Did Obama Deliver a Smackdown to the Infidels In His 9/11 Speech?

Thanks to Her Royal Whyness:

From Halodoc, a commenter at WeaselZippers
"It may not have be the Koran he was reading . . ." all the way through. . ." The story of this “fallen Levite” or “corrupted priest” is one of the many stories in the Scriptures that, in sharp contrast to most ancient literature, allows criticism of an honorable office, similarly to the criticism of King David’s infidelity."

He might as well have read from the hateful Koran.

It may not have be the Koran he was reading those exact words from but a quick look at wikipuke shows that what may have been in his mind may have more insidious implications. Are we the villians? Were we punished because of our extreme arrogance?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korah

Quranic Reference

Korah is also mentioned in the Quran by the name of Qarun. He is recognized as rich, and became very arrogant due to his pride and ignorance.[2] {Verily, Qarun (Korah) was of Musa’s (Moses) people, but he behaved arrogantly towards them. And We gave him of the treasures, that of which the keys would have been a burden to a body of strong men…} Quran (28:76) The Quran agrees with the previous section in that he was punished due to his extreme arrogance by being swallowed by the earth along with all his great material wealth. The place in which he had perished is still present to this day.
[edit] Significance

The Biblical name Korah is important because it became associated with Biblical villains and traitors for two reasons:

1. In the case of Korah son of Esau, both Esau and Korah waged war against Israel, and Esau was hated by God because of it according to Malachi 1:3. In these struggles Korah became renowned as a warrior and a fighter, and was legendary in Canaan because of abilities.

2. In the case of Korah son of Izhar, he is remembered for the rebellious action together with Dathan and Abiram against Moses according to Numbers 16:21. This story also appears in the Qur’an, where Korah is named Qarun (see Biblical narratives and the Qur’an). The story of this “fallen Levite” or “corrupted priest” is one of the many stories in the Scriptures that, in sharp contrast to most ancient literature, allows criticism of an honorable office, similarly to the criticism of King David’s infidelity.

The wiki link provides a dead link (blank page) as the source.  Using internet archive provides the same blank page as the wiki source which is dated 7/18/2011.

FWIW .  . . here's what I have about Korah  via Quran 28:76, relevant info from my copy of Reliance of the Traveller and the entire segment from Encyclopaedia Judaica which also includes information on Islam's version with sources listed.   It appears to me, the comment was quite accurate and his interpretation of Obama's subtle slap at infidels at the 9/11 tenth anniversary memorial is plausible.    

First, the extended information from:

1974 edition of Encyclopaedia Judaica, Volume 10, Page  1190:

"Korah, son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi. Korah is the central figure in the story of the revolt against the authority and status of Moses at the time of the wanderings in the wilderness (Num. 16) According to the story in its present form, *Dathan and Abiram of the tribe of Reuben, together with 250 chieftains of the community, also took part in this revolt. Behind the uprising were Korah's complaint against the religious authority of Moses and Aaron, and the complaint of Dathan and Abiram against the leadership of Moses in general, charging that he had brought Israel out of Egypt to lord it over them and to have them die in the wilderness. In punishment for their rebellion, Korah, together with Dathan and Abiram and their people, was swallowed up by the earth, while the 250 chieftains, whose complaint against Moses and Aaron was in the domain of holy privileges, were consumed by the fire of the Lord after they had offered incense before him.

The story is referred to with minor or major variations in other passages (Num. 26:9-10; 27:3; Deut. 11:6; Ps. 106: 16-18). According to the theories of the Wellhausen school of source criticism, a combination of three originally independent stories can be distinguished in Numbers 16:(1) A story of popular origin (JE) whose subject is merely the complaint and fate of Dathan and Abiram; (2) A story from the stage of the priestly source (P) according to which Korah is an Israelite rebelling against the religious authority of Moses the Levite. This theory also embraced the Korah of the family of Judah (I Chron. 2:43) and even the Korah family in the genealogy of the children of Esau (Gen. 36:5, 16); (3) A narrative deriving from a late stage of the priestly source, from the period of the beginning of the Second Temple - the only story in which Korah is converted into a levite rebelling against Moses and Aaron the priest.

The Wellhausen theory, necessitating a late dating for the distinction between priest an levite, is difficult to accept, especially since the discrimination of three independent stories can be maintained only by extensive textual revision. On the other hand, it does seem that the story underwent transformation in the course of oral transmission, and contains two basic elements that were joined together in a relatively early period in the history of Israel. The first element is probably a story about the revolt against the leadership of Moses, the background of the story being the complaints of the children of Israel in the wilderness under the leadership of the Reubenites, Dathan and Abiram. It belongs to an early cycle of stories about the wilderness wanderings. The other element is the quarrel of Korah the Levite with the sacral status of Moses and Aaron the priest. The background would be the consolidation of the temple hierachy at the beginning of the era of the monarchy, and would reflect a struggle between the Aaronide priests and the important levitical family of Korah.

