HEBREW WORD STUDY – ON SON OF PELETH – ‘ON BEN PELETH    אונ   בנ    פלת    

Numbers 16:1:  “Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took [men]:”

On was the leader of the tribe of Reuben that conspired with Korah, Dathan and Abiram  in a coup over Moses.  As a result of their rebellion God opened up the earth and swallowed them and their family putting an end to this rebellion.

But wait, we read further down that the earth only swallowed up Korah, Dathan and Abiram and their families, it makes no mention of On being swallowed up or even a part of the rebellion.  His name is only mentioned in the first verse as being a part of the coup.  Why does Scripture not mention him later on in the chapter?  

I found the answer in the Talmud in Sanhedrin 109b. It seems Korah’s wife egged Korah on into this rebellion but the wife of On took a stand against On’s involvement in this conspiracy.  She told her husband that God made him a leader of his tribe but also a follower of Moses. Why go against God’s will just to obtain more power?   So she got her husband drunk and when he passed out in bed she sat outside their tent with her hair down.  A married woman was supposed to have her hair covered but if they had their hair uncovered and hanging down it was a sign of rebellion against her husband.  When Korah and his gang arrived to pick up On they found his wife standing in defiance against them and decided not to mess this woman and thus left On alone.  By doing this she saved not only her husband’s life but the life of her and her family as well. 

In fact the whole story is told in the name of On Son of Peleth.  In Hebrew means one who is seeking power and wealth.  The word son has many usages, one is for the builder of a family.  The word Peleth means to flee.  In other words On was seeking more power and wealth but the one who was helping to build his family caused him to flee from it. 

The Talmud teaches that a woman is given special spiritual insight as she would be too busy raising her children to spend time studying the Torah like her husband who receives his spiritual insight through the study of the Torah.  Thus, a man is instructed to give much attention to his wife’s arguments about spiritual things as she may have more spiritual discernment than he has.

Did On’s wife really save his life and that of their family?  We can’t be sure if the Talmud is giving historical fact or using this mystery of the disappearance of On’s name in the conspiracy as an opportunity to teach that when a man’s passion for power and wealth blinds him to the will of God, his wife will often have spiritual discernment to bring her husband back into the will of God. Sometimes the wisdom a wife needs to raise her children is the same wisdom she needs to keep her husband in the center of God’s will.