The Korahites ( ''Qārəḥî'' also בני קרח ''bənê Qōraḥ'', "sons of Korah") in the
Bible were that portion of the
Kohathites that descended from the Sons of Korah. They were an important branch of the singers of the Kohathite division ().
The Sons of Korah were the sons of
Moses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
' cousin
Korah. 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
psalms 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 ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) 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 sect ...
, the prophet
Samuel
Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bibl ...
was descended from Korah.
Excavations by
Yohanan Aharoni at
Tel Arad 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
{{Tanakh-stub
Levites
Books of Chronicles people