Charles Ellicott Commentary Numbers 16:32

"and the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods." — Numbers 16:32 (ASV)

And the earth opened her mouth ... — Had this verse stood alone, it might have been inferred that Korah and his family shared the fate of Dathan and Abiram and their families and households. In regard to the sons of Korah, however, there is direct evidence that they did not share in the punishment of Dathan and Abiram (see Note on Numbers 16:27): and in regard to Korah, there is ground for the belief that he perished by fire with the 250 men who offered incense with him. It is true, indeed, that in Numbers 26:10 Korah is mentioned in conjunction with Dathan and Abiram (see Note on that passage); but in the other places in which reference is made to the conspiracy, the fate of the chief conspirators is separated.

Thus, in Deuteronomy 11:6, we read only of what God did to Dathan and Abiram and their households and tents; and in Psalms 106:17, we read that The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram, while in the following verse it is added that The flame burned up the wicked. If Korah’s tent remained in its appointed place among the Kohathites, it may reasonably be supposed that the chasm did not extend beyond the tents of Dathan and Abiram; or if Korah had pitched a tent for himself adjoining the tents of Dathan and Abiram, it may be inferred that only those of his household who shared in the conspiracy remained in it, and that his sons remained among the other Kohathites or withdrew with the rest of the congregation at the command of Moses.

It is most natural to suppose that Korah was at this time before the door of the Tabernacle with the 250 men of his company who had presumed to offer incense, and that he shared their doom. Ibn Ezra observes that in the song of the Red Sea, there is no mention made of the drowning of Pharaoh, but only of his chariots and hosts; while in Psalms 136:15, we read that Pharaoh and his host were overthrown in the Red Sea.