The name “Korah” is mentioned 44 times in the Bible, always in the Old Testament. The phrase “sons of Korah” appears in Exodus 6:24, Numbers 26:11, and then in the first verses of Psalms 42, 44-48 inclusive. Who were they?
Meaning Behind the Name Korah
Biblical names can frequently be traced back to an original meaning, and Korah is one example. The name means “baldness,” according to one article by experts in Jewish history, but not “baldness” as in “hairlessness.” This was, instead, a reference to “the gap or blank which he made in Israel by his revolt.”
In other words, the original “Korah” was responsible for a conflict in Israel, and his name is a kind of warning to the generations to come, a reminder of what their predecessor did when he spoke against Moses. He created division.
Yet Korah’s sons did not face the same fate as their father. His sons were named in Exodus 6:24 as Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph.
The last of these means “father of gathering; the gatherer,” although Abiasaph was the youngest son.
Assir fared less favorably with his name which means “prisoner; fettered.”
Elkanar’s name could stand for all people: “God-created.” We are all created by God in His image, after all.
The precise reason for these names is not revealed in Scripture.
How Do They Fit into God’s Story?
Counting their father’s generation, and the fact that one of the “sons” named above is thought by some scholars to have been Korah’s grandson and not his son, these men could represent a hundred or even 200 years, depending on their longevity.
Their lives are briefly mentioned, and their names quickly disappear from the narrative; yet, for any person to be named in God’s story is a marvel in itself.
Consider the tens of thousands of nameless participants in the events which Scripture records — one must always pay attention to names.
One thing we learn is that the sons of Korah were spared their father/grandfather’s fate when Korah and his co-conspirators were destroyed by the Lord. “The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured 250 men, and they became a warning” (Numbers 26:10).
“But the sons of Korah did not die (v. 11). God made a distinction between generations which should stand out to the reader.
Yet, God would later declare that he would remember Israel’s transgressions generationally. “I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me” (Deuteronomy 5:9). Why did he make an exception in their case?
Look further, and God’s Word seems to contradict itself. “The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself” (Ezekiel 18:20).
Scripture just said that the Lord would visit judgment upon the sons of sinners, and now he says the opposite.
But John Piper suggests an answer: “Because of God’s grace, which is finally secured by Christ, the children can confess their own sins and the sins of their fathers and be forgiven and accepted by God.”
He takes us to a passage that helps us understand this apparent inconsistency: “But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me, [....] if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity, then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, and I will remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land” (Leviticus 26:40-42).
This is the key: the sons of Korah help us to see the unique and personal nature of sin and confession which we cannot inherit or bequeath.
We can, as Piper points out, inherit sinful traits of our parents and then endure punishment for those, but one does not pay for what a parent did or lay-up reserves of repentance for the generations to come either.
Only if a child hates God as his father did will the son suffer God’s punishment. So how did the sons of Korah relate to the Lord Almighty?
Psalms of the Sons of Korah
C.S. Lewis, quoted by Bob Deffinbaugh, taught that “the Psalms are poems, and poems intended to be sung, not doctrinal treatises, nor even sermons.” They are often songs of praise, worship, lament, anguish, and confusion.
Where do the Psalms of the Sons of Korah fit into this book of Scripture thematically? They express trust in God, but also confusion and frustration, and ultimately praise.
“As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.” (42:1) “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God” (v. 11). Though he struggles to understand how God would allow him to suffer, still the writer trusts God to restore his joy and to save him.
Psalm 44:4-5 declares, “You are my King, O God; ordain salvation for Jacob! Through you we push down our foes,” but verses 18-19 lament, “our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed from your way, yet you have broken us in the place of jackals and covered us with the shadow of death.”
He concludes in verse 26, “Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!”
The Psalmist is almost incredulous — how could this powerful God, who has pledged to help those who love him, allow their enemies to overcome Israel? Why, God? This is a Psalm of desperation and pleading.
Psalm 45:1 sets the tone for a song of praise: “My heart overflows with a pleasing theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.” Psalm 46 is also a song of praise. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (v. 1).
At the close of Psalm 47, there is more joyful singing: “The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted!” (v. 9).
Finally, in Psalm 48, the writer extols the glorious character of the Lord Almighty: “As your name, O God, so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with righteousness” (v. 10).
The sons of Korah shared their woes but also proclaimed their love for God. They exalted and celebrated him.
Fathers and Sons
Why were not the sins of their father visited upon the sons of Korah? It would seem that these sons loved the Lord their God, whereas Korah himself sinned grievously by driving a wedge between members of the family of Israel.
The sons turned to God in their anguish, anger, and confusion. They praised him in beautiful verses which were possibly sung in public.
Certainly, their communication with God at the depths of their despair, and their praise of God at the height of their joyfulness, has been passed down to those who study God’s Word and live by it even today.
For further reading:
Why Are There Different Types of Psalms?
Why Do the Psalms Say, ‘At Their Wits’ End’?
Why Is There a Prayer by Moses in the Book of Psalms?
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