Datan (Bible)

Datan is a son of the Rubenite Eliab in the Old Testament . Together with his brother Abiram and Korach , he rose against Moses .

etymology

The Hebrew personal name דָּתָן dātān , German 'Datan' can possibly be associated with the Akkadian datnu and therefore means “strong”. The Septuagint gives the name as ancient Greek Δαθαν Dathan , the Vulgate as Dathan .

Biblical narration

According to Num 16  EU , Datan and his brother Abiram were among the 250 rebels against Moses and his brother Aaron because they were dissatisfied with the religious primacy of these two leaders. The rebels called for all Israelites to be equal before God and criticized the fact that Moses and Aaron allegedly placed themselves above the rest of the people.

Moses ended the revolt with divine support by calling for a divine judgment. Both the 250 rebels and Aaron made incense offerings. A crack in the earth opened and devoured Korach and his clan. After that, fire from YHWH went out and consumed the 250 insurgents.

Outside of Num 16, Datan is also mentioned in Dtn 11.6  EU . At this point, the ways YHWH worked on Israel are enumerated. The destruction of Datans and Abiram is mentioned following the destruction of the Egyptian army in the Red Sea Dtn 11.4  EU . Dtn 11.6 is seen as a later insertion in Dtn 11.2–5.7.

The annihilation of Dana and Abiram is also mentioned in Ps 106.17  EU , also in connection with an enumeration of divine powers. Korach, however, is not mentioned at this point, possibly out of consideration for the Korachites who work as singers at the temple.

In the Sirach book , Datan is mentioned in Sir 45.18  EU . His destruction is contrasted with Aaron's election to the priesthood.

In movies

In Cecil B. DeMille's monumental film The Ten Commandments , Datan is played by Edward G. Robinson . In this film he is portrayed as a scheming overseer over the Hebrews, who has come to terms with the Egyptians and reveals secrets about the Hebrews to them for personal gain. Datan joins the Israelites somewhat reluctantly later in the film. As in the Bible, he instigates a revolt against Moses, deviating from this he is the leader of the worshipers of the golden calf and is devoured by the earth.

literature

• Ludwig Schmidt:  Datan and Abiram. In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (Eds.): The Scientific Biblical Lexicon on the Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff.
• Art. דָּתָן, In: Gesenius. 18th edition 2013 , p. 263.
• Martin Noth : The Israelite personal names in the context of the common emitic naming. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1928, pp. 225, 241.
• Hans Rechenmacher : Old Hebrew personal names. Münster 2012, pp. 176, 202.