Aaron's Sons

(Leviticus 10:1 - 10:20)
Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, started a fire in their censers, sprinkled incense into them, and burned it -- but with a fire from an unconsecrated source, contrary what was commanded by Jehovah.  Consequently, a flame roared up from the Incense Altar and set them afire so that they perished in front of the Inner Sanctum.

Moses told Aaron, "This is what Jehovah meant when he said, 'Those who minister to me will respect my divinity; before the entire people I will be honored.’”

Aaron had nothing to say in response.

Moses summoned Aaron's cousins, Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of his uncle Uzziel, and told them, "Come here and carry the bodies of your cousins out of the Sanctum to a place outside of camp."  They picked them up by their linen clothes and conveyed them outside the camp, as Moses had ordered.

Moses commanded Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, "Do not let your hair become disheveled or rend your garments in mourning, or else you will be put to death and Jehovah will vent his anger upon the entire community.  Your relatives, indeed all the Israelites will, however, be permitted to mourn for those Jehovah destroyed in the fire.  But you are forbidden to leave the confines of the Tabernacle on pain of death, for you have been anointed by the oil of Jehovah."  They did as Moses had bid them.

Jehovah warned Aaron, "You and your successors must never drink wine or any alcoholic beverage before entering the Tabernacle.  If you do so, you will suffer death.  This will be a permanent rule that must be observed through the generations.  It is necessary so that you are able to recognize what is sacred and what is common, what is ritually pure and what is ritually impure, and so you can teach the Israelite people all the decrees that I have given them through Moses."

Moses told Aaron and his surviving sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, "Take what remains of the grain offering after a portion has been sacrificed as a burnt offering and eat it beside the Sacrificial Altar -- but make sure it contains no yeast, for it is sacred.  It must be consumed in a sacred place, because it has been given to your and your successors as their share of the burnt offerings made to Jehovah.  I have been so instructed.  But the breast that was waved before the altar and the thigh that was elevated in the sacrifice may be eaten by your family as well in any place that is ritually pure.  They have been allotted to you and your family as their share of the peace offerings made on behalf of the people of Israel.  They should be elevated above the altar and presented to Jehovah along with the fat of the burnt offerings, but they will belong to you and your successors as a permanent right, ordained by Jehovah."

Moses asked what had happened to the goat that was the sin offering.  When he found it had been entirely burnt, he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's surviving sons.  "Why did you not eat the sin offering on the sanctuary grounds?  It is sacred; it was given to you so that you could make atonement with Jehovah for the sins of the community.  Since its blood was not brought into the Sanctum, you were to eat it in the Tabernacle, as I had commanded you."

Aaron answered Moses, "Look, today they presented to Jehovah the sin offering and the burnt offering -- and then this tragedy befell me.  If I had eaten from the sin offering today, would that really have made Jehovah happy?"

When Moses heard what he had to say, he could not but agree with him.

Notes
1.  Moses has succeeded in getting the Tabernacle set up, the structures and appurtenances of worship installed, the priests ordained, and the inaugural sacrifices performed, all without a hitch, but then disaster strikes the community of Israel.  Aaron's eldest sons and priests of Jehovah violate the correct procedure for Jehovan worship and, as a result, are burned to death by Jehovah.  --- The sin of Nadab and Abihu has been the source of much comment and speculation.  Their procedural violation may have been burning incense together when it was the role of a single priest, using common incense instead of the approved Temple brand, violating the Inner Sanctum, or performing the ceremony at the wrong time of the day, but most likely their transgression was lighting the incense from their own fire and not from the fire of the Sacrificial Altar, the holy flame that was always to be tended.  At this point, this had not been specified as a violation of sacred law, but it is hinted at later in the Bible.

2.  That a small violation of temple etiquette should result in a sudden fiery death emphasizes the importance Jehovah placed on having his will obeyed, especially in matters of his worship.  He has clearly set up the procedures for his worship and does not want them deviated from even in the smallest way.  To do so is to challenge his authority as a god.  No one is let off with just a warning, no excuses or alibis are permitted, no extenuating circumstances considered.  Make one mistake, step out of line just once and that's the end of you; your body will rot with the hides and guts of sacrificed animals.

3.  The reason for the transgression of Nadab and Abihu has also been the subject of considerable biblical commentary.  It has been suggested that they had become arrogant and presumptuous and were consciously rebelling against divine law.  Jehovan apologists prefer to believe this since it provides a moral lesson and justifies the harshness of Jehovah's retribution, but there is no indication from the original story that this is true.  Something entirely different, though, is suggested.  Jehovah speaks directly to Aaron (and not through Moses, as is customary) and tells him that there will now be a strict rule against priests drinking alcohol before they officiate.  Why the need for a new rule?  It seems apparent that Nadab and Abihu must have been drinking beforehand, and it was their inebriated state that caused them to carelessly or willfully make an error in the ritual, to light the incense from their own fires and not from the fire of the Sacrificial Altar, as was proper.  The need for the non-drinking rule was probably not obvious to Jehovah when the priesthood was established.  One would have thought, as he apparently did, that a priest would appreciate the solemnity of his office and not need to be advised against being drunk on duty.  It was not the first, nor would it be the last time, he would be disappointed in his Chosen People.

4.  Aaron's cousins are deputized to removed the bodies of Aaron's sons from the Sanctum.  The fact that it is specifically mentioned that the bodies were carried out by their clothes suggests that those removing them would have rendered themselves ritually impure, or worse, if they had actually touched the bodies.  Some translations, however, say that they were carried in their clothes, rather than by their clothes.  I believe the latter interpretation is more likely to be correct, as there is no reason to state that they simply had their clothes on, but that their bodies should not be touched might have been a point worth making.

5.  Aaron and his surviving sons are told they must not mourn the dead Nadab and Abihu, or at least may not exhibit the traditional manifestations of grief, allowing one's hair to become disheveled and tearing one's clothes.  The show must go on!  However, Moses gives them a pass when they don't have the stomach to eat their portion of the sin offering.  After the tragic and sudden loss of two family members, it is understandable that goat meat would not be very appetizing.  Nevertheless, it is amazing that even the priests, Moses' own family, are so remiss in abiding by instructions set down by Moses and Jehovah.  Haven't they, Moses and Jehovah, done enough to command respect and obedience?

6.  The incident would have occurred in the Sanctum where the Incense Altar stood before the entrance to the Inner Sanctum that housed the Chest of Sacred Records containing the tablets of the Ten Commandments.  The Sacrificial Altar stood outside the Sanctum in the Tabernacle courtyard.  

7.  It's a wonder the fire that burned Aaron's sons did not set alight the curtains of the Inner Sanctum, especially considering that it must have been a roaring flame that rose up to incinerate them.  Also, it is curious that their clothes were not more burned.  Of course, if the fire is of miraculous origin, Jehovah could manipulate the miracle to suit his purposes.

8.  In the end, one wonders whether this incident truly happened or happened the way in which it is related.  Was it included in the narrative as a warning to priests?  Does Jehovah take care to watch every ritual performed before his altars, ever ready to catch and punish any deviation from prescribed ritual?  It is interesting that Jehovah's preferred method of execution seems to be fire, not an angel sent down with a sword, nor a bolt of lightning coming out of the sky.  This, fire, is the same means by which he awed the Israelites when he made his presence known to them.