Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Numbers 16:40 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 40. 40To be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the LORD; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the LORD said to him by the hand of Moses.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Numbers 16:40 within “Fire Consumes the Incense Offerers and Censers Become a Warning,” adds this exact responsibility to the unit's authority structure; in lightly modernized wording, the clause reads: To be a memorial to the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the LORD; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the LORD said to him by the hand of Moses.
Fire takes the 250; their bronze censers become an altar covering
This verse is one part of that explanation in Numbers 16:35–40. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Numbers 16:35–40
Read Numbers 16:40 with 16:35–40. It within “Fire Consumes the Incense Offerers and Censers Become a Warning,” adds this exact responsibility to the unit's authority structure; in lightly modernized wording, the clause reads: To be a memorial to the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the LORD; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the LORD said to him by the hand of Moses. The complete unit establishes this contextual meaning: Fire consumes the 250 men offering incense; Eleazar gathers their bronze censers from the burning, hammers them into altar covering, and preserves a warning that no non-Aaronide may offer incense.
What Remains True
Because Numbers 16:40 within “Fire Consumes the Incense Offerers and Censers Become a Warning,” adds this exact responsibility to the unit's authority structure; in lightly modernized wording, the clause reads: To be a memorial to the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the LORD; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the LORD said to him by the hand of Moses, its proportionate enduring truth is this: Authority requires defined scope, material transparency, trained service, outside accountability, and protection against leaders who convert sacred trust into control. This unit also keeps the following boundary explicit: Sacred memorials do not justify execution, confiscating dissidents' property, dynastic clerical power, or presenting violence as decorative proof of authority.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Numbers 16:35–40 — Fire Consumes the Incense Offerers and Censers Become a WarningSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: Numbers 16:35–40, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Numbers
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, release 2.2, 2021
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, numbers, speeches, poems, legal clauses, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Num.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 16:35–40
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Numbers with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
eBible.org distribution of the NET Bible, source files dated 2026-08-08
Supports: Unit-bounded translation, syntax, lexical, ritual, legal, number, name, poetic, and selected textual notes; silence is not evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible Numbers PDF, complete 134-page PDF, translation and translator notes attached to 16:35–40
Open source ↗