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Leviticus
Chapter Ten
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 10
This
chapter begins with the sin and punishment of two sons of Aaron, Nadab and
Abihu, Leviticus 10:1 for
whose death Aaron and his sons are commanded not to mourn, nor to depart from
the tabernacle, Leviticus 10:6 and
an order is given, prohibiting the priests from drinking wine when they went
into it, Leviticus 10:8 the
law of eating holy things, both those that were more, and those that were less
holy, is enjoined, Leviticus 10:12 and
the flesh of the sin offering not being eaten, but burnt, Aaron's sons are
blamed for it, for which he makes an apology to the satisfaction of Moses, Leviticus 10:16.
Leviticus 10:1. Then
Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it,
put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had
not commanded them.
YLT 1And the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, take
each his censer, and put in them fire, and put on it perfume, and bring near
before Jehovah strange fire, which He hath not commanded them;
And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron,.... His two
eldest sons, as seems from Exodus 6:23,
took either of them his censer; a vessel in which coals
of fire were put, and incense upon them, and burnt it, and so it follows:
and put fire therein, and put incense thereon; which, as
Aben Ezra says, was on the eighth day, that is, of their consecration, the day
after their consecration was completely finished, and the same day that Aaron
had offered the offerings for himself and for the people, see Leviticus 9:1,
and offered strange fire before the Lord; upon the
golden altar of incense, which stood in the holy place right against the vail,
within which were the ark, mercy seat, and cherubim, the symbol and seat of the
divine Majesty: this fire was not that which came down from heaven, and
consumed the sacrifice, as related at the end of the preceding chapter Leviticus 9:24, but
common fire, and therefore called strange; it was not taken off of the altar of
burnt offering, as it ought to have been, but, as the Targum of Jonathan, from
under the trivets, skillets, or pots, such as the flesh of peace offerings were
boiled in, in the tabernacle:
which he commanded not; yea, forbid, by sending
fire from heaven, and ordering coals of fire for the incense to be taken off of
the altar of burnt offering; and this, as Aben Ezra observes, they did of their
own mind, and not by order. It does not appear that they had any command to
offer incense at all at present, this belonged to Aaron, and not to them as
yet; but without any instruction and direction they rushed into the holy place
with their censers, and offered incense, even both of them, when only one priest
was to offer at a time, when it was to be offered, and this they also did with
strange fire. This may be an emblem of dissembled love, when a man performs
religious duties, prays to God, or praises him without any cordial affection to
him, or obeys commands not from love, but selfish views; or of an ignorant,
false, and misguided zeal, a zeal not according to knowledge, superstitious and
hypocritical; or of false and strange doctrines, such as are not of God, nor
agree with the voice of Christ, and are foreign to the Scriptures; or of human
ordinances, and the inventions of men, and of everything that man brings of his
own, in order to obtain eternal life and salvation.
Leviticus 10:2.
2 So fire went out from the Lord and devoured
them, and they died before the Lord.
YLT 2and fire goeth out from before Jehovah, and
consumeth them, and they die before Jehovah.
And there went out fire from the Lord,.... They
sinned by fire, and they were punished by fire, either from heaven, or from the
most holy place, where the Lord dwelt between the cherubim; this was of the
nature of lightning, as appears by what follows:
and devoured them; not reduced them to ashes, for neither
their bodies nor their clothes were burnt with this fire, as is clear from Leviticus 10:4 but
their lives were destroyed, they were lifeless, their souls were separated from
their bodies by it, and they died; which is often the case by the lightning,
that the clothes of those who are killed with it are untouched, and scarce any
marks of violence on their bodies; and so the Targum of Jonathan says of these,
their bodies were not burnt:
and they died before the Lord; upon the spot where they
were offering incense, in the holy place, over against the most holy place.
