Leviticus — Chapter 10
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1And 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.
2And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.
3Then Moses said unto Aaron, This
4And 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.
5So they went near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp; as Moses had said.
6And 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.
7And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the LORD
8And the LORD spake unto Aaron, saying,
9Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die:
10And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;
11And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.
12And 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
13And ye shall eat it in the holy place, because it
14And the wave breast and heave shoulder shall ye eat in a clean place; thou, and thy sons, and thy daughters with thee: for
15The heave shoulder and the wave breast shall they bring with the offerings made by fire of the fat, to wave
16And 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
17Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin offering in the holy place, seeing it
18Behold, the blood of it was not brought in within the holy
19And 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
20And when Moses heard
1And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took each of them his censer, and put fire therein, and laid incense thereon, and offered strange fire before Jehovah, which he had not commanded them.
2And there came forth fire from before Jehovah, and devoured them, and they died before Jehovah.
3Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that Jehovah 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.
4And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, Draw near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp.
5So they drew near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp, as Moses had said.
6And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Let not the hair of your heads go loose, neither rend your clothes; that ye die not, and that he be not wroth with all the congregation: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which Jehovah hath kindled.
7And ye shall not go out from the door of the tent of meeting, lest ye die; for the anointing oil of Jehovah is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses.
8And Jehovah spake unto Aaron, saying,
9Drink no wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tent of meeting, that ye die not: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:
10and that ye may make a distinction between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean;
11and that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which Jehovah hath spoken unto them by Moses.
12And Moses spake unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons that were left, Take the meal-offering that remaineth of the offerings of Jehovah made by fire, and eat it without leaven beside the altar; for it is most holy;
13and ye shall eat it in a holy place, because it is thy portion, and thy sons` portion, of the offerings of Jehovah made by fire: for so I am commanded.
14And the wave-breast and the heave-thigh shall ye eat in a clean place, thou, and thy sons, and thy daughters with thee: for they are given as thy portion, and thy sons` portion, out of the sacrifices of the peace-offerings of the children of Israel.
15The heave-thigh and the wave-breast shall they bring with the offerings made by fire of the fat, to wave it for a wave-offering before Jehovah: and it shall be thine, and thy sons` with thee, as a portion for ever; as Jehovah hath commanded.
16And Moses diligently sought the goat of the sin-offering, and, behold, it was burnt: and he was angry with Eleazar and with Ithamar, the sons of Aaron that were left, saying,
17Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin-offering in the place of the sanctuary, seeing it is most holy, and he hath given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before Jehovah?
18Behold, the blood of it was not brought into the sanctuary within: ye should certainly have eaten it in the sanctuary, as I commanded.
19And Aaron spake unto Moses, Behold, this day have they offered their sin-offering and their burnt-offering before Jehovah; and there have befallen me such things as these: and if I had eaten the sin-offering to-day, would it have been well-pleasing in the sight of Jehovah?
20And when Moses heard [that], it was well-pleasing in his sight.
1Then Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his fire pan and put fire in it, set incense on it, and presented strange fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them to do.
2So fire went out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them so that they died before the Lord.
3Moses then said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke: ‘Among the ones close to me I will show myself holy, and in the presence of all the people I will be honored.’” So Aaron kept silent.
4Moses then called to Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel, Aaron’s uncle, and said to them, “Come near, carry your brothers from the front of the sanctuary to a place outside the camp.”
5So they came near and carried them away in their tunics to a place outside the camp just as Moses had spoken.
6Then Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar his other two sons, “Do not dishevel the hair of your heads and do not tear your garments, so that you do not die and so that wrath does not come on the whole congregation. Your brothers, all the house of Israel, are to mourn the burning that the Lord has caused,
7but you must not go out from the entrance of the Meeting Tent lest you die, for the Lord’s anointing oil is on you.” So they acted according to the word of Moses.
8Then the Lord spoke to Aaron,
9“Do not drink wine or strong drink, you and your sons with you, when you enter into the Meeting Tent, so that you do not die. This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations,
10as well as to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean,
11and to teach the Israelites all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them through Moses.”
12Then Moses spoke to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his remaining sons, “Take the grain offering which remains from the gifts of the Lord and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for it is most holy.
13You must eat it in a holy place because it is your allotted portion and the allotted portion of your sons from the gifts of the Lord, for this is what I have been commanded.
14Also, the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the contribution offering you must eat in a ceremonially clean place, you and your sons and daughters with you, for the foods have been given as your allotted portion and the allotted portion of your sons from the peace-offering sacrifices of the Israelites.
15The thigh of the contribution offering and the breast of the wave offering they must bring in addition to the gifts of the fat parts to wave them as a wave offering before the Lord, and it will belong to you and your sons with you for a perpetual statute just as the Lord has commanded.”
16Later Moses sought diligently for the sin-offering male goat, but it had actually been burnt. So he became angry at Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons, saying,
17“Why did you not eat the sin offering in the sanctuary? For it is most holy, and he gave it to you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement on their behalf before the Lord.
