CORE (Heb. qórah = “baldness”). — The best-known biblical figure of this name, the first of whom is a son of Esau (Gen. 36:5, 14), is a contemporary of Moses (Ex. 6:21, 24; 1 Chron. 6:37), of the tribe of Levi, of which he was a great-grandson. Core fomented a rebellion in the desert against Moses (Num. 16:1, 5ff.). It appears to have been a reaction against the institution of the Aaronic priesthood (v. ARONNE).
Core became the spokesman for the discontent of the various descendants of Levi against Aaron of the same tribe, who had been consecrated together with his sons as priests with hereditary rights, while the other Levites were declared subordinate servants in the functions of worship. The revolt also drew in some descendants of Reuben, who, perhaps recalling the original primogeniture of their ancestor, now resented the ascendancy of Moses and Aaron of the tribe of Levi. Among the Reubenites, Dathan and Abiram (Num. 16:1) were prominent accomplices.
The rebels immediately organized a different form of worship from that prescribed by Moses, probably with the intention of restoring practices prior to the reform. In the ideological struggle God intervened directly on behalf of Moses, causing the earth to open and swallow the rebels (Num. 16:25–34). The episode remained famous in Jewish tradition (in addition to the detailed account in Num. 16:1–50, cf. Ps. 105:17; Deut. 11:6; Ecclus. 45:22; Wis. 18:20–25; Judg. 11).
The sons of Core were spared from the terrible punishment. Their descendants held an honored place in the ritual functions of Solomon’s Temple (cf. 1 Chron. 9:19; 26:1, 19). The singers are recorded up to the time of Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. 20:19). They were chiefly singers (cf. 1 Chron. 6:37). A series of psalms (41, 43–48, 83, 84, 86, 87) is attributed to them.