Korah, a Levite cousin of Moses and Aaron, with Dathan and Abiram of the tribe of Reuben, gathered 250 'well-known men of the congregation' to challenge the exclusive priestly authority of Aaron's family: 'You take too much upon yourselves! All the congregation is holy; why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?'
Moses proposed a test: let Korah and his 250 men each take a censer of incense and present it before the LORD; Aaron would do the same. The LORD would show whom He had chosen. The next morning, the ground beneath Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and their households opened of itself; they went down alive into Sheol with all their goods. Fire from the LORD consumed the 250 men presenting incense. The bronze of their censers was hammered into a covering for the altar of sacrifice, as a permanent reminder. The episode is the foundational scriptural text for the principle of apostolic succession and ordained priestly authority.