This was very awful, like the case of Ananias and Sapphira, and may seem
severe: it was for the terror of others in the priesthood, or who should come
after, to take care that they performed their office according to the divine
precepts, and brought in no innovation into their service. And when it is
considered that these were the sons of the high priest, newly invested with an
high and honourable office, and just had the laws of the priesthood delivered
unto them, and yet deviated from them as soon as in their office, and very
probably, from what follows, went drunk into their service, their sin will
appear aggravated, and the punishment less severe. This shows there is nothing
in carnal descent, these were the sons of Aaron the high priest, that acted
this part, and came to this end; the proneness of men to transgress the laws of
God as soon as given them; thus the people of Israel fell into idolatry as soon
as the moral law was given; and here the priests, as soon as the ceremonial
laws, relating to the priesthood, were delivered to them; and also that the law
made sinful men priests, and that the Levitical priesthood was imperfect; and
that no order of men are free from sin, or exempt from punishment: and the
whole of the divine conduct in this affair may lead us to observe how jealous
God is in matters of worship; how much he dislikes hypocrites, and formal
professors; how severe he will be against such who bring in strange doctrines;
what will be the fate of the contemners of Gospel doctrines and ordinances; and
how much he resents those who trust in themselves, and their works, and bring
in anything of their own in the business of salvation, which is strange fire,
sparks of their own kindling, a burning incense to their own drag, and
sacrificing to their own net.
Leviticus 10:3.
3 And Moses said to Aaron,
“This is what the Lord
spoke, saying:
‘By those who come near Me I must be regarded
as holy; And before all the people
I must be glorified.’” So Aaron held his peace.
YLT 3And Moses saith unto Aaron, `It [is] that
which Jehovah hath spoken, saying, By those drawing near to Me I am sanctified,
and in the face of all the people I am honoured;' and Aaron is silent.
And Moses said unto Aaron,.... Upon this awful
occasion, and in order to quiet and humble him under the mighty hand of God:
this is it that the Lord spoke, saying; but when he
spoke it, and where it is said and recorded, is not so very clear; it might
have been said, and yet not recorded, or the substance of it may be recorded,
though not in the express words here delivered; it may refer, as some think, to
Exodus 19:22 or
else to Exodus 29:43 which
seems to come nearest to what follows, so Jarchi:
I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me; in the
priests that drew nigh to him, and offered sacrifice and burnt incense to him;
by these he expected to be sanctified, not to be made holy, but to be declared
to be so, and obeyed and worshipped as such; as he is, when his commands and
ordinances are observed, as he would have them be, in faith and fear, which
were not done by these sons of Aaron; and therefore the Lord, by the punishment
he inflicted, showed himself to be an holy, righteous, and jealous God:
and before all the people I will be glorified; as he is when
he is believed and trusted in; when his worship is carried on in his own house,
according to his will; when his ordinances are kept as they were delivered, and
when he is reverenced in the assembly of his saints; all which were wanting in
this case. And this may also have respect to the glory of divine justice, in
the public punishment of the sin of those men, that since he was not glorified
by them before the people in the way of their duty, he would glorify himself in
their punishment:
and Aaron held his peace: was in a stupor, as the
Septuagint, quite amazed, thunderstruck, as we say; he was silent, said not one
word against what was done; murmured not at the providence, nor complained of
any severity, but was patient under the hand of God, and resigned to his will;
and since God was sanctified and glorified, he was contented.
Leviticus 10:4. 4 Then
Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and
said to them, “Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of
the camp.”
YLT 4And Moses calleth unto Mishael and unto
Elzaphan, sons of Uzziel, uncle of Aaron, and saith unto them, `Come near, bear
your brethren from the front of the sanctuary unto the outside of the camp;'
And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel, the
uncle of Aaron,.... Uzziel was a son of Kohath, a brother of Amram, the father
of Aaron, and so Aaron's uncle, as here; he had four sons, two of which are
here mentioned as called by Moses; these were first cousins to Aaron, and
second to his sons; see Exodus 6:18,
and said unto them, come near; it is very probable they
were in the court of the tabernacle, being Kohathites, of the tribe of Levi;
but not being priests, had no right to go into the holy place, where the two
sons of Aaron lay dead, without a special order for it, which they here had for
this time, and upon this occasion:
carry your brethren from before the sanctuary, out of the camp; the sons of
Aaron are called their brethren, though but cousins, it being usual to call any
relations brethren, and even if only of the same tribe, yea, of the same
nation. Now these were ordered to take the dead bodies of Aaron's sons out of
the holy place, and out of the tabernacle, even from before it, which, as Aben
Ezra says, was the court over against the camp; and they were to carry them out
of the camp into some field, or place adjacent, and there bury them; it not
being usual in those times to bury in cities and towns, and much less in places
devoted to sacred worship, as the tabernacle was; and therefore they were
carried from both the sanctuary and the camp: it is an observation of Aben
Ezra, that"some say the incense was before the altar of burnt offering,
and the Levites entered there;'but if by incense is meant the altar of incense,
the place where these sons of Aaron offered theirs, that was in the holy place,
and not in the court, where stood the altar of burnt offering: but they seem to
mean as if their incense was offered in another place, and not on the altar,
somewhere in the court, and before you come to the altar of burnt offering; and
so the persons Moses called could come in thither, and take up their bodies
there fallen: but the same writer observes, that others say, that"it was
upon the altar of incense (i.e. that their incense was offered), and Moses
brought them out of the tabernacle of the congregation,'and then called these
men to carry them from thence without the camp.
