Leviticus 10:1-20
1 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not.
2 And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.
3 Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.
4 And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp.
5 So they went near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp; as Moses had said.
6 And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD hath kindled.
7 And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses.
8 And the LORD spake unto Aaron, saying,
9 Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:
10 And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;
11 And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.
12 And Moses spake unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons that were left, Take the meat offering that remaineth of the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and eat it without leaven beside the altar: for it is most holy:
13 And ye shall eat it in the holy place, because it is thy due, and thy sons' due, of the sacrifices of the LORD made by fire: for so I am commanded.
14 And the wave breast and heave shoulder shall ye eat in a clean place; thou, and thy sons, and thy daughters with thee: for they be thy due, and thy sons' due, which are given out of the sacrifices of peace offerings of the children of Israel.
15 The heave shoulder and the wave breast shall they bring with the offerings made by fire of the fat, to wave it for a wave offering before the LORD; and it shall be thine, and thy sons' with thee, by a statute for ever; as the LORD hath commanded.
16 And Moses diligently sought the goat of the sin offering, and, behold, it was burnt: and he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron which were left alive, saying,
17 Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin offering in the holy place, seeing it is most holy, and God hath given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the LORD?
18 Behold, the blood of it was not brought in within the holy place: ye should indeed have eaten it in the holy place, as I commanded.
19 And Aaron said unto Moses, Behold, this day have they offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD; and such things have befallen me: and if I had eaten the sin offering to day, should it have been accepted in the sight of the LORD?
20 And when Moses heard that, he was content.
Lev X contains four appendices on the priests-' duties, of which the first and the fourth are in the form of ideal narratives (a caution and a misunderstanding), like chs. 8f.
Leviticus 10:1. The Sin of Nadab and Abihu. Nadab and Abihu, the eldest sons of Aaron (Exodus 6:23), had been privileged to go up and see the God of Israel with Moses and Aaron and seventy elders (Exodus 24:1 ff., J). Here, they offer fire which has not been taken from the altar hearth or was not in accordance with the proper receipt for the sacred incense, and are themselves at once consumed. The bodies are withdrawn from the camp by their father's cousins, and Aaron and his remaining sons are forbidden to mourn for them. The catastrophe is here described very briefly, in contrast to that of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, Numbers 16; cf. Numbers 3:1; in 1 Chronicles 24:2, Nadab and Abihu are simply mentioned as dying before their father. Bertholet suggests that the narrative points back to a struggle with a class of priests in the N. Kingdom who attempted to become naturalised at Jerusalem, and who were recognised as previously existing, but illegitimate; cf. Ezekiel's insistence on the sole legitimacy of the sons of Zadok, the Jerusalemite priests, an insistence which could not be carried out after the Exile. This narrative would thus be intended to account for their illegitimacy. The fire which consumed them is probably thought of as overwhelming them with a sudden flash. Their bodies are still covered with their outer garments. For Mishael, etc., see Exodus 6:18. All the priests are here forbidden to show the ordinary signs of mourning. These would be regarded as an interference with their ritual condition which would mean general danger or disaster; here, too, all the priests are regarded as anointed. The reference to the tent of meeting obviously refers to the prohibition in Leviticus 8:35. In Leviticus 21:10 f. (H) and in Ezekiel 44:25, mourning is restricted, but not entirely prohibited, for all priests.
Leviticus 10:8. Prohibition of Alcohol. The prohibition refers to periods when the priests are on duty (so Ezekiel 44:21); but the reason given, that the priests may be able to instruct the people, seems to imply a wider abstinence. The priestly excesses referred to in the earlier prophets (Isaiah 28:7; Ezekiel 22:26) are thus guarded against. In Rome, the Flamen Dialis was even prohibited from walking on a path between vineyards (p. 217). Yahweh does not elsewhere speak to Aaron alone.
Leviticus 10:12. The Eating of the Priests-' Dues (cf. Leviticus 6:14, Leviticus 7:28). The meal offering is most holy, i.e. it is to be eaten only by the priests themselves, and in a holy place; the flesh is holy, and may be eaten by the priests-' families, and in a clean place. The distinction is not easy to explain; but degrees of holiness are simply equivalent to degrees in restrictions surrounding the object or action. The thigh as well as the breast is to be waved (cf. Leviticus 7:32 *); this statement may be intended to correct an earlier custom of waving only the breast; the distinction between the two, however, remains quite plain in this passage, as elsewhere.
Leviticus 10:16. Explanation of a Ritual Error. Aaron and his sons had not eaten the sin offering. Moses is angered with the sons; but the reason is given that such an act would have been inapposite after the catastrophe of Leviticus 10:1. Moses accepts the explanation. But why should they have eaten the sin offering? Cf. Leviticus 6:26; Leviticus 6:29; Leviticus 4:21 (cf. Leviticus 4:12) implies that the sin offering for the assembly is not to be eaten. Leviticus 4, however, must be looked upon as earlier. Leviticus 10 looks on the eating as a priestly duty on behalf of the community. According to Leviticus 6:23, the sin offering is not to be eaten when its blood is brought into the sanctuary; in this case (Leviticus 9:9) the blood is not so brought in. Thus, according to Leviticus 4 (probably earlier), no excuse was needed. Aaron's explanation is based on the fact that through the death of his sons, he feels himself to be under the wrath of God, and therefore unable to consume a holy thing. The representation of Aaron as correcting or reminding Moses is unique in P.