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Josephus describes Korah as exceptionally wealthy, a detail not in the Hebrew Bible but also found in Rabbinic tradition, such as the midrash in Exodus Rabbah, where his wealth was described as a significant part of his rebellion and his downfall.
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Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 4.25
Classical
4 Although Moses had foreseen Korah’s slander for some time and was aware that the people had grown agitated, he was not afraid. He was emboldened by the righteousness of his guidance, knowing that Aaron’s priesthood came at God’s command rather than his own indulgence. So he approached the crowd but addressed Korah alone (without speaking to the rest), shouting to him and pointing to the two hundred fifty men: “O Korah, you and these here appear fully qualified for this honor, nor do I deny that the entire group could be equally worthy, whether or not they are as wealthy or notable as you. But I did not grant this position to my brother because of wealth, for you exceed both of us in riches, nor was it due to noble ancestry, for we share the same lineage. And it was certainly not brotherly affection, though that too might be a justifiable reason.
Date: 93-94 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Exodus Rabbah 33:3
Aggadah
Rabbinic
A wealthy person who refuses to give eventually loses both their riches and themselves, as it says, “And those riches perish by evil chance,” because they are stingy toward those who collect for charity. Why is that? Because life is like a constantly turning wheel — the one who is rich today may be poor tomorrow, and the one who is poor today may be rich tomorrow. God brings some down and lifts others up, as it says, “For God is judge; He brings one down and raises another” (Psalm 75:8). Some wealth actually harms its owners, while other wealth benefits them. For harmful wealth, take Korah, who was richer than all Israel, yet, as it is written, “They and all that belonged to them went down alive into the pit” (Numbers 16:33). Another example is the wicked Haman, who boasted of “the glory of his riches” (Esther 5:11) but of whom it is written, “He and his sons were hanged on the gallows” (Esther 9:25). Wealth that benefits its owner is like that of King Jehoshaphat, of whom it is said, “Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor in abundance” (2 Chronicles 18:1). And what happened to him? “Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him” (2 Chronicles 18:31).
Date: 1200 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The Torah gives no indication that Korah was wealthy, but the rabbis here imagine a charismatic person who has amassed wealth and now wishes to amass power. These various homiletical understandings build upon the unstated assumption that Korah is the villain and build on that. Medieval ancient and modern peshat approaches offer more mundane explanations for the grammatical problem in this verse, without reflecting on Korah’s character ..."
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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