Leviticus 10:5. 5 So
they went near and carried them by their tunics out of the camp, as Moses had
said.
YLT 5and they come near, and bear them in their
coats unto the outside of the camp, as Moses hath spoken.
So they went near,.... To the place where the bodies lay,
having an order from Moses so to do, let them have been where they will:
and carried them in their coats out of the camp, as Moses had said; or bid them
do; they took them up in their clothes as they found them, and carried them in
them; not that these men carried them in their own coats, but in the coats of
the dead, as Jarchi expresses it; and had them without the camp, and there
buried them, probably in their coats in which they had sinned, and in which
they died: the Targum of Jonathan says, they carried them on iron hooks in
their coats, and buried them without the camp.
Leviticus 10:6. 6 And
Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons, “Do not uncover your
heads nor tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the people.
But let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord has kindled.
YLT 6And Moses saith unto Aaron, and to Eleazar,
and to Ithamar his sons, `Your heads ye do not uncover, and your garments ye do
not rend, that ye die not, and on all the company He be wroth; as to your
brethren, the whole house of Israel, they bewail the burning which Jehovah hath
kindled;
And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar, and unto Ithamar, his
sons,.... His two younger sons, which yet remained; and so the
Septuagint version adds, as in Leviticus 10:12.
uncover not your heads; that is, do not take off
your mitre, as the Septuagint version; or the bonnets which they wore in the
time of their ministry; for the Jewish priests always had their mitres and
bonnets on when they sacrificed; in imitation of which, the Heathens had their
heads covered when they offered their sacrificesF11"Purpureo
velare comas", &c. Virgil. Aeneid. l. 3. Vid. Kipping. Rom. Antiqu. l.
1. c. 12. sect. 17. p. 495. : now it was the way, or custom of a mourner, as
Ben Melech observes, to remove his mitre, bonnet, or tiara, from his head; but
in this case, that no sign of mourning might be shown, Aaron and his sons are
forbid to uncover the head: the Targum of Onkelos is,"do not increase the
hair,'or nourish it, or suffer it to grow, as Jarchi and Ben Gersom interpret
it: now in times of distress and mourning they used to let the hair grow,
whether on the head or beard, see 2 Samuel 19:24 and
in this the Jews were imitated by the Egyptians, contrary to other nations; the
priests of the gods in other places, says HerodotusF12Euterpe sive,
l. 2. c. 36. , took care of their hair (or wore their hair), in Egypt they are
shaved; with others the custom is, for the head immediately to be shaved at
funerals; but the Egyptians, at death, suffer their hair to grow in the parts
before shaved; but this custom with the Jews, though at other times used, is
here forbid Aaron and his sons:
neither rend your clothes, which was sometimes done
at the report of the death of near relations, as children, in token of
mourning, Genesis 37:34 but
here it is forbid, that there might be no sign of it: it is a particular word
that is here used: Ben Melech says, there is a difference between rending and
tearing; tearing is in the body of a garment where there is no seam, but
rending (which is what is here meant) where there is a seam: the priests
rending their garments was after this manner, according to the Jewish canonsF13Misn.