Information about the status of the sons of Korah is derived from their mention as a levitical family in the census list of Numbers 26:58, and from the detailed genealogies in, e.g., Exodus 6:24. Apparently they were among the bitterest opponents of the superior rights of the Aaronide priests. It is probable that in this polemic the Aaronides represented the Korahites as wishing to arrogate to themselves rights not theirs, and even to extend the rights of levites generally. This motif was combined with the already known, traditional story about the revolt of Dathan and Abiram against Moses.

That the Korahites, or part of them, functioned as choristers in the temple, is clear from the heading "For the sons of Korah" found at the beginning of many Psalms (42-49, 84-85, 87-88). According to the late and artificial genealogical list of the levites in I Chronicles 6, the chorister Heman, too, is connected with Korah (6:18-23). With this must be associated the report of II Chronicles 20:19 concerning levitical Kohahite families and the Korahites who rose to praise the Lord, i.e., who acted as choristers. At the same time, Chronicles numbers the Korahites among the families of gatekeepers (I Chronicles 9: 19ff.; 26:1ff.). According to I Chronicles 9 they were also in charge of the treasures and vessels, of making the flat cakes, and of carrying out other similar functions. According to the theory of the school of Wellhausen, the Korahites were originally not of levite origin, but fulfilled the functions of gatekeepers in the temple. Subsequently, they became the musicians, and their geneology was subsumed under that of Kohath son of Levi, a process which occurred chiefly in the time of the Second Temple. This theory, difficult in itself, does not conform with the sources (see above) about the Korahite familes. Further, it cannot be assumed that the temple servitors would choose for themselves a genealogy from Korah to whom, according to the Torah, adhered the shame of rebelling against Moses. This was a ramified levitical family of ancient lineage that had a share not only in the work of the gatekeepers but also in the cultic music and in the administration of the temple; however, when the levitical families were categorized as musicians and gatekeepers, this family was classified with the gatekeepers.

In the Aggadah.  Many reasons are given for Korah's opposition to Moses and Aaron.  In Eqypt, Korah had been Pharoah's treasurer, and he amassed so much wealth that  300 mules were required to carry the keys of his treasures; his pride in his wealth brought about his subsequent downfall (Pes. 119a).  He resented Moses for appointing his cousin (Elizphan b. Uzziel; Num. 3:30) as head of the levite division of Kohathites, maintaining that this office belonged to him (Num. R. 18:2).  He did not doubt the ultimate success of his challenge since he foresaw that Samuel, whose importanc would equal that of Moses and Aaron (cf. s. 99:6), would descend from him, and felt that God would no permit the forefather of such a man to perish (Num. R. 18:8).  Korah's wife also encouraged him in his insurrection (Num. R. 18:4).  Korah is regarded as the arch detractor of the Torah.  He negated its laws and sought to demonstrate the injustice of the laws instituted by Moses by telling the following tale to the masses:  A widow, the mother of two young daughters, started to plow her solitary field whose yield was just sufficient to keep body and soul together.  Moses told her that it was forbidden to plow with an ox and an ass together (Deut. 22:10).  When she began to sow, Mosese told her not to sow with diverse seeds (Lev. 19:19).  When the first fruits appeared, Moses demanded that she give them to the priests (Deut. 26:2), and when she began to harvest the field, Moses reminded her to leave the gleanings and the corner of the field for the poor (Lev. 23:22).  When she was about to thresh the grain, Moses demanded the separations for the priests and levites (Num. 18:8, 21).  Unable to maintain herself from the field under such conditions, she sold it and purchased ewes.  Once again, she knew no peace.  When the firstling of the sheep was born, Aaron demanded it for the priests (Num. 18:15).  When she began to shear the sheep, Aaaron claimed the initial shearings (Deut. 18:4).  The widow thereupon decided to slaughter the sheep.  Thsi time Aaron came for the priestly portions (Deut. 18:3).  The widow then vehemently cried out:   "If you persist in your demands, I consecrate the flesh to the Lord."  "If so," Aaron replied, "th whole belongs to me" (Num. 18:14).  Aaron then took away all the meat, leaving the widow and her two daughters entirely unprovided for (Mid. Ps. to 1:15).

Korah tried to make Moses appear ridiculous in the eyes of the people.  He appeared with his 250 followers, all dressed in garments of *tekhelet, requestinga ruling from Moses on whether they were obliged to attach fringes to such garments.  On Moses' affirmative response, Korah mocked him by declaring,, "If one fringe of blue suffices to fulfill this commandment when the garment is entirely white, should not a garment which entirely blue meet the requirements of theis commandment even without the addition of fringes."  Likewise, they asked Moses about the necsessity of affixing a mezuzah to the entrance of a house filled with sacred scrolls.  Once again they decried Moses' answer that such a doorpost also needed a mezuzah despite the fact that its passages are included in the scrolls (TJ, Sanh. 10:1, 27d-28a).  In this and similar aggadot, Korah is presented as the prototype of the opponents of the Torah and of the authority of the rabbis.

