![The Sin of Nadab and Abihu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/The_Sin_of_Nadab_and_Abihu.jpg)
In the biblical books
Exodus
Exodus or the Exodus may refer to:
Religion
* Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible
* The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan
Historical events
* Ex ...
,
Leviticus and
Numbers
A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The original examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...
, Nadab () and Abihu () were the two oldest sons of
Aaron
According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...
. According to
Leviticus 10, they offered a sacrifice with "foreign fire" before the
, disobeying his instructions, and were immediately consumed by God's fire.
Moses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
instructed Aaron and his family not to
mourn
Mourning is the expression of an experience that is the consequence of an event in life involving loss, causing grief, occurring as a result of someone's death, specifically someone who was loved although loss from death is not exclusively ...
, although the people at large were permitted.
Background
Nadab and Abihu were the first two sons of
Aaron the Levite by his marriage to
Elisheba
Elisheba (; ) was the wife of the Israelite prophet Aaron, who was the elder brother of Moses and the first High Priest of Israel, according to the Hebrew Bible.
She was said to be a daughter of Amminadab from the Tribe of Judah, and a sister of ...
, daughter of
Amminadab
Amminadab () is a minor character referred to in the Book of Exodus. He is the father-in-law of High Priest Aaron, brother of Moses.
Amminadab is also mentioned in the Book of Ruth, (and also in Gospel of Mathew and Gospel of Luke), as the fa ...
from the tribe of Judah. They had four sons in total, the younger two sons being named
Eleazar
Eleazar (; ) or Elʽazar was a priest in the Hebrew Bible, the second High Priest, succeeding his father Aaron after he died. He was a nephew of Moses.
Biblical narrative
Eleazar played a number of roles during the course of the Exodus, from c ...
and
Ithamar
In the Torah, Ithamar () was the fourth (and the youngest) son of Aaron the High Priest."Ithamar", ''Encyclopaedia Biblica'' Following the construction of the Tabernacle, he was responsible for recording an inventory to ensure that the constructed ...
. During the Exodus journey, after the Israelites' affirmation of their
covenant
Covenant may refer to:
Religion
* Covenant (religion), a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general
** Covenant (biblical), in the Hebrew Bible
** Covenant in Mormonism, a sacred agreement b ...
with God, Abihu and Nadab accompanied Moses, Aaron, and 70 elders up Mount Sinai. There they saw God with great clarity, walking on a pavement of
sapphire
Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sapphir ...
stone, and shared a meal in God's presence, without being harmed as a result.
Aaron and his four sons were the first priests appointed as the
priestly system was established by God. The
Levites
Levites (or Levi) (, he, ''Lǝvīyyīm'') are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew defi ...
as a tribe were later ordained for the priestly service after answering a call to take the 's side after the idolatry centered on the
golden calf
According to the Bible, the golden calf (עֵגֶל הַזָּהָב '' ‘ēgel hazzāhāv'') was an idol (a cult image) made by the Israelites when Moses went up to Mount Sinai. In Hebrew, the incident is known as ''ḥēṭə’ hā‘ēgel'' ...
. After the death of Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar took their places as priests, because neither Nadab nor Abihu had any sons.
[Nadab and Abihu. Unger, Merrill F. Unger's Bible Handbook: An Essential Guide to Understanding the Bible. Moody Press, Chicago. 1967. Page 114.]
Violation of God’s law and punishment
In
Exodus
Exodus or the Exodus may refer to:
Religion
* Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible
* The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan
Historical events
* Ex ...
30 and Leviticus, God outlines a proper sacrifice to him.
Aaron, the chief priest, was to present all offerings representing himself and the people. God would send his own fire to consume the sacrifice as a sign of his presence.
When Nadab and Abihu lit the offering in the
censer
A censer, incense burner, perfume burner or pastille burner is a vessel made for burning incense or perfume in some solid form. They vary greatly in size, form, and material of construction, and have been in use since ancient times throughout t ...
s themselves, their fire was profane and thus God was not in it.
[Commentary on , The Jewish Study Bible: Tanakh Translation. The Jewish Publication Society, 2004. Page 227.] They prepared an incense offering upon kindling of their own and not of the holy incense from the sacred bronze altar. This was seen as foreign or unholy fire ( ''’êš zārāh'').
Aaron’s sons spurned the command to wait for holy fire and offered incense with profane fire. Anyone who altered the sacrificial system assumed a prerogative belonging to God alone.
