Dathan, along with his brother Abiram, was a descendant of Reuben who joined Korah, a Levite, in rebelling against the authority of Moses and Aaron (Numbers 16:1). When Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, they refused to come, accusing Moses of failing to bring them into a land flowing with milk and honey (Numbers 16:12–14).
As the rebellion escalated, Moses warned the congregation to move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (Numbers 16:24–27). God then caused the earth to open up and swallow Dathan, Abiram, and their households, along with Korah and his followers (Numbers 16:31–35; Psalm Num.106.17).
The sons of Dathan and Abiram, however, did not die in this judgment (Numbers 26:9–11). The rebellion of Dathan and Abiram is remembered as a warning against defying God's appointed leaders (Deuteronomy 11:6).
Article: STEPBible, Tyndale House Cambridge · CC BY 4.0
Welled; belonging to a fountain, a son of Eliab, a Reubenite, who joined Korah in his conspiracy, and with his accomplices was swallowed up by an earthquake…