18See here! Its blood was not brought into the Holy Place within! You should certainly have eaten it in the sanctuary just as I commanded!”
19But Aaron spoke to Moses, “See here! Just today they presented their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and such things as these have happened to me! If I had eaten a sin offering today, would the Lord have been pleased?”
20When Moses heard this explanation, he was satisfied.
1Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer, and put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and offered strange fire before Yahweh, which he had not commanded them.
2Fire came out from before Yahweh, and devoured them, and they died before Yahweh.
3Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what Yahweh spoke of, saying, ‘I will show myself holy to those who come near me, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” Aaron held his peace.
4Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Draw near, carry your brothers from before the sanctuary out of the camp.”
5So they came near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp, as Moses had said.
6Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons, “Don’t let the hair of your heads go loose, and don’t tear your clothes; so that you don’t die, and so that he not be angry with all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which Yahweh has kindled.
7You shall not go out from the door of the Tent of Meeting, lest you die; for the anointing oil of Yahweh is on you.” They did according to the word of Moses.
8Then Yahweh said to Aaron,
9“You and your sons are not to drink wine or strong drink whenever you go into the Tent of Meeting, or you will die. This shall be a statute forever throughout your generations.
10You are to make a distinction between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean.
11You are to teach the children of Israel all the statutes which Yahweh has spoken to them by Moses.”
12Moses spoke to Aaron, and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons who were left, “Take the meal offering that remains of the offerings of Yahweh made by fire, and eat it without yeast beside the altar; for it is most holy;
13and you shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your portion, and your sons’ portion, of the offerings of Yahweh made by fire: for so I am commanded.
14The waved breast and the heaved thigh you shall eat in a clean place, you, and your sons, and your daughters with you: for they are given as your portion, and your sons’ portion, out of the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the children of Israel.
15The heaved thigh and the waved breast they shall bring with the offerings made by fire of the fat, to wave it for a wave offering before Yahweh: and it shall be yours, and your sons’ with you, as a portion forever; as Yahweh has commanded.”
16Moses diligently inquired about the goat of the sin offering, and, behold, it was burned: and he was angry with Eleazar and with Ithamar, the sons of Aaron who were left, saying,
17“Why haven’t you eaten the sin offering in the place of the sanctuary, since it is most holy, and he has given it to you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before Yahweh?
18Behold, its blood was not brought into the inner part of the sanctuary: you certainly should have eaten it in the sanctuary, as I commanded.”
19Aaron spoke to Moses, “Behold, today they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before Yahweh; and such things as these have happened to me. If I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have been pleasing in Yahweh’s sight?”
20When Moses heard that, it was pleasing in his sight.
Summary
Nadab and Abihu offer unauthorized fire before the Lord and are consumed; God declares He must be regarded as holy by those who approach Him.
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- No specific geographic locations are referenced in this chapter.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik emphasizes that Nadab and Abihu's sin was offering what God had NOT commanded — the principle of worship by divine prescription, not human innovation. He notes the possible connection to intoxication (vv.8-9 placed immediately after their death). He highlights Aaron's silence as one of the most powerful moments in the Old Testament — a father who submits to God's justice even in the loss of his sons.
- Charles Spurgeon: Sermon: "Strange Fire" "Nadab and Abihu brought fire which God had not commanded. They did not bring something God had forbidden — they brought something God had not authorized. Here is the principle: in the worship of God, silence is prohibition. What God has not commanded, He has forbidden. Men say, 'Where does the Bible say we CANNOT do this?' God says, 'Where did I say you COULD?' The fire on the altar was God's fire — kindled from heaven (9:24). Any other fire is 'strange' — foreign, unauthorized, man-made. And man-made worship, however sincere, is an abomination. Aaron held his peace. What could he say? God was right. His sons were wrong. And a father's grief does not change God's holiness."
Reflection
- 1. "Which he commanded them not" (v.1). Nadab and Abihu's sin was not doing something God explicitly forbade — it was doing something God had not authorized. In worship, silence is prohibition. Are you approaching God on HIS terms or your own? Is your worship shaped by "what does God say?" or "what do I feel like doing?"
- 2. "Aaron held his peace" (v.3). Sometimes the godliest response to suffering is silence. Not because you have no questions, but because you trust God's character even when you cannot understand His actions. Can you be silent before God when His providence is painful?
- 3. "Do not drink wine nor strong drink... that ye may put difference between holy and unholy" (vv.9-10). Sobriety enables discernment. Intoxication — whether literal or spiritual (distraction, worldliness, entertainment) — blurs the lines between holy and common. What is dulling your spiritual discernment?
- 4. "I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me" (v.3). The closer you are to God, the higher the standard. Privilege brings responsibility. Nadab and Abihu were not outsiders — they were priests, sons of the high priest, men who had seen God on Sinai (Exodus 24:1,9). Greater access means greater accountability.
- 5. Aaron's reasoning (v.19) — even correct ritual can be wrong in wrong circumstances. The letter of the law without the spirit of the law is not obedience. Moses accepted this. God values the heart behind the action, not merely the action itself.