Numbers 16:3

Congregation are holy. That is, qualified to be priests. This expression may have reference to the fact that before Moses’ time every one might offer sacrifices in his own family. But now this office was confined to one family, and that one enjoyed all the benefits that came from the privilege. It is true, of course, that in a sense the whole congregation was holy, in that the people were chosen by God and separated from the surrounding nations (Ex. 19:6; Lev. 20:26). But God had now ordained that the theocratic church should exercise its outward priestly function through the one family that had been set apart for that purpose.

Among them. Particularly, in the pillar of cloud and in the sanctuary. The rebels suggested that aside from Jehovah no other leader was necessary (see Ex. 29:45).

Above the congregation. The word here translated “congregation” is different from the previous one in this verse. The first “congregation” is from the root “to appoint,” “to meet by appointment.” The noun derived from the verb is almost always translated “congregation,” and is often used of an informal gathering of the people. In Judges 14:8 it is used of a “swarm” of bees; in Ps. 68:30, of a “multitude” of bulls. In the second instance rendered “congregation” refers to all manner of gatherings of people, whether for religious instruction, for prayer, for war, or for complaint. It is rendered “assembly” in the RSV.