Horayot, c. 3. sect. 5. ,"an high priest rends below and a common priest
above;'that is, as one of their commentatorsF14Bartenora in ib.
interprets it, the former rends the extreme part of his garment next the feet,
and the latter at the breast near the shoulder; but in this case no rent at all
was to be made:
lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people; so very
provoking to God would be any signs of mourning in Aaron and his sons, on this
account:
but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the
burning which the Lord hath kindled: though Aaron and his
sons might not mourn on this occasion, the whole body of the people might,
though not bewail so much the death of the persons, as the cause of it; and be
concerned for the awful judgment of God, and for the wrath that was sone forth,
lest it should proceed and destroy others also, all being sinners.
Leviticus 10:7. 7 You
shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die, for
the anointing oil of the Lord
is upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses.
YLT 7and from the opening of the tent of meeting
ye do not go out, lest ye die, for the anointing oil of Jehovah [is] upon you;'
and they do according to the word of Moses.
And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the
congregation, lest ye die,.... That is, they were not to relinquish
the service of the sanctuary, on the account of the death of these relations of
theirs, and through grief for it, but go on in it; not Aaron on account of his
children, nor his sons on account of their brethren: from hence, says Ben
Gersom, we learn, that whatsoever priest leaves his service, and goes out of
the sanctuary, is guilty of death: some think the seven days of consecration
were not quite over, during which time Aaron and his sons were obliged to
continue there, on pain of death, Leviticus 8:33 but
it is pretty plain those days were over, and that it was the day after the
consecration was finished; see Leviticus 9:1 and
See Gill on Leviticus 10:2
wherefore this respects their continuance in the tabernacle on the day the
above affair happened, and they were obliged to continue in and go through the
service of the day, notwithstanding that:
for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you; a learned manF15Clayton's
Chronology of the Hebrew Bible, p. 353. infers from hence, that this affair
happened within the days of consecration, they being every day afresh anointed
with oil, at least had it, with the blood of the sacrifices, sprinkled on them,
on their garments, taking it in the strict sense, for the oil being still upon
them; whereas it seems only to signify, that inasmuch as they were consecrated
with oil to the priest's office, they were under obligation to continue and
perform their service without being let or hindered by what had happened:
and they did according to the word of Moses; they showed
no tokens of mourning on account of the dead, and did not offer to go out of
the tabernacle and leave their service.
Leviticus 10:8. 8 Then
the Lord
spoke to Aaron, saying:
YLT 8And Jehovah speaketh unto Aaron, saying,
And the Lord spake unto Aaron,.... Because he was a
prophet, Aben Ezra says; but the reason rather seems to be, because be was the
high priest, and now invested with his office, and in the execution of it, and
therefore the following law respecting the priest's drinking of wine was given:
some say, as the same writer observes, that God spake to him by Moses; but it
rather seems that he spoke to Aaron immediately: according to Jarchi, this
order was delivered to him as a reward for his silence, and to do honour to him
on that account: saying; as follows.
