Leviticus 10, Disaster

After the first sacrifices are done for the people, we have an event that displays the dangers of approaching YHWH without sufficient care.

Leviticus 10:1-2, Death of Nadab and Abihu

Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to his command. So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.

Two of Aaron's sons offer "unauthorized fire," violating in some way, the requirements previously described. Harris (p. 566) suggests that instead of lighting their censers from the great altar in the courtyard, they might have taken coals from a more convenient location, to use in the Most Holy Place. This would have been an act of disrespect or disregard for the ceremony. Harris wonders, also, if the actions of these two priests is related to prohibitions against alcohol that appear at verse 8. Morales suggests that Nadab and Abihu attempted to go all the way into the Holy of Holies, and in fact, the sin of the two men might have been a combination of all three: drunk priests, careless with the appropriate use of fire, pushing all the way into the Holy of Holies. Morales's suggestion is fortified by the followup statement in 16:1, that the two men died "when they approached the LORD."

Morales argues that the regulations in chapters 11 through 15 are a reaction to the abuse and disrespect of these two priests. These regulations will emphasize the difference between the sacred and secular, between clean and unclean elements.

Leviticus 10:3-5, Do not mourn

Moses then said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD spoke of when he said: "`Among those who approach me I will show myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.'" 

Aaron remained silent.  

Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Aaron's uncle Uzziel, and said to them, "Come here; carry your cousins outside the camp, away from the front of the sanctuary." So they came and carried them, still in their tunics, outside the camp, as Moses ordered.  

Moses warns Aaron about the importance of the holiness of God and, wisely, Aaron responds in silence. Then two of Aaron's cousins carry the bodies of Aaron's sons outside the camp.

Leviticus 10:6-7, Do not mourn

Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar,  "Do not let your hair become unkempt, and do not tear your clothes, or you will die and the LORD will be angry with the whole community. But your relatives, all the house of Israel, may mourn for those the LORD has destroyed by fire. Do not leave the entrance to the Tent of Meeting or you will die, because the LORD's anointing oil is on you." 

So they  did as Moses said.  

Aaron, the high priest, is not to mourn. High priests do not mourn; others of lower rank may. There are especially rigid requirements for the high priest. (See Leviticus 21:1-12.) Later, Ezekiel will be given similar instructions (Ezekiel 24:15-18) when his wife dies.

Leviticus 10:8-11, No alcohol

Then the LORD said to Aaron, "You and your sons are not to drink wine or other fermented drink whenever you go into the Tent of Meeting, or you will  die. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to  come. You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean, and you must teach the Israelites all the decrees the LORD has given them through Moses."  

Entering the Tent of Meeting while drinking alcohol is prohibited. Harris suggests that part of the problems with Nadab and Abihu, in verse 1, were that they were drunk.

Leviticus 10:12-15, You may eat...

Moses said to Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, "Take the grain offering left over from the offerings made to the LORD by fire and eat it prepared without yeast beside the altar, for it is most holy. Eat it in a holy place, because it is your share and your sons' share of the offerings made to the LORD by fire; for so I have been commanded. But you and your sons and your daughters may eat the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented. Eat them in a ceremonially clean place; they have been given to you and your children as your share of the Israelites' fellowship offerings.  

The thigh that was presented and the breast that was waved must be brought with the fat portions of the offerings made by fire, to be waved before the LORD as a wave offering. This will be the regular share for you and your children, as the LORD has commanded." 

The fellowship offering includes a communal meal. Here the priests, and their families, are allowed to eat the breast and thight of the sacrificed animal.

Leviticus 10:16-20, Anger and grief

When Moses inquired about the goat of the sin offering and found that it had been burned up, he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's remaining sons, and asked, "Why didn't you eat the sin offering in the sanctuary area?  It is most holy; it was given to you to take away the guilt of the community by making atonement for them before the  LORD. Since its blood was not taken into the Holy Place, you should have eaten the goat in the sanctuary area, as I commanded."  

Aaron replied to Moses, "Today they sacrificed their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD, but such things as this have happened to me. Would the LORD have been pleased if I had eaten the sin offering today?"  

When Moses heard this, he was satisfied.  

Moses is upset to hear that Aaron's remaining sons did not east the sin offering, as expected. Aaron replies that they have done what they were required to do, but the two sons did not eat because they were distressed at the death of their brothers. Moses agrees that this is an acceptable reason for not eating.

The importance of priestly purity is made clear by the deaths of Aaron's sons.

First published August 11, 2025; updated August 11, 2025