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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 10:9 and Ezekiel 44:21

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Leviticus forbids priests from drinking wine when entering the sanctuary, a rule repeated in Ezekiel’s vision of the temple. Both texts stress that alcohol compromises the ability to distinguish between holy and common or clean and unclean.

Passages

Leviticus 10:9

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

Ezekiel 44:21

Hebrew Bible
19 When they go out to the outer court to the people, they must remove the garments they were ministering in and place them in the holy chambers; they must put on other garments so that they will not transmit holiness to the people with their garments. 20 “‘They must not shave their heads nor let their hair grow long; they must only trim their heads. 21 No priest may drink wine when he enters the inner court. 22 They must not marry a widow or a divorcee, but they may marry a virgin from the house of Israel or a widow who is a priest’s widow. 23 Moreover, they will teach my people the difference between the holy and the common and show them how to distinguish between the ceremonially unclean and the clean.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Ezekiel

References

"... The prohibition against drinking wine for priests on duty is echoed in Ezekiel 44:21. Nazirites are also commanded to abstain from alcoholic beverages (Numbers 6:2–4); even mothers bearing a child designated as a future Nazirite are to observe the restriction (Judges 13:4–5). The beverage should, however, not be considered an unclean substance; drink-offerings to be poured out in the sanctuary are commanded by Numbers 28:7–8. More likely, it is the effect of the substance upon the individual’s state that is repulsive in the holy precinct (Isaiah 28:7–13; Hosea 4:11). Here and throughout the analysis of the passage, the term ‘illicit mixtures’ goes beyond the dichotomous categories of clean and unclean, and profane and holy in Israel’s cultic terminology; deeds deemed morally repulsive to God also are under consideration. This extension is in keeping with the tenor of Leviticus 17–27 which extends the notion of holiness into the ethical realm. For example, Leviticus 19 combines ethical and cultic issues in its exhortation to Israel to be holy (19:2). Although cultic boundaries pertaining to notions of impurity dominate Leviticus 10:1–20, human shortcomings with or without connection to the maintenance of those boundaries are not far from the concern of the passage ..."
Bernon P. Lee, Between Law and Narrative: The Method and Function of Abstraction (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias, 2010), 136.

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 10:9 and Ezekiel 44:21

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