This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company;

NUMBERS 16:6KJV
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Numbers 16:6 (KJV)

What does Numbers 16:6 mean?

Numbers 16:6 records Moses instructing Korah and his followers to each take a censer, a vessel for burning incense, as part of a test to show whom God has chosen. This verse sets up a public demonstration in response to Korah’s challenge to Moses’ and Aaron’s leadership.

In this moment, Moses is speaking directly to Korah and his group, who have questioned his authority. The censers (incense burners) are significant because offering incense was a priestly duty, and this act would reveal whether God accepted their claim to leadership. The verse is part of a larger confrontation where the roles of Moses, Aaron, and the Levites are being challenged.

The Hebrew behind Numbers 16:6

  • "do" (עָשָׂה, ʿasah): This word means "to do" or "to make." Here, Moses is giving a direct command, emphasizing that Korah and his followers must actively participate in the test.
  • "Take" (לָקַח, laqach): This word means "to take" or "to grasp." Moses is telling Korah and his company to physically take up their censers, highlighting their personal involvement and responsibility.
  • "censers" (מַחְתָּה, machtah): This refers to a small pan or vessel used for burning incense. The use of censers is important because it was a sacred object, normally reserved for priests, underlining the seriousness of the challenge.
  • "Korah" (קֹרַח, Qorach): The name is specifically called out, making clear who is being addressed and who is leading the opposition.
  • "company" (עֵדָה, edah): This word means "assembly" or "congregation," referring to the group allied with Korah, not just a few individuals.

Why Numbers 16:6 matters

  • This verse clarifies that the confrontation is not just a private disagreement but a public test involving sacred rituals, which raises the stakes for everyone involved.
  • By instructing Korah and his company to use censers, Moses is highlighting the seriousness of their challenge, since only those chosen by God could safely perform this act.
  • The verse connects to the wider passage by setting up the dramatic events that follow, where God’s choice of leaders will be made unmistakably clear to all the people.

Where else these words appear

“censers” Hebrew H4289 · used in 19 verses

  • Exodus 25:38 And the tongs thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, shall be of pure gold.
  • Numbers 4:9 And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of the light, and his lamps, and his tongs, and his snuffdishes, and all the oil vessels thereof, wherewith they minister unto it:
  • Numbers 16:39 And Eleazar the priest took the brasen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar:

“Korah” Hebrew H7141 · used in 37 verses

  • Genesis 36:5 And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these are the sons of Esau, which were born unto him in the land of Canaan.
  • Numbers 16:27 So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children.
  • 1 Chronicles 9:19 And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren, of the house of his father, the Korahites, were over the work of the service, keepers of the gates of the tabernacle: and their fathers, being over the host of the LORD, were keepers of the entry.

“company” Hebrew H5712 · used in 140 verses

  • Exodus 12:3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:
  • Numbers 15:24 Then it shall be, if ought be committed by ignorance without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bullock for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour unto the LORD, with his meat offering, and his drink offering, according to the manner, and one kid of the goats for a sin offering.
  • Numbers 31:16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.