Numbers 16:33

Num 16:33 They, and all that [appertained] to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.

Ver. 33. And they perished from among.] So the gun powder plotters here; and before them the northern rebels. That rebellion, saith one, like the bubbles, which children blow up into the air, was no sooner blown up than blown out, and fell into the eyes of those who with blasts of ambition and superstition held it up.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 33. They, and all that appertained to them] Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and all that appertained to their respective families, went down into the pit caused by this supernatural earthquake; while the fire from the Lord consumed the 250 men that bare censers. Thus there were two distinct punishments, the pit and the fire, for the two divisions of these rebels.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

They, and all that appertained unto them, went down alive into the pit,.... The grave which the opening earth made for them, they and their families:

and the earth closed upon them; and covered them over; this it did of itself, as Aben Ezra remarks: this was a wonderful instance of almighty power, that it should open in such large fissures as to swallow up such a number of men, with their tents, goods, and cattle, and then close again so firmly, as not to have the least appearance upon it of what had happened, as Josephus observes (z):

and they perished from among the congregation; and had a name and a place no more with them.

(z) Antiqu. ut supra, (l. 4. c. 3.) sect. 3.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Hell. Hebrew adds, "they, and whatsoever belonged to them, descended into hell, or the pit." Sale. --- The souls of the impenitent into the former, the bodies of the cattle, &c., into the bowels of the earth. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Into the pit, i.e. into the earth, which first opened itself to receive them, and then shut itself to destroy them, and transmit them to further punishment.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

33. Alive into the pit — As the time for the clear revelation of the doctrine of future eternal rewards and punishments had not yet arrived, temporal judgments, sudden and awful, must be applied as motives to divine obedience. Sheol, the pit, is a word which is used sixty-five times in the Old Testament. In the A.V., it is translated “grave” thirty-one times, “hell” thirty-one times, and “pit” three times. Its widest meaning is the place of disembodied spirits. It here has the narrower meaning of the abode of the wicked, as the term hades has in Luk_16:23.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Into the pit - Into the earth, which first opened itself to receive them, and then shut itself to destroy them.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

went down alive into Sheol

A similar phrase occurs in Numbers 16:30. See how you translated it there.

They exclaimed

"They" refers to "All Israel."

The earth may swallow us up also

The people speak of the earth as if it were alive. AT: "The earth might open up and we too will fall into it" or "If the earth opens up again, we too will fall into it and be buried" (See: Metaphor)

fire flashed out from Yahweh and devoured the 250 men

Being destroyed by fire is spoken of as if they were eaten by the fire. AT: "fire flashed out from Yahweh and destroyed the 250 men" (See: Metaphor)

250 men

"two hundred and fifty men" (See: Numbers)

translationWords

Hades

perish

Israel

fire

devour

incense

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

AND THEY PERISHED FROM AMONG THE ASSEMBLY. The meaning thereof is that they [Korach and his associates] perished in their sight [that of the people], while they were standing amongst them in their midst, since the earth suddenly opened up its mouth and closed it upon them, and the place where they had been [standing] was not noticeable. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra commented that the meaning of the expression is: [they were blotted out from among the assembly] because of the death of their children who would have been in their stead.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.