Moses desperately attempted to appease Korah and his followers but they insisted on opposing him (Num. R. 18:4).  Finally, Moses had to make a public stand against them, realizing that the integrity of the Torah was at stake when they proclaimed that "the Torah was not given by God, Moses is not a prophet, and Aaron is not the high priest" (TJ, Sanh. 10:1, 28a).  At the time of Korah's engulfment, the earth became like a funnel, and everything that belonged to him, even clothes at the laundry and needles borrowed by neighbors, rolled until they fell into the gap (Num. R. 18:13).  Korah himself suffered the double punishment of being burned and swallowed up alive by the earth (Num. R. 18:19), while his repentant sons were spared and became the progenitors of Samuel (Num.R. 18:18).  Later, a place was set aside for them in the netherworld, where they sit and sing praises to God (Sanh. 110a). Rabbah b. Bar Huna related that he saw the place of Korah's englufment and heard voices crying, "Moses and his Torah are true, and we are liars." (BB 74a).  [A.Ro.]

In Islam.  One of the world's wealthiest men, he prided himself on his wealthand therefore, the earth swallowed him up (Sura 28:76-82).  Along with Fir'awn (*Pharoah) and *Haman,  Qarun (Korah) ranks among the proud (29:38), and with them he proposed the counsel to kill all the sons born to the people of Israel (40:25).  Muslim legend emphasized the familial relationship between Qarun and Moses (Ar. Musa).  The jealousy of the former increased as the greatness of Moses grew.  One of the explanations of the source of his treasures is that his wife was the sister of Moses, who taught her the art of "alchemy", and that Qarun, in turn learned the method of making and amassing gold from her.   Qarun built one house after another and constructed the walls of his palace from silver and gold (see bibl. Tha'labi, Kisa i).   These and similar tales come from Jewish legends which spoke of the fabulous "treasure of Korah."  The stories of the haughtiness of Qarun and his associates also derived from Jewish sources.  [H.Z.H.]

Bibliography:

  J.W.  Rothstein and J. Haenel,  Kommentar zum ersten Buch der Chronik (1927), 174ff., 462ff.; K. Moehlenbrink, in: ZAW, 52 (1934), 188ff., 191ff.; H.S. Nyberg, in : Svensk Exegetisk Årsbok, 12 (1947), 214-36;  M.Z. Segal,  Masoret u-Vikkoret (1957),  92-95; J. Liver, in: Scripta Hierosolymitana, 8 (1961),  189-217; idem, Perakim be-Toledot ha-Kehunnah ve-hat-Leviyyah (1968);  S. Lehming, in:  ZAW, 74 (1962), 291-321;   S. Mowinckel, The Psalms in Israel's Worship, 2 (1962), 82, 95ff.  IN THE AGGAADAH:  Ginzberg, Legends, 3 (19473), 286-303;  6 (19463), 99-105.

IN ISLAM:  Tabari, Tar'rikh, 1 (1357  A.H.),  312-9;  idem,  Tafsir, 20  (1328  A.H.),  67;  Tha'labi,  Qisas  (1356  A.H.),  312-9; idem,  Tafsir, 20  (1328  A.H.),  67;  Tha'labi,  Qisas  (1356 A.H.),   179-82;  Kisa i, Qisas  (1356  A.H.),  229-30;  H. Speyer,  Die  biblischen Erzaehlungen im Qoran (1931 repr. 1961), 324-4.

Then from my copy of "Reliance of the Traveller,  A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law",  2008 reprint

On page x222 Biographical Notes

Korah (w8.2) is Qarun ibn Yas-hur ibn Qahath ibn Lawi ibn Ya'qub ibn Ishaq ibn Ibrahim, a cousin of the prophet Musa (upon whom be peace), as his father Yas-hur and Musa's father "imran were brothers.   He believed in Musa, though he later grew jealous of Musa's being sent as a prophet and Harun's being an Imam, and finally became an unbeliever because of his wealth, seeking to be superior to Musa by wearing his garments long and by oppressing Bani Isra'il when Pharoah appointed him over them.  Allah gave him such wealth that carrying the very keys to it weighed  heavily on a group of strong men, and when his people told him not to exult in it but to seek the life of the next world by spending it in obedience to Allah, he replied that he had  only been given it because of his knowlege, for he was the most learned of them in the Torah afer Musa (upon whom envied him for his wealth and success, Allah caused the earth to swallow both him and his house (al-Futuhat al-ilahiyya (y65), 3.359-62) 

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Quran 28:76

 

Sahih International

Indeed, Qarun was from the people of Moses, but he tyrannized them. And We gave him of treasures whose keys would burden a band of strong men; thereupon his people said to him, "Do not exult. Indeed, Allah does not like the exultant.