Leviticus 10:9. 9 “Do
not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go
into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute
forever throughout your generations,
YLT 9`Wine and strong drink thou dost not drink,
thou, and thy sons with thee, in your going in unto the tent of meeting, and ye
die not -- a statute age-during to your generations;
Do not drink wine or strong drink,.... This law following
upon the affair of Nadab and Abihu has caused some to think, and not without
some reason, that they were drunk with wine or strong drink, when they offered
strange fire; and indeed it is hardly to be accounted for upon any other foot
that they should do it; but having feasted that day upon the peace offerings,
and drank freely, it being the first day of their entrance on their office,
they were, it may be supposed, elated and merry, and drank more than they
should; wherefore this law was given, to restrain from such a disorderly and
scandalous practice; not only wine, which is inebriating, but strong drink also
is forbidden, which, as Aben Ezra says, is made either of a sort of wheat, or
honey, or dates: and so KimchiF16Sepher Shorashim, Rad. שכר. and Ben Melech on the place after him observe, that
this includes whatsoever inebriates, besides wine; and that their doctors say,
whosoever drinks milk or honey (they must mean some strong liquor extracted
from thence), if he enters into the tabernacle he is guilty:
thou nor thy sons with thee; the Targum of Jonathan
adds, as did thy sons, who died by the burning of fire; that is, he and his
sons were to avoid drinking wine or strong drink to excess, as his two sons had
done, which led them to offer strange fire, for which they suffered death:
when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die; they might
drink wine at other times, in a moderate manner; but it seems by this they were
not to drink any at all when they were about to go to service, or to enter into
the tabernacle in order to do it: indeed, according to the Jewish canons, every
priest that is fit for service, if he drinks wine, it is forbidden him to enter
in (to the tabernacle, and so) from the altar (of burnt offering) and inward
(into the holy place); and if he goes in and does his service it is profane
(unlawful and rejected), and he is guilty of death by the hand of heaven; and
he that drinks the fourth part (of a log) of wine at one time, of wine forty
days old; but if he drinks less than a fourth part of wine, or drinks a fourth
part and stops between, and mixes it with water, or drinks wine out of the
press within forty days (i.e. not quite so many days old), though more than a
fourth part, he is free, and does not profane his service; if he drinks more
than a fourth part of wine, though it is mixed, and though he stops and drinks
little by little, he is guilty of death, and his service is profane (or
rejected); if he is drunk with the rest of liquors that make drunk, he is
forbidden to go into the sanctuary; but if he goes in and serves, and he is
drunk with the rest of liquors that make drunk, whether of milk or of figs (a
strong liquor made of them), he is to be beaten, but his service is right; for
they are not guilty of death but on account of wine in the hour of service; and
it does not profane service, but being drunken with wineF17Maimon.
Hilchot Biath Hamikdash, c. 1. sect. 1. 2. : in imitation of this, Heathen
priests were forbid wine, and abstained from it, particularly the Egyptian
priests; at whom it is saidF18Chaeremon apud Porphyr. de
Abstinentia, l. 4. c. 6. , some of them never drink any wine, and others taste
but a little of it, because it is said to harm the nerves, to fill the head, or
make it heavy, to hinder invention and excite to lust:
it shall be a statute for
ever throughout all your generations: even to the coming of
the Messiah; and now under the Gospel dispensation, though wine in moderation
is allowed Gospel ministers, yet they are not to be given to it; it is a shame
to any Christian man to be drunk with wine, and more especially a minister, and
still more so when in his service; see Ezekiel 44:21.
Leviticus 10:10. 10 that
you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean,
YLT 10so as to make a separation between the holy
and the common, and between the unclean and the pure;
And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy,.... That
being sober they might be able to distinguish between the one and the other;
which a drunken man, having his mind and senses disturbed, is not capable of;
as between holy and unholy persons, and between holy and unholy things;
particularly, as Aben Ezra interprets it, between a sacred place and one that
is common, and between a holy day and a common week day; the knowledge and
memory of which may be lost through intemperance; and so that may be done in a
place and on a day which ought not to be done, or that omitted on a day and in
a place which ought to be done:
and between unclean and clean; between unclean men and
women, beasts and fowls, and clean ones; and between unclean things in a
ceremonial sense, and those that are clean, which a man in liquor may be no
judge of: hence, as the above writer observes, after this section follow laws
concerning fowls clean and unclean, the purification of a woman after
childbirth, the leprosy in men, garments and houses, and concerning profluvious
and menstruous persons; all which the priests were to be judges of, and
therefore ought to be sober.
Leviticus 10:11. 11 and that you may teach the
children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to
them by the hand of Moses.”
YLT 11and to teach the sons of Israel all the
statutes which Jehovah hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.'
And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes,.... Laws,
precepts, ordinances, moral, ceremonial, and judicial, which was the business
of the priests to do, Malachi 2:7 but one
inebriated with liquor would be incapable of giving instructions about any of
those things:
which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses: particularly
those delivered and recorded in Exodus 20:1 and as
not the priests, so neither any other Israelite might instructF19Maimon.
Hilchot Biath Hamikdash, c. 1. sect. 3. , nor indeed would be capable of
instructing others when in liquor; and therefore excessive drinking, as it
should be carefully avoided by all men, so more especially by those who by
their office are teachers of others; see Proverbs 31:4.
