Gehenna) was a refuse site where fire consumed what was thrown in; what escaped the flames decayed and was consumed by maggots. Hence the imagery of unquenchable fire and undying worm—a picture of comprehensive judgment.
Before and After the Resurrection
Before Messiah’s resurrection, many understood Sh’ol/Gei-Hinnom as the common destination of the dead until judgment. With Yeshua’s resurrection—the first-fruits—believers came to understand that the righteous are received into HaShem’s Presence, while the unrepentant await final judgment. Thus, the resurrection reorients how we speak about Sh’ol, Gei-Hinnom, and Hades.
The Second Death in Jewish and Christian Thought
Scripture speaks of a “second death” (e.g., Revelation). Jewish sages discuss related ideas: Maimonides describes annihilation of the wicked; Bahya ben Asher associates a second death with the death of the soul after reincarnation. While details differ, the shared gravity remains: unrepentant opposition to HaShem ends in separation and loss.
The Lord is good to everyone; his compassion rests on all he has made.
Everyone who denies the Son is also without the Father.
Torah, Prophets, Writings, and the Brit Ḥadashah together summon us to repentance and to trust in HaShem’s mercy revealed through His Messiah.
Gospel Reading: Mark 9
“And if your eye makes you sin, pluck it out! Better that you should be one-eyed but enter the Kingdom of God, rather than keep both eyes and be thrown into Gei-Hinnom, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.”
Yeshua’s severe language underscores the urgency of repentance and the value of the little ones. Sin pulls us toward death; repentance returns us to the Living One.
Firstborn and the Messianic Line
Scripture often subverts firstborn expectations: Ishmael/Isaac, Esau/Jacob, Reuven/Judah, Er/Perez. Ultimately, Adam—the first man—falls, but Messiah is called the “firstborn among many brothers.”
…that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
David’s Hope and Peter’s Proclamation
…you will not abandon me to Sh’ol or let your Holy One see decay…
“Men of Isra’el… God raised up this Yeshua! And we are all witnesses of it! … he has been exalted to the right hand of God … and has poured out the Ruach HaKodesh…”
The Gospel of Rectification—tikkun—appears in how these meanings pivot around Yeshua’s resurrection: from death’s finality to hope’s certainty.
And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the peoples; the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious.
Closing Prayer
Dear Abba Father, thank You for the path on which You have placed us—to seek only You, Your blessing, and Your plan for our life. Keep us in Your will as we seek to do the same. Bring us to the place where there will no longer be a sh’ol because there will be no sin and no death. Amen.
