Texts in Conversation
Numbers 16 describes how the ground opened its mouth and swallowed the rebellious Korah and his followers. Rabbinic tradition in Pirkei Avot lists the mouth of the earth among ten wonders God prepared at twilight before the first Sabbath of creation.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Numbers 16:32
Hebrew Bible
31 When he had finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open, 32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, along with their households, and all Korah’s men, and all their goods. 33 They and all that they had went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed over them. So they perished from among the community.
Pirkei Avot 5:6
Mishnah
Rabbinic
6 Ten things were created on the eve of the Sabbath at twilight, and these are they: [1] the mouth of the earth, [2] the mouth of the well, [3] the mouth of the donkey, [4] the rainbow, [5] the manna, [6] the staff [of Moses], [7] the shamir, [8] the letters, [9] the writing, [10] and the tablets. And some say: also the demons, the grave of Moses, and the ram of Abraham, our father. And some say: and also tongs, made with tongs.
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Notes and References
"... The final saying about the creation of ten things prior to the first evening of Shabbat returns the reader back to the theme of creation in Avot 5:1. Several different lists exist in rabbinic literature concerning the things made right before the first Sabbath at the end of God’s creative activity, indicating a broad interest in this theme. The ten items named concern miraculous acts or special objects that benefitted Israel. The mouth of the earth refers to when the earth opened and swallowed Korach and those who rebelled against Moses (Numbers 16:30-33). The mouth of the well refers to the water that sprang forth from rock after Moses struck it with his staff (Numbers 20:11). The third item is the donkey upon which the Moabite prophet Balaam rode that rebuked him (Numbers 22:28-30). The rainbow that appeared after the flood to Noah is the fourth item (Genesis 9:13). The fifth thing created is the manna that fed Israel in the wilderness after the Exodus. The sixth item is the staff of Moses by which he performed many miracles on behalf of Israel. ..."
Joslyn-Siemiatkoski, Daniel
The More Torah, The More Life: A Christian Commentary on Mishnah Avot
(pp. 235-236) Peeters, 2018
* 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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