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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.

Texts in conversation

Compare Leviticus 10:10 and Haggai 2:12

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Haggai shows the priests following Leviticus by separating what is holy or ordinary and what is clean or unclean. In Leviticus this is connected with teaching, and Haggai reflects both roles by placing priestly instruction at the heart of his message.

Passages

Leviticus 10:10

Hebrew Bible
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.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Leviticus

Haggai 2:12

Hebrew Bible
10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month of Darius’ second year, the Lord’s message came to the prophet Haggai: 11 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has said, ‘Ask the priests about the law. 12 If someone carries holy meat in a fold of his garment and that fold touches bread, a boiled dish, wine, olive oil, or any other food, will that item become holy?’” The priests answered, “It will not.” 13 Then Haggai asked, “If a person who is ritually unclean because of touching a dead body comes in contact with one of these items, will it become unclean?” The priests answered, “It will be unclean.” 14 Then Haggai responded, “‘The people of this nation are unclean in my sight,’ decrees the Lord. ‘And so is all their effort; everything they offer is also unclean.
500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Haggai

References

"... Haggai’s audience must appreciate the logic of the priestly answers in order for the prophetic message to have its intended impact. In other words, Haggai’s use of a priestly ruling based on cases found in Leviticus and Numbers presupposes an awareness on the part of his audience of the existence of those texts and their validity for the community, if not a familiarity with the actual content of those texts. Pentateuchal law was obviously a factor in the community life of the early restoration period with respect to priestly responsibilities. The passage in Leviticus (10:10-20) describing priestly functions is particularly instructive in this regard. It relates two facets of priestly responsibility, matters of holiness and of communication: the priests are enjoined “to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the impure and the pure” and “to teach the children of Israel all the statutes which Yahweh spoke to them through Moses” (verse 11). The two commands should not be separated from each other. If the first command has a somewhat restricted cultic dimension, it is nonetheless part of a broader function of the priesthood. Yet even that command implies wide responsibilities, for matters of holiness and purity are not to be construed as strictly cultic or ritual concepts (see below). The Leviticus text appears to have direct relevance to this passage in Haggai. In verse 10, where a chiasm links the nouns, “holy” and “pure” are related and “common,” or “profane,” and “impure” are equated. This relationship will help us in our discussion of the content of Haggai’s priestly example ..."
Carol L. Meyers and Eric M. Meyers, Haggai, Zechariah 1-8: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1987), 77–78.

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 10:10 and Haggai 2:12

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