Leviticus 10:12. 12 And
Moses spoke to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons who were left: “Take
the grain offering that remains of the offerings made by fire to the Lord, and eat it
without leaven beside the altar; for it is most holy.
YLT 12And Moses speaketh unto Aaron, and unto
Eleazar, and unto Ithamar his sons, who are left, `Take ye the present that is
left from the fire-offerings of Jehovah, and eat it unleavened near the altar,
for it [is] most holy,
And Moses spake unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar, and unto Ithamar, his
sons that were left,.... Of the burning, as the Targum of Jonathan; who survived his
other two sons that were burnt, who remained alive, not being concerned with
them in their sin, and so shared not in their punishment:
take the meat offering that remaineth of the offerings of the Lord
made by fire; for all but the handful that was burnt of that kind of offerings
belonged to the priests, see Leviticus 6:14 this
meat offering, according to Jarchi, was the meat offering of the eighth day,
that is, of the consecration, or the day after it was finished, on which the
above awful case happened, Leviticus 9:17 and
also the meat offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah,
who offered his offering first at the dedication of the altar, on the day the
tabernacle was set up, which he supposes was on this day, see Numbers 7:1, now
these meat offerings were not as yet eaten, and which may be true of the first
of them, wherefore Aaron and his sons, notwithstanding their mourning, are bid
to take it:
and eat it without leaven beside the altar: the altar of
burnt offering in the court of the tabernacle, as directed See Gill on Leviticus 6:16,
for it is most holy: and so might be eaten by
none but holy persons, such as were devoted to sacred services, and only in the
holy place, as follows; within hangings, where the most holy things were eaten,
as Jarchi, that is, within the court of the tabernacle, which was made of
hangings.
Leviticus 10:13. 13 You
shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your due and your sons’ due,
of the sacrifices made by fire to the Lord; for so I have been
commanded.
YLT 13and ye have eaten it in the holy place, for
it [is] thy portion, and the portion of thy sons, from the fire-offerings of
Jehovah; for so I have been commanded.
And ye shall eat it in the holy place,.... Not in
that which was properly so called, but in the court of the tabernacle; at the
door of the tabernacle of the congregation, as Aben Ezra, in some apartment
there; for it was not to be carried out of the sanctuary, and eaten in their
own houses or tents, as others might, after mentioned:
because it is thy due, and thy sons' due, of the offerings
of the Lord made by fire; and not any others; neither his wife nor his daughters, nor any
other related to him, or whom he might invite, as in other cases, might eat of
it; this none but he and his sons might eat of, and nowhere else but in the
sanctuary:
for so I am commanded; to make known and
declare this as the will of God.
Leviticus 10:14. 14 The
breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering you shall eat
in a clean place, you, your sons, and your daughters with you; for they are
your due and your sons’ due, which are given from the sacrifices of
peace offerings of the children of Israel.
YLT 14`And the breast of the wave-offering, and the
leg of the heave-offering, ye do eat in a clean place, thou, and thy sons, and
thy daughters with thee; for thy portion and the portion of thy sons they have
been given, out of the sacrifices of peace-offerings of the sons of Israel;
And the wave breast and heave shoulder shall ye eat in a clean
place,.... The breast of the peace offerings that was waved, and the
shoulder of them that was heaved before the Lord; these were given by him to
the priests, towards the maintenance of their families, Leviticus 7:34 and
they might be eaten anywhere, provided the place was clean from all ceremonial
pollution, and in which there were no polluted persons, as leprous ones; they
were to be eaten within the camp, as Jarchi observes, where lepers came not:
for, as he adds, the light holy things, such as these were, might be eaten in
every city; and so it it is said in the MisnahF20Zebachim: c. 5.
sect. 6. & Bartenora in ib. , and by the commentators on it:
thou and thy sons, and thy daughters with thee; these were
not restrained to him and his sons only, as the meat offerings, and the flesh
of the sin offerings were, but were common to the whole family:
for they be thy due, and thy sons' due; for their
service of the sanctuary, and by the appointment and direction of the Lord:
which are given out
of the sacrifices of peace offerings of the children of Israel: of which see Leviticus 7:1 these
are said to be "given out" of them, for the whole was not given, only
the breast and shoulder; and after the fat was burnt, the rest belonged to the
owners, with which they kept a feast of joy and thankfulness.
