Protos

Who was Abiram in the Bible?

Aaron's adversary, during the years in Egypt and the wilderness

Abiram was a Reubenite, the son of Eliab, who joined Korah and Dathan in a rebellion against the leadership of Moses and Aaron in the wilderness (Num.16.1). Abiram appears in 6 verses across 3 books of the Bible.

Death of Korah, Dathan and Abiram
Death of Korah, Dathan and Abiram · Gustave Doré, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

What does the Bible say about Abiram?

Abiram was a Reubenite, the son of Eliab, who joined Korah and Dathan in a rebellion against the leadership of Moses and Aaron in the wilderness (Num.16.1). When summoned by Moses, Abiram and Dathan refused to come, accusing Moses of failing to bring them into a land flowing with milk and honey and trying to make himself a prince over them (Num.16.12-14). In response to the rebellion, Moses proposed a test to demonstrate whom God had chosen. Korah and his followers were to present themselves before the Lord with censers, and God would show who was holy (Num.16.16-19). God warned Moses and Aaron to separate themselves from the rebels so that He could consume them, but Moses interceded for the people (Num.16.20-22). God then commanded the congregation to move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Moses declared that if these men died a natural death, then the Lord had not sent him, but if the earth swallowed them up, then they had rejected the Lord (Num.16.23-30). As soon as Moses finished speaking, the ground split apart and swallowed up Korah, Dathan, Abiram, their households, and all their possessions (Num.16.31-33; Psalm Num.106.17). The sons of Korah, however, did not die (Num.26.11). The rebellion of Abiram and his co-conspirators served as a warning to the Israelites not to challenge God's appointed leaders (Deu.11.6). The New Testament also refers to this incident as an example of God's judgment against those who reject His authority (Jude 11).

Definition text: STEPBible · Tyndale House Cambridge. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Lightly edited for length and formatting.

Compiled by Protos: the verse list on this page. Where one name belongs to more than one person or place, each of them gets a separate entry.

Where does Abiram appear in the Bible?

Abiram is referenced in 6 verses across 3 books. Every passage below is about this one, not just every verse the word turns up in.

Numbers 4Deuteronomy 1Psalms 1

What else appears in these passages?

These turn up in the same passages as Abiram.

DathanMosesKorah

Common questions

How many times does the Bible mention Abiram?

Abiram appears in 6 verses across 3 books, most often in Numbers, which accounts for 4 of them.

Which books of the Bible mention Abiram?

Numbers, Deuteronomy, Psalms.

Where can I read every verse about Abiram?

This page lists 6 of them. Protos carries all 6, and opens this entry on the verse you are reading rather than in a separate tab.

Read it in context

Read Numbers with Abiram explained on the verse.

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