Leviticus 10:2

“And there went out fire from the Lord, etc.] 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 (<031004>Leviticus 10:4,5) 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…”

“there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them--rather, "killed them"; for it appears (Lev 10:5) that neither their bodies nor their robes were consumed. The expression, "from the Lord," indicates that this fire issued from the most holy place. In the destruction of these two young priests by the infliction of an awful judgment, the wisdom of God observed the same course, in repressing the first instance of contempt for sacred things, as he did at the commencement of the Christian dispensation (Act 5:1-11).”

“The fire which had just before sanctified the ministry of Aaron as well pleasing to God, now brought to destruction his two eldest sons because they did not sanctify Yahweh in their hearts, but dared to perform a self-willed act of worship; just as the same Gospel is to one a savor of life unto life, and to another a savor of death unto death 2 Corinthians 2:16. return to 'Top of Page'”

“From the Lord - From heaven, or rather from the sanctuary. Devoured them - Destroyed their lives; for their bodies and garments were not consumed. Thus the sword is said to devour, Sa2 2:26. Thus lightning many times kill persons, without any hurt to their garments. Leviticus 10:3”

“10:2 In 9:24, the fire blazed forth to show God’s acceptance. It now indicates his disapproval by bringing death to Nadab and Abihu, who had demonstrated a careless approach toward the worship of God (cp. Acts 5:1-11).”

“fire: Lev 9:24, Lev 16:1; Num 3:3, Num 3:4, Num 16:35, Num 26:61; Sa2 6:7; Kg2 1:10, Kg2 1:12; Ch1 24:2 they died: Num 3:3, Num 3:4, Num 16:32, Num 16:33, Num 16:49, Num 26:61; Sa1 6:19; Ch1 13:10, Ch1 15:13; Act 5:5, Act 5:10; Co1 10:11; This fire, which destroyed the sacrificers, came from the same source with that which had consumed the sacrifices. See note on Lev 9:24. They died. The wages of sin is death. They died suddenly. They died before the Lord; that is, before the vail that covered the mercy-seat. They died by fire, as by fire they sinned. The fire did not burn them to ashes, as it had done the sacrifices, nor so much as singe their coats ( Lev 10:5) but struck them dead in an…”