Burial and mourning
Burial
After the death of Nadab and Abihu, Moses dictated what was to be done with their bodies. He told
Mishael and
Elzaphan, the sons of
Uzziel
According to the Torah, Uzziel ( he, עֻזִּיאֵל, ''ʿUzzîʾēl''; meaning '' El is my strength'' or ''God is my strength'') was the father of Mishael, Elzaphan, and Zithri, and was a son of Kohath and grandson of Levi, consequently be ...
, Aaron's, his own and their sister Miriam's uncle, to carry the bodies away from the sanctuary to a place outside of the camp. He specified for Mishael and Elzaphan to be careful to only touch Nadab and Abihu's tunics, and not their bodies. The first concerns in burial were to prevent what is holy from being defiled and the service of God from being disrupted.
[Leviticus 10. Dummelow, J.R. ed., The One Volume Bible Commentary. The Macmillan Company, 1950. Page 91.] The corpses had to be removed immediately, because to allow the uncleanliness of the bodies to remain in the sanctuary could invoke God's wrath again.
The bodies were lifted up "by their tunics" to avoid direct physical contact. This did not prevent the carriers from becoming ritually unclean, but lessened the time and procedures needed to restore them to ritual purity.
[Leviticus 10. Clarke, Adam. Commentary on the Holy Bible. Beacon Hill Press, 1967. Page 160.]
Mourning
Aaron and the other surviving priests were commanded not to mourn, participate in mourning rituals, or have contact with the dead. This was applicable not only in this case; but it was modified in an ongoing command. While priests could mourn, they could not have contact with the dead - even a dead spouse, parent or child - and they could not participate in public mourning rituals.
[Commentary on Leviticus 10:1-14, The Jewish Study Bible: Tanakh Translation. The Jewish Publication Society, 2004. Page 227.] As the representatives of the people, priests were to avoid anything that might disqualify them for God's service.
They were to remain ready and able to act in God's service whenever the community needed them.
The command not to mourn also applied because the crime of Nadab and Abihu was so provoking to God and fully merited the punishment which God had inflicted. To mourn in this case could be seen by the people as accusing God of undue severity.
Both the people and the priests needed to show submission to a righteous judgement.
If the anointed priests were to sin in this manner, the blame would fall not only upon them but also upon the people.
In addition, all Jews are prohibited from mourning on the Sabbath and during festivals of the Lord. These are days for celebration, no sorrow is permitted to impinge upon the joy of the days.
However, the people in the community as a whole were allowed to mourn and display grief. The death of Nadab and Abihu was tragic yet deserved,
and the people were to first recognize that it was deserved and then mourn their death.
In Judaism
Nadab and Abihu's sin 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 an encroachment on duties. There were multiple sins contained in one act. First, they ventured unauthorized to perform the incense service—the highest and most solemn of the priestly duties. They also engaged together in a work which was the duty only of one. And, thirdly, they presumed to light the fire on the offering themselves. In this respect, "they offered foreign fire before the Lord"; they were guilty of a presumptuous and unwarranted intrusion into a sacred office which did not belong to them. In these actions they showed carelessness, irreverence, and a want of faith, lamentable especially for those in the priestly service. A precedent of such evil tendency was dangerous, and it was imperatively necessary, therefore, as well for the priests themselves as well as for the sacred things, that God should give a punishment.
In Christianity
Roman Catholicism
Whether Nadab and Abihu neglected to follow God's outlined sacrificial system out of presumptuousness, or out of thoughtlessness and inattention, their fault was severely punished so that all might learn to comply exactly with God's commands, and not try to change them or explain them away.
[Leviticus X .Haydock, William. Haydock’s Catholic Family Bible and Commentary. 1859. Printed by Edward Dunigan and brother. Page 187.] The mixing of falsehood with the word of God was a serious sin. Those in power, like priests, should be especially careful in their behavior, because they are examples to those they serve.
Reformation and Post-Reformation views
Nadab and Abihu were in a great position to become honorable and respected priests. If Nadab and Abihu's deed had been done through ignorance, they would have been told to bring a sin-offering. But instead they did it presumptuously (deliberately and arrogantly), and in contempt of God's majesty and justice. They were therefore cut off, for the wages of sin is death. The sin and punishment of these priests showed the imperfection of that priesthood from the very beginning, and that it could not shelter any from the fire of God's wrath.
[Leviticus 10. Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible. Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000. Page 247.]
References
{{Book of Leviticus, state=collapsed
Book of Exodus people
Book of Numbers people
Family of Aaron
Book of Leviticus
Levites