SEV Biblia, Chapter 10:1
¶ Y los hijos de Aarón, Nadab y Abiú, tomaron cada uno su incensario, y pusieron fuego en ellos, sobre el cual pusieron perfume, y ofrecieron delante del SEÑOR fuego extraño, que él nunca les mandó.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Leviticus 10:1
Verse 1. And Nadab and Abihu-took either of them his censer] The manner of burning incense in the temple service was, according to the Jews, as follows:-"One went and gathered the ashes from off the altar into a golden vessel, a second brought a vessel full of incense, and a third brought a censer with fire, and put coals on the altar, and he whose office it was to burn the incense strewed it on the fire at the command of the governor. At the same time all the people went out of the temple from between the porch and the altar. Each day they burned the weight of a hundred denaries of incense, fifty in the morning, and fifty in the evening. The hundred denaries weighed fifty shekels of the sanctuary, each shekel weighing three hundred and twenty barleycorns; and when the priest had burned the incense, he bowed himself down and went his way out. See Maimonides' Treatise of the Daily Service, chap. iii. So when Zacharias, as his lot fell, burned incense in the temple, the whole multitude of the people were without at prayer while the incense was burning, Luke i. 9, 10. By this service God taught them that the prayers of his faithful people are pleasing to him, whilst our High Priest, Christ Jesus, by his mediation puts incense to their prayers; (see Psa. cxli. 2; Rom. viii. 34; Hebrews viii. 1, 2; ix. 24; Rev. viii. 3, 4;) for the priests under the law served unto the example and shadow of heavenly things; Hebrews viii. 5." See Ainsworth in loco.
In the preceding chapter we have seen how God intended that every part of his service should be conducted; and that every sacrifice might be acceptable to him, he sent his own fire as the emblem of his presence, and the means of consuming the sacrifice. - Here we find Aaron's sons neglecting the Divine ordinance, and offering incense with strange, that is, common fire,-fire not of a celestial origin; and therefore the fire of God consumed them. So that very fire which, if properly applied, would have sanctified and consumed their gift, became now the very instrument of their destruction! How true is the saying, The Lord is a consuming fire! He will either hallow or destroy us: he will purify our souls by the influence of his Spirit, or consume them with the breath of his mouth! The tree which is properly planted in a good soil is nourished by the genial influences of the sun: pluck it up from its roots, and the sun which was the cause of its vegetative life and perfection now dries up its juices, decomposes its parts, and causes it to moulder into dust. Thus must it be done to those who grieve and do despite to the Spirit of God. Reader, hast thou this heavenly fire? Hear then the voice of God, QUENCH not the SPIRIT. Some critics are of opinion that the fire used by the sons of Aaron was the sacred fire, and that it is only called strange from the manner of placing the incense on it. I cannot see the force of this opinion.
Which he commanded them not.] Every part of the religion of God is Divine. He alone knew what he designed by its rites and ceremonies, for that which they prefigured-the whole economy of redemption by Christ-was conceived in his own mind, and was out of the reach of human wisdom and conjecture. He therefore who altered any part of this representative system, who omitted or added any thing, assumed a prerogative which belonged to God alone, and was certainly guilty of a very high offense against the wisdom, justice, and righteousness of his Maker. This appears to have been the sin of Nadab and Abihu, and this at once shows the reason why they were so severely punished. The most awful judgments are threatened against those who either add to, or take away from, the declarations of God. See Deut. iv. 2; Prov. xxx. 6; and Rev. xxii. 18, 19.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 1. And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron , etc.] His two eldest sons, as seems from ( 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 Leviticus 9:1): and offered strange fire before the Lord ; upon the golden altar of incense, which stood in the holy place right against the vail, within which were the ark, mercy seat, and cherubim, the symbol and seat of the divine Majesty: this fire was not that which came down from heaven, and consumed the sacrifice, as related at the end of the preceding chapter ( Leviticus 9:24), but common fire, and therefore called strange; it was not taken off of the altar of burnt offering, as it ought to have been, but, as the Targum of Jonathan, from under the trivets, skillets, or pots, such as the flesh of peace offerings were boiled in, in the tabernacle; which he commanded not ; yea, forbid, by sending fire from heaven, and ordering coals of fire for the incense to be taken off of the altar of burnt offering; and this, as Aben Ezra observes, they did of their own mind, and not by order. It does not appear that they had any command to offer incense at all at present, this belonged to Aaron, and not to them as yet; but without any instruction and direction they rushed into the holy place with their censers, and offered incense, even both of them, when only one priest was to offer at a time, when it was to be offered, and this they also did with strange fire. This may be an emblem of dissembled love, when a man performs religious duties, prays to God, or praises him without any cordial affection to him, or obeys commands not from love, but selfish views; or of an ignorant, false, and misguided zeal, a zeal not according to knowledge, superstitious and hypocritical; or of false and strange doctrines, such as are not of God, nor agree with the voice of Christ, and are foreign to the Scriptures; or of human ordinances, and the inventions of men, and of everything that man brings of his own, in order to obtain eternal life and salvation.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1, 2 - Next to Moses and Aaron, none were more likely to be honourable i Israel than Nadab and Abihu. There is reason to think that they wer puffed up with pride, and that they were heated with wine. While the people were prostrate before the Lord, adoring his presence and glory they rushed into the tabernacle to burn incense, though not at the appointed time; both together, instead of one alone, and with fire no taken from the altar. If it had been done through ignorance, they ha been allowed to bring a sin-offering. But the soul that doet presumptuously, and in contempt of God's majesty and justice, that sou shall be cut off. The wages of sin is death. They died in the very ac of their sin. The sin and punishment of these priests showed the imperfection of that priesthood from the very beginning, and that is could not shelter any from the fire of God's wrath, otherwise than a it was typical of Christ's priesthood.
Original Hebrew
ויקחו 3947 בני 1121 אהרן 175 נדב 5070 ואביהוא 30 אישׁ 376 מחתתו 4289 ויתנו 5414 בהן 2004 אשׁ 784 וישׂימו 7760 עליה 5921 קטרת 7004 ויקריבו 7126 לפני 6440 יהוה 3068 אשׁ 784 זרה 2114 אשׁר 834 לא 3808 צוה 6680 אתם׃ 853
