Abiram אֲבִירָם

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).