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Texts -- Leviticus 10:4-20 (NET)

Context
10:4 Moses then called to Mishael and Elzaphan , the sons of Uzziel , Aaron’s uncle , and said to them, “Come near , carry your brothers away from the front of the sanctuary to a place outside the camp .” 10:5 So they came near and carried them away in their tunics to a place outside the camp just as Moses had spoken . 10:6 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 which the Lord has caused , 10:7 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 .
Perpetual Statutes the Lord Spoke to Aaron
10:8 Then the Lord spoke to Aaron , 10:9 “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 , which is a perpetual statute throughout your generations , 10:10 as well as to distinguish between the holy and the common , and between the unclean and the clean , 10:11 and to teach the Israelites all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them through Moses .”
Perpetual Statutes Moses spoke to Aaron
10:12 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 . 10:13 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 . 10:14 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 they have been given as your allotted portion and the allotted portion of your sons from the peace offering sacrifices of the Israelites . 10:15 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 .”
The Problem with the Inaugural Sin Offering
10:16 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 , 10:17 “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 . 10:18 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 !” 10:19 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 ?” 10:20 When Moses heard this explanation, he was satisfied .

Pericope

NET
  • Lev 10:8-11 -- Perpetual Statutes the Lord Spoke to Aaron
  • Lev 10:12-15 -- Perpetual Statutes Moses spoke to Aaron
  • Lev 10:16-20 -- The Problem with the Inaugural Sin Offering

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • "At first sight the book of Leviticus might appear to be a haphazard, even repetitious arrangement of enactments involving the future life in Canaan of the Israelite people. Closer examination will reveal, however, that quite...
  • Leviticus continues revelation concerning the second of three elements necessary for any nation to exist, namely, a people (Gen. 12:10--Exod. 19), their law (Exod. 20--Num. 10:10), and their land (Num. 10:11--Josh. 24).Leviti...
  • Keil and Delitzsch pointed out that ancient Near Easterners offered certain offerings before God incorporated these into the Mosaic Law. Moses previously mentioned burnt offerings in Genesis 12:7; 13:4, 18; 22; 26:25; 33:20; ...
  • The account of the consecration of the priests and the priesthood (chs. 8-10) follows the regulations concerning offerings. We have a change in literary genre here from legal to narrative material. The legal material in chapt...
  • After offering these sacrifices, Aaron blessed the people (v. 22). He "stepped down"perhaps from a platform near the altar of burnt offerings on which he may have been standing to address the people. Probably Moses took Aaron...
  • One of the remarkable features of chapters 8 and 9 is the obedience of Moses and Aaron to God's commands (cf. 8:4, 9, 13, 17, 21, 29, 36; 9:5, 7, 10, 21). In chapter 10 there is a notable absence of these references. The care...
  • Moses did not identify Nadab and Abihu's exact offense in the text. However the "strange fire"seems most likely to have been an incense offering presented apart from God's command. It may have involved assuming the role of th...
  • This is the only time that Leviticus records God speaking directly to Aaron by himself. This shows the importance of what follows and that God still approved of Aaron as the high priest.The "strong drink"referred to (v. 8) wa...
  • Following the judgment on Nadab and Abihu, Moses instructed Aaron and his other sons to finish eating the rest of their portion of the sacrifices that they had offered for the nation."When the P [Priestly] code prescribed tha...
  • A change of subject matter indicates another major division in Leviticus. We move now from narrative to more legislation. These five chapters pick up the idea introduced in 10:10: ". . . make a distinction between the holy an...
  • God dealt with 21 different cases of skin diseases in this pericope. Some of these may have included measles, smallpox, scarlet fever, and other diseases characterized by skin rash.141Some authorities believe that exact ident...
  • The sacrifices and offerings that Moses described thus far in the law were not sufficient to cleanse all the defilement that the sins of the people created. Much sinfulness still needed covering. Therefore God appointed a yea...
  • We learn from verse 1 that Moses received instructions regarding the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, immediately after the judgment of Nadab and Abihu (ch. 10). Consequently he must have inserted chapters 11-15 in the chronolog...
  • Emphasis shifts in this chapter from ceremonial defilement (ch. 17) to moral impurity. The Lord wanted His people to be holy in their behavior and character as well as in less important ritual observances (cf. Matt. 23:28; Ro...
  • This is another narrative section of Leviticus (cf. chs. 8-10). Its position in the book must mean that it took place after God had given Moses the instructions about the holy lamps and showbread (24:1-9). This fact underline...
  • Genesis reveals how people can have a relationship with God. This comes through trust in God and obedience to Him. Faith is the key word in Genesis. God proves Himself faithful in this book.Exodus reveals that God is also sov...
  • Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977.Albright, William Foxwell, The Archaeology of Palestine. 1949. Revised ed. Pelican Archaeology series. H...
  • The fact that God halted the plague in response to Aaron's atoning action with his censer (16:47-48) would have proved that God accepted him as the high priest and not the rebels. God gave the miracle of the budding rod to ma...
  • Four Interpretive Problems in Deuteronomy 24:1-4370Deuteronomy 24:1-4 is a passage that is very important in the biblical teaching on divorce and remarriage. There are four problems that need solving for us to determine the c...
  • The lesson the writer intended this incident to teach the readers is that Yahweh is holy and His people should not take His presence among them lightly (cf. Lev. 10:1-11; Num. 16). God's presence is real, and His people must ...
  • "These things"(v. 1) refers to the events of the first return that the writer described in chapters 1-6.Ezra's genealogy (vv. 1-5) shows that he was a man of importance whom his fellow Jews would have respected. He was a desc...
  • 44:15-16 The Levites from Zadok's branch of the priestly family, however, would have special privileges since Zadok and his sons had served the Lord faithfully in the past (cf. 40:46; 1 Sam. 2:35; 2 Sam. 8:17; 15:24-29; 1 Kin...
  • Unlike the unfair leaders in Israel's past, the prince of the future would be faithful to the Lord and upright in his dealings with the Israelites. Messiah will be the chief ruler during the Millennium, but this prince will s...
  • The target audience of this warning passage was originally the leaders as well as the ordinary citizens of Israel.5:1 Hosea called on the Israelite priests, the whole population of Israel, and the royal household to hear this...
  • 1:8-9 Zechariah was serving God faithfully by discharging some temple function as a member of his priestly division. There were so many priests then that the great privilege of offering incense on the golden incense altar in ...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • Lev. 10:1-11And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He commanded them not. 2. And there went out f...
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