Go to Related Reading
About this book

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 10:2 and Leviticus Rabbah 12:2

Hebrew Bible · Rabbinic

Share:

Summary

Rabbinic tradition in Leviticus Rabbah explains the death of Nadab and Abihu not as punishment but as a sign of their closeness to God. Other Jewish writers, such as Philo, see their offering based on devotion, with their deaths showing divine approval.

Passages

Leviticus 10:2

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

Leviticus Rabbah 12:2

Rabbinic · Aggadah
Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: This statement was said to Moses at Sinai, but its [meaning] was not known to him until he encountered the incident. Moses said to Aaron: ‘My brother, it was stated to me at Sinai that I [God] am destined to sanctify this House, and it is with a great man that I will sanctify it. I believed that perhaps it was through [the death of] either you or me that this House would be sanctified. Now, [it is clear that] your two sons are greater than me and you.’ When Aaron heard that his sons were God-fearing, he was silent, and he was rewarded for his silence. From where is it derived that he was silent? “Aaron was silent” (Leviticus 10:3). From where is it derived that he was rewarded for his silence? It is because he was privileged and the divine speech was directed to him alone, as it is stated: “The Lord spoke to Aaron.”
500 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Leviticus Rabbah

References

"... According to one version Moses says that Nadab and Abihu have greater merit than either he or Aaron, since they were chosen to consecrate the Tabernacle by their death. According to the other version Moses declares that Nadab and Abihu died for the sanctification of God's name, thus giving Aaron to understand his sons' proximity to God. Sifra also attributes two noble motives to Nadab and Abihu: 1) They concluded that fire was necessary because the divine presence, had been withheld from Israel. God said to them: 'I shall honor you more than you have honored Me; you brought Me impure fire, but I will burn you with pure fire' 2) Upon beholding the fire of divine approval immediately preceding their action (Leviticus 9:23—24), they joyfully arose 'to add love to love,' Other traditions attested in PRK and Leviticus Rabbah insist that Nadab and Abihu were guilty of only one (unspecified) sin, to which Scripture consistently alludes; consequently no one may presume any other transgression on their part. Despite gazing too boldly at the divine presence, they nonetheless derived spiritual nourishment from it. Their death was as grievous to God as it was to their father Aaron. Finally, they are considered to have suffered the death of the righteous ..."
Robert Kirschner, “The Rabbinic and Philonic Exegeses of the Nadab and Abihu Incident (Lev. 10:1-6),” JQR 73.4 (1983): 375–393.

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

Your feedback

Leviticus 10:2 and Leviticus Rabbah 12:2

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library