Leviticus 10:15. 15 The
thigh of the heave offering and the breast of the wave offering they shall
bring with the offerings of fat made by fire, to offer as a wave
offering before the Lord.
And it shall be yours and your sons’ with you, by a statute forever, as the Lord has
commanded.”
YLT 15the leg of the heave-offering, and breast of
the wave-offering, besides fire-offerings of the fat, they do bring in to wave
a wave-offering before Jehovah, and it hath been to thee, and to thy sons with
thee, by a statute age-during, as Jehovah hath commanded.'
The heave shoulder and wave breast shall they bring,.... Not the
priests, but the owners to the priests, Leviticus 7:29,
with the offerings made by fire of the fat: upon the
inwards, kidneys, and caul of the liver, which was all burnt:
to wave it for a wave offering before the Lord, the shoulder
was lifted up, and the breast waved to and fro before the Lord of the whole
earth, and towards the several parts of it, to show and own his right to all
they had, and then they were given to the priests as a token of it:
and it shall be thine, and thy sons with thee; both the
shoulder and the breast:
by a statute for ever, to be observed as long
as the ceremonial law and Levitical priesthood lasted, even to the end of the
Jewish age and economy, and the coming of the Messiah:
as the Lord hath commanded; Leviticus 7:33.
Leviticus 10:16. 16 Then
Moses made careful inquiry about the goat of the sin offering, and there it
was—burned up. And he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron who
were left, saying,
YLT 16And the goat of the sin-offering hath Moses
diligently sought, and lo, it is burnt, and he is wroth against Eleazar, and
against Ithamar, sons of Aaron, who are left, saying,
And Moses diligently sought the goat of the sin offering,.... The
Targum of Jonathan says,"three goats were offered on that day, the goat of
the new moon, of the sin offering for the people, and of the sin offering,
which Nahshon the son of Amminadab offered at the dedication of the altar;
Aaron and his sons, it adds, went and burnt these three, Moses came and sought,
&c.'Jarchi also speaks of three goats offered, but says that only one was
burnt, the goat of the new moon; and so Ben Gersom, who gives this reason for
the diligent search after it, because it was always to be offered up, and was
not a temporary affair, as the others were: but it rather seems to be the goat
of the sin offering for the people, for it is not certain that the other goats
were offered on this day, but this was, see Leviticus 9:15 now
according to the law, the flesh of this goat was not to be burnt, but to be
eaten by the priests in the holy place, see Leviticus 6:25.
Moses now suspecting that Aaron and his sons, through their grief for the death
of Nadab and Abihu, had neglected the eating of it, sought diligently after it,
and so it proved:
and, behold, it was burnt: as they had no appetite
to it themselves, they burnt it, that it might not be eaten by any others, for
none but they might eat it, and that it might not corrupt:
and he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron, which
were left alive; when their two elder brothers were killed with lightning for
doing what was not commanded, which should have made them more observant of the
laws of God, to do that which was commanded them: and though they were spared,
and survived their brethren, yet they transgressed, in burning the sin offering
of the people, when they should have eaten it. Jarchi observes, that he
expressed his anger not to Aaron, but to his sons, which he did for the honour
of Aaron, laying the blame not on him, who was overwhelmed with grief, but on
his sons:
saying; as follows.
Leviticus 10:17. 17 “Why
have you not eaten the sin offering in a holy place, since it is most
holy, and God has given it to you to bear the guilt of the congregation,
to make atonement for them before the Lord?
YLT 17`Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin-offering
in the holy place, for it [is] most holy -- and it He hath given to you to take
away the iniquity of the company, to make atonement for them before Jehovah?
