What Does Numbers 16:5 Mean?
And he spoke to Korah and to all his company, saying, In the morning the LORD will know who is his, and who is set apart, and will bring him near. The one he chooses, he will bring near to himself.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him.THE KEY
The verse makes nearness the proof of belonging: the LORD names whom he chooses and brings that one close.
THE MEANING
The LORD makes known who is his and who is set apart; human claims do not decide it. The one he chooses is the one he brings near, and the repeated promise makes that nearness both an intimate welcome and a public distinction.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie is that claiming sacred standing makes someone God’s own or gives them a right to approach; the verse places both recognition and nearness in God’s choice.
THE ROOT
וְהִקְרִיב
wehikhriv
GROWS FROM
קרב
q-r-b
to approach or bring near
“will bring him near” in this verse is wehikhriv. English “come near” can sound like movement alone, but קרב (qarab, approach) also gives קָרְבָּן (qorban, drawing near) and קָרוֹב (qarov, near or kin). The verse repeats this root in a causative form: nearness is not merely claimed; the LORD brings the chosen one into it.
ALSO GROWS
qorban: An approach; something brought near.
קָרְבָּן
Its name carries the approach itself, echoing the chosen person whom the verse says the LORD brings near.
qarov: Near; a near relation.
קָרוֹב
Nearness also describes kinship, so belonging and approach echo one another in the verse.
הַקָּדוֹשׁ
ha-qadosh
GROWS FROM
קדש
q-d-sh
to set apart, mark as distinct
“holy” in this verse is ha-qadosh. The verse places קָדוֹשׁ (qadosh, set apart) beside קרב (qarab, bring near): being set apart and being brought near are not opposites here. The distinction becomes visible as the LORD identifies and draws the chosen one close.
ALSO GROWS
qodesh: What is set apart or sacred.
קֹדֶשׁ
The verse’s “holy” names a distinction that the LORD makes known.
qiddesh: To set apart or dedicate.
קִדֵּשׁ
This verbal branch shows “holy” as an act of distinction, paired here with the act of bringing near.
THE PATTERN
Scripture presents nearness to God as something the LORD grants and brings about, not merely something a person claims.
Flourishing is the man you choose and bring near, to lodge in your courts. We will be filled with the goodness of your house, your set-apart temple.And Moses alone shall draw near to the LORD, but they shall not draw near, and the people shall not go up with him.Let us draw near with a true heart in the fullness of trust, our hearts sprinkled from a burdened shared sight, and our bodies bathed in clean waters.THE THREAD
Flourishing is the man you choose and bring near, to lodge in your courts. We will be filled with the goodness of your house, your set-apart temple.“Causest to approach” uses the same root, קרב (qarab, bring near), as Numbers 16:5. Psalm 65:4 makes the pairing even clearer: the one God chooses is the one he brings near, and nearness opens into dwelling in his courts.
This reading is from Selah Verse.
You can read any verse this way in the app, keep it as a card, and send it on.
A Bible app where you send verses from your keyboard and in Messages, and every verse has a Deep Dive.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us