This chapter begins with the sin and punishment of two sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Lev. 10:1–5 for whose death Aaron and his sons are commanded not to mourn, nor to depart from the tabernacle, Lev. 10:6, Lev.

And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron His two eldest sons, as seems from : 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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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 (Lev. 10:12, Lev.

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…

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…

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…

And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, &c.] 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;…

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, but one inebriated with liquor would be incapable of giving instructions about any of those things: which the Lord hath spoken unto…

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…

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…

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, and they might be eaten anywhere,…

The heave shoulder and wave breast shall they bring Not the priests, but the owners to the priests, (Lev. 7:29, Lev. 7:30) : 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…

And Moses diligently sought the goat of the sin offering, &c.] 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…

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…

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 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…

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…

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…