Leviticus Chapter 10

“And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, etc.] His two eldest sons, as seems from (<020623>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 <030901>Leviticus 9:1): and offered strange fire before the Lord; upon the golden altar of incense, which…”

“NADAB AND ABIHU BURNT. (Lev. 10:1-20) the sons of Aaron, &c.--If this incident occurred at the solemn period of the consecrating and dedicating the altar, these young men assumed an office which had been committed to Moses; or if it were some time after, it was an encroachment on duties which devolved on their father alone as the high priest. But the offense was of a far more aggravated nature than such a mere informality would imply. It consisted not only in their venturing unauthorized to perform the incense service--the highest and most solemn of the priestly offices--not only in their engaging together in a…”

“Nadab and Abihu - The two elder sons of Aaron Exodus 6:23; Numbers 3:2, who were among those invited to accompany Moses when he was going up Mount Sinai, but who were “to worship afar off,” and not “come near the Lord.” Exodus 24:1-2. Censer - See Exodus 25:38 note. Strange fire - The point of their offence is evidently expressed in this term. This may very probably mean that the incense was lighted at an unauthorized time. And we may reasonably unite with this the supposition that they were intoxicated (compare Leviticus 10:9), as well as another conjecture, that they made their offering of incense an…”

“Strange fire - Fire so called, because not taken from the altar, as it ought, but from some common fire. Before the Lord - Upon the altar of incense. Which he commanded not - Not commanding may be here put for forbidding, as it is, Jer 32:35. Now as this was forbidden implicitly; Lev 6:12, especially when God himself made a comment upon that text, and by sending fire from heaven declared of what fire he there spake; so it is more than probable it was forbidden expressly, though that be not here mentioned, nor was it necessary it should be. Leviticus 10:2”

“10:1-20 A fire was to burn constantly on the bronze altar (6:9) to supply coals for burning incense (16:12). Perhaps careless from drinking wine (10:8-11), Nadab and Abihu took coals from another source. This violation of God’s instruction resulted in their deaths. 10:1 Aaron’s two older sons, Nadab and Abihu (Exod 6:23), had accompanied Moses and the seventy elders on Mount Sinai (Exod 24:1, 9) and had witnessed the great theophany (appearance of God) there. They died without male heirs (see also Exod 28:1; Num 3:2-4; 26:60-61; 1 Chr 6:3; 24:1-2). • The incense burners were fire pans or trays that held hot…”

“Nadab: Lev 16:1, Lev 22:9; Exo 6:23, Exo 24:1, Exo 24:9, Exo 28:1; Num 3:3, Num 3:4, Num 26:61 censer: Lev 16:12; Exo 27:3, Exo 38:3; Num 16:6, Num 16:7, Num 16:16, Num 16:17, Num 16:46; Heb 9:4 put incense: Exo 30:1-9, Exo 30:34-36, Exo 31:11, Exo 37:29, Exo 40:27; Kg1 13:1, Kg1 13:2; Ch2 26:16-20; Psa 141:2; Jer 44:8, Jer 44:15, Jer 44:19-21; Luk 1:9-11; Rev 8:3-5 strange: Lev 9:24, Lev 16:12; Num 16:18, Num 16:46 which: Exo 30:9; Deu 4:2, Deu 12:32, Deu 17:3; Jer 7:31, Jer 19:5, Jer 32:35; Bp. Hall says, "It is a dangerous thing, in the service of God, to decline from his institutions; we have to do with a…”

“Nadab and Abihu took their censers (machtah, Exo 25:38), and having put fire in them, placed incense thereon, and brought strange fire before Jehovah, which He had not commanded them. It is not very clear what the offence of which they were guilty actually was. The majority of expositors suppose the sin to have consisted in the fact, that they did not take the fire for the incense from the altar-fire. But this had not yet been commanded by God; and in fact it is never commanded at all, except with regard to the incense-offering, with which the high priest entered the most holy place on the day of atonement ( Lev…”