Demonic · Deliverance tradition · c. 400 BCE
The Korah Spirit
Deliverance teaching names this spirit for the Levite who told Moses the whole congregation was holy, so why did he exalt himself — and was swallowed by the ground.
Well sourced
Korah and two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly confront Moses and Aaron with an argument that is not obviously wrong: all the congregation is holy, every one of them, so why do you lift yourselves above the assembly? The earth opens and swallows them.
What makes this one different from Absalom is that the typological move is already made inside scripture. Jude speaks of those who 'perished in the gainsaying of Core', using him as a category for a present group. The deliverance literature is extending a move the New Testament started rather than inventing one.
Identity
Where does the name come from?
Where it was actually worshipped
None. A category in modern deliverance teaching rather than a figure anyone has ever worshipped — these are diagnoses of a condition, and a diagnosis has no address.
A figure with temples and a figure that only ever existed on a page are different kinds of thing, and the difference is easy to lose once both are entries in a list.
At a glance
Vitals
Vitals
- First attested
- Hebrew Bible & Deuterocanon · c. 900–100 BCE
- Named there as
- Korah
- Rank
- Named Spirit
- Order
- Deliverance tradition
- Base of operations
- None. A category in modern deliverance teaching rather than a figure anyone has ever worshipped — these are diagnoses of a condition, and a diagnosis has no address.
- Era
- c. 400 BCE
- Traditions
- Christian, Deliverance & Spiritual Warfare
Traits
- Domain
- Rebellion against appointed authority
- How firm the basis is
- Moderate — a person, though Jude already uses him as a type
- Textual basis
- Numbers 16, Jude 11
Stats
Known connections
Identified with
2 attributed
What is it said to do?
Where these powers cluster
The 2 offices attributed to The Korah Spirit, grouped by kind. Segment width is the share of powers falling in each category.
A bar dominated by one colour means a specialist; an even spread means a figure the sources credit with almost anything.
- social1
- malefic1
2 texts
Which texts say so, and where do they disagree?
When these texts were written
Each dot is one of the 2 texts that names The Korah Spirit, placed at that text's approximate date.
A wide spread means the figure was carried across many centuries and traditions; a tight cluster means a single period produced the whole record.
2 texts spanning roughly 480 years
Where the texts differ
- Name: given as Korah, Core
- Rank: given as Levite, leader of the rebellion; Used as a type
Challenges the authority of Moses and Aaron on the grounds that the whole congregation is holy; the ground opens and swallows him and his company.
“Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them.”
Jude speaks of those who perished in the gainsaying of Core, applying the name to a contemporary group.
Connections
What is it connected to?
Answered from the sources
Common questions
Which texts mention The Korah Spirit?
Is The Korah Spirit the same as The Absalom Spirit?
What rank is The Korah Spirit?
How else is The Korah Spirit spelled?
What is The Korah Spirit said to do?
How old is The Korah Spirit?
Nearest in the corpus
If The Korah Spirit is what you came for, these are next
Chosen by proximity rather than by popularity: the same pantheon first, then the same rank, then the same kind of figure.
The Jezebel Spirit
Named Spirit · Deliverance tradition
The most discussed figure in modern deliverance teaching, and a category rather than a being — built from a queen in Kings and a rival teacher in Revelation.
The Absalom Spirit
Named Spirit · Deliverance tradition
Named in deliverance teaching for the son who stood at the gate, listened sympathetically to everyone with a grievance, and stole the hearts of Israel.
The Ahab Spirit
Named Spirit · Deliverance tradition
The passive half of the pair — named for the king who let his queen act and then took the vineyard she obtained for him.
The Familiar Spirit
Named Spirit · Deliverance tradition
The biblical term for a medium's attending spirit — and at Endor, the one occasion where the practice is depicted as working.
The Leviathan Spirit
Named Spirit · Deliverance tradition
Job's sea-beast read as a spirit of pride, and specifically of the twisting of words between people who are trying to understand each other.
The Lying Spirit
Named Spirit · Deliverance tradition
A spirit that volunteers to deceive, is asked how, explains, and is authorised — by God, in open council.
The books behind The Korah Spirit
Every claim on this profile is attributed to one of these. They are public domain, listed oldest first, and each links to a full text where one is freely available.
Hebrew Bible & Deuterocanon
Various · c. 900–100 BCE · Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek
Read Hebrew Bible & Deuterocanon in full ↗Cover: Public domain · see en:Aleppo Codex; scanned by · Wikimedia file page
New Testament
Various · c. 50–110 CE · Koine Greek
Read New Testament in full ↗Cover: Public domain · Wikimedia file page
Corpus last revised 29 August 2026. A reference site’s credibility rests on being maintained, so this is the date the sourced records last changed — not the date the page was rebuilt.