DATHAN

da'-than (dathan, meaning and derivation unknown, though the name is found in Assyrian, in the records of Shalmaneser II): The son of Eliab the son of Pallu the son of Reuben (Numbers 26:5 ff; Deuteronomy 11:6; Psalms 106:17). He and his brother Abiram, with others, followed Korah the Levite in disputing the authority of Moses and Aaron in the wilderness (Numbers 16-Numbers 17; 26; Deuteronomy 11:6; Psalms 106:17). Other followers of Korah perished by fire before the tent of meeting, but Dathan and Abiram were swallowed up by the earth, with their families and their goods, at their tents.

See KORAH .

Willis J. Beecher

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.