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Leviticus

About this book
Chapter 10

1 Then 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.⁠ 2 So fire went out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them so that they died before the Lord.⁠ 3 Moses 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. 4 Moses 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.” 5 So they came near and carried them away in their tunics to a place outside the camp just as Moses had spoken. 6 Then 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, 7 but 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. 8 Then 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,⁠ 10 as well as to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean,⁠ 11 and to teach the Israelites all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them through Moses.” 12 Then 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. 13 You 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. 14 Also, 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. 15 The 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.” 16 Later 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. 18 See here! Its blood was not brought into the Holy Place⁠ within! You should certainly have eaten it in the sanctuary just as I commanded!” 19 But 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?” 20 When Moses heard this explanation, he was satisfied.

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The Strange Fire of Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus and Numbers

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Leviticus describes Nadab and Abihu offering “strange fire,” an act presented as unacceptable worship. Numbers retells the episode briefly, again connecting their death to the offering of “strange fire” in the wilderness.

Passages

Leviticus 10:1

Hebrew Bible
1 Then 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. 2 So fire went out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them so that they died before the Lord. 3 Moses 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.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Leviticus

Numbers 26:61

Hebrew Bible
59 Now the name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt. And to Amram she bore Aaron, Moses, and Miriam their sister. 60 And to Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 61 But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered strange fire before the Lord. 62 Those of the Levites who were numbered were 23,000, all males from a month old and upward, for they were not numbered among the Israelites; no inheritance was given to them among the Israelites. 63 These are those who were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the Israelites in the rift valley plains of Moab along the Jordan River opposite Jericho.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Numbers

References

"... Leviticus 10 presents Nadab and Abihu in a cultic setting. Each took his fire-holder and, placing fire in it, laid incense over it. Leviticus 10:1 notes that they offered before Yahweh “alien fire”, which they were not ordered to offer. J. Milgrom lists several explanations for the phrase “alien fire.” First, some suggest that in the accounts of Nadab and Abihu and Korah and his band, the phrase “each his fire-holder” (Leviticus 10:1; Numbers 16:17-18) refers to private pans. Yet the interpretation that Nadab and Abihu were punished because they used private pans rather than utensils of the sanctuary (Leviticus 16:12; Numbers 16:46) should be ruled out since “alien” describes the fire rather than the fire-holder. Another possibility is to take “fire” as designating coals. Instead of being taken from the outer altar (Leviticus 16:12; Numbers 16:46), the “alien [unauthorized] coals” come from a source that is “profane” (Targum Onqelos on Leviticus 16:1), “outside” (Jerusalem Targum) or from an oven (Targum Pseudo-Jonathan) ... In the way it is told, this old story invalidates all incense offerings outside the sanctuary, which, based on the archaeological evidence dating from the First and Second Temple periods, were quite prevalent and persistent in the religious life of Israel. Numbers 3:4 adds three details concerning the tragic fate of Aaron’s sons: they were killed “while offering alien fire” (compare Numbers 26:61); this mysterious episode occurred in the “wilderness of Sinai”; and since Nadab and Abihu had no sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, their brothers, continued their duty as priests under Aaron’s guidance ..."
T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker, Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2003), 583–584.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Leviticus 10:1 and Numbers 26:61

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