Wherefore have ye not eaten of the sin offering in the holy
place, seeing it is most holy,.... The sin offering was
one of the most holy things, and therefore to be eaten only in the sanctuary;
though this was not the fault they are here charged with that they had eat it,
but not in the holy place; for they had not eaten it at all, but burnt it, as
appears from the preceding verse; this is what they are blamed for
particularly, though they are reminded of the whole law concerning it, that it
was to he eaten by them, that it was to be eaten in the holy place, the reason
of which is given; but they had not eaten it any where:
and God hath given it to you, to bear the iniquity of the
congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord? for by eating
the sin offering, or sin itself, as it is in the original text, see Hosea 4:8 they made
the sins of the people, for whom the offering was, in some sense their own; and
they bore them, and made a typical atonement for them; in which they were types
of Christ, who was made sin for his people, took their sins upon him, and by
imputation they were made his own, and he bore them in his own body on the
tree, and made full satisfaction and atonement for them. Now since the eating
of the sin offering of the people was of so great importance and consequence,
the neglect of it by the priests was very blameworthy.
Leviticus 10:18. 18 See!
Its blood was not brought inside the holy place;[a] indeed you
should have eaten it in a holy place, as I commanded.”
YLT 18lo, its blood hath not been brought in unto
the holy place within; eating ye do eat it in the holy place, as I have
commanded.'
Behold, the blood of it was not brought in within the holy place,.... When that
was the case, indeed, the flesh of the sin offering was not to be eaten, but
burnt, see Leviticus 6:30 but
this was not the case now, and therefore its flesh should have been eaten, and
not burnt:
ye should indeed have eaten it in the holy place, as I
commanded, Leviticus 6:26.
Leviticus 10:19. 19 And
Aaron said to Moses, “Look, this day they have offered their sin offering and
their burnt offering before the Lord, and such things have
befallen me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have been
accepted in the sight of the Lord?”
YLT 19And Aaron speaketh unto Moses, `Lo, to-day they
have brought near their sin-offering and their burnt-offering before Jehovah;
and [things] like these meet me, yet I have eaten a sin-offering to-day; is it
good in the eyes of Jehovah?'
And Aaron said unto Moses,.... For what Moses had
said was said in his presence, though not addressed to him directly, but to his
sons; and he was sensible that he was pointed at, and that if there was any
blame in this affair, it lay as much or more on him than on his sons; and
therefore he takes it upon him to give an answer, and to excuse the fact as
well as he could:
behold, this day they have offered their sin offering and
their burnt offering before the Lord; that is, the people of
Israel had brought a kid of the goats for a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb
for burnt offering, and he and his sons assisting him, had offered them for
them, even on the very day his two eldest sons were removed by death in an
awful manner:
and such things have befallen me; at this very time, soon
after the above sacrifices were offered, happened the death of his two sons,
which occasioned great anguish and distress, grief and sorrow, so that he could
not eat of the sin offering; he had no appetite for it, and if he had, he
thought in his present circumstances it would not have been right, as follows:
and if I had eaten the sin offering today, should it
have been accepted in the sight of the Lord? he being a mourner. The
Jews sayF21Misn. Horayot, c. 3. sect. 5. Maimon. & Bartenora in
ib. , an high priest may offer, being a mourner, but not eat; a common priest
may neither offer nor eat; and which they illustrate by this passage, that
Aaron offered and did not eat, but his sons did neither.
Leviticus 10:20. 20 So
when Moses heard that, he was content.
YLT 20And Moses hearkeneth, and it is good in his
eyes.
And when Moses heard that, he was content. He said no
more, he did not proceed in blaming him and his sons, but was satisfied with the
answer returned; he considered the grief and trouble of mind that attended
Aaron, which might not only cause him to disregard food, but even to forget
what was commanded to be done in this case; and besides he might observe, that
there was some difficulty attending it; in some cases the flesh of the sin
offering was to be eaten, and not burnt; in others, to be burnt, and not eaten;
and this being the first time of offering one, the mistake might be the more
easily made; and fearing one might be made, and especially when Aaron was in
such circumstances, might be the reason Moses so diligently sought after the
goat of the sin offering: moreover, what Aaron had done appeared to be not out
of any wilful neglect of the command of God, but with a good design, as judging
it would be unacceptable to him, should he have eaten of it in his
circumstances. Moses upon the whole thought him excusable, at least insisted no
more upon the blame. The Jewish writers make the mistake to lie on the side of
Moses and not Aaron; and which the former acknowledged, according to the
Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem: see Deuteronomy 26:12.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)