Illustration created for this project.
Dathan
A Reubenite who joined Korah's rebellion against Moses and was swallowed by the earth.
What we know — and how we know it
Bible — stated in scripture (with verse) · 2
Scholarly — supported scholarly belief · 1
Family & lineage
Tribe & people
BibleOf the tribe of Reuben.
Numbers 16:1
Life, role & deeds
ScholarlyDathan has no external attestation, but later rabbinic tradition made him a recurring villain, identifying Dathan and Abiram with the two quarreling Hebrews Moses saw in Egypt and with those who defied Moses over the manna; this is homiletical legend, not historical evidence.
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus 2:13 and the Babylonian Talmud (e.g., Nedarim 64b). Framed explicitly as later Jewish tradition.
Where in scripture
NumbersDeuteronomyPsalms
Numbers 16:1Numbers 16:12Numbers 16:24Numbers 16:25Numbers 16:27Numbers 26:9Deuteronomy 11:6Psalms 106:17
Family
In their own words — 1 recorded saying
“Then Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: and they said, We will not come up: Is it not enough that you have taken us from a land flowing with milk and honey, to put us to death in the waste land, but now you are desiring to make yourself a chief over us? And more than this, you have not taken us into a land flowing with milk and honey, or given us a heritage of fields and vine-gardens: will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up.” — Numbers 16:12-14
Speaker attribution: Clear Bible MACULA (CC BY 4.0). Wording: Bible in Basic English (public domain).