Illustration created for this project.
Abiram
A Reubenite who with Dathan defied Moses and perished with Korah's company.
What we know — and how we know it
Bible — stated in scripture (with verse) · 2
Ancient writers — non-biblical testimony · 1
Scholarly — supported scholarly belief · 1
Family & lineage
Tribe & people
BibleOf the tribe of Reuben.
Numbers 16:12
Life, role & deeds
Scan by NYPL — Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)
Ancient writersThe first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus retells the revolt of Dathan and Abiram against Moses, naming Abiram among the Reubenite conspirators. This is a genuine non-biblical mention, though Josephus is paraphrasing the Torah narrative rather than drawing on an independent source.
Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 4.2.1-4.3.4 (§§4.14-66), the Korah/Dathan/Abiram revolt; Loeb Classical Library ed., trans. H. St. J. Thackeray (Harvard University Press). A genuine non-biblical mention, but a paraphrase of Numbers 16 rather than an independent source.
Name & titles
ScholarlyThe Hebrew name Abiram (אֲבִירָם) is a theophoric sentence-name combining abi ('my father') with the verbal element ram ('is exalted' or 'is high'), yielding 'My (divine) Father is exalted.'
Standard Hebrew onomastic analysis; the same ab-/ram elements recur in other Northwest Semitic personal names.