The fourth example of evildoing probably comes from Numbers 16:41–50. This passage relates how the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and how God punished them with a deadly plague.
Paul refers to this plague in a personal way, as the Destroyer
(or the destroying angel). This is in line with other Old Testament passages, where plagues are explicitly connected with the destroying angel (see Exodus 12:23; 2 Samuel 24:15–17). In Jewish tradition, the plague of Numbers 16 is also attributed to this angel.
Although Paul nowhere directly rebukes the Corinthians for grumbling, we can deduce from the rest of his letter (especially 1 Corinthians 9:1–27) that some of them were grumbling against him. Like the Israelites, they were prone to grumble against their God-given leaders.
10 Ne murmurez point, comme murmurèrent quelques-uns d'entre eux, qui périrent par l'exterminateur.