4<\/strong>. The incident here referred to is related in Lev 10:1-7<\/span>. The meaning of ‘strange fire’ is uncertain. Either the incense which they burnt was not made in accordance with the divine prescription (given in Exo 30:34-38<\/span>). or the fire was not taken from the proper place the altar of burnt-offering. ‘Strange’ means ‘not in accordance with the regular ritual’; see n. on Num 1:51<\/span>.<\/p>\n they had no children<\/em> ] The point of this lies in the fact that after the exile all the priestly families called themselves ‘sons of Aaron,’ and traced their descent through Eleazar or Ithamar (see p. xvi).<\/p>\n Verse 4<\/span>. Nadab and Abihu died<\/B><\/I>] See the notes on Le 10:1-5<\/span>.<\/P><\/p>\n In the time of Aarons life, as this phrase is taken, Num 3:4<\/span>; see also Psa 72:5<\/span>,17<\/span>; and under their fathers inspection and direction, and as their fathers servants or ministers in the priests office; for servants are oft described by this phrase of being<\/I>, or standing<\/I>, or serving in the sight<\/I> or presence<\/I>, we of their master. <\/P> <\/p>\n And Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord<\/strong>,…., By flaming fire, as the Targum of Jonathan adds, see Le 10:2<\/span>; and so were not alive at this time when the account of the priests and Levites was taken:<\/p>\n when they offered strange fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai<\/strong>; after the tabernacle was set up, and the service of it begun, and quickly after their unction and consecration: of this strange fire,<\/p>\n [See comments on Nu 10:1]<\/span>;<\/p>\n and they had no children<\/strong>; which is observed, partly to show the punishment of them, and the reproach upon their names, that they died childless, and had none to succeed them in the priesthood; for as the Jewish writers n observe if they had left any behind them, those would have come into the office before Eleazar and Ithamar; and partly to show that all the priests in succeeding ages sprung from those next mentioned:<\/p>\n and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest’s office, in the sight of Aaron their father<\/strong>; in his presence, under his inspection, and by his direction, he seeing and observing that they did everything according to the laws delivered by Moses, relating to, the office of the priesthood; or while he was yet alive, as Aben Ezra, they were concerned with him, and acted under him in the priestly office; and so the Septuagint version renders it, “with Aaron their father” o; but a Jewish writer p interprets it in a different manner, “in the room of Aaron their father”; as if it respected not any conjunction with him in the then present exercise of their office in his lifetime, but their succession in it after his death; but the former seems most correct.<\/p>\n n Torat Cohanim apud Ceseph Misnah in Maimon. Melachim, c. 1. sect. 7. Chaskuniin in loc. o Which is approved by Noldius, p. 731. p Chaskuni.<\/p>\n (4) Died before the Lord.<\/strong>The account is given in Lev. 10:1-2<\/span>, where the same expression before the Lord is used both in regard to the offering of strange fire by Nadab and Abihu, and also in regard to their death.<\/p>\n And they had no children.<\/strong>To die childless was regarded not only as a reproach, but also as a judgment. This was especially the case in regard to Nadab and Abihu, inasmuch as the sons of one, or of both <\/em>(as was the case in regard to the sons of Eleazar and of Ithamar), would have succeeded to the high priesthood.<\/p>\n 4<\/strong>. <\/strong> Nadab and Abihu <\/strong> The tragic end of these sacrilegious priests is detailed in full in Lev 10:1-7<\/span>, where see an extended annotation. They had but just been inducted into office. As men of note, they had been taken up the mount and had seen God. Exo 24:9<\/span>. A glorious manifestation of the power and mercy of God had just been given: “And the glory of Jehovah appeared unto all the people, and there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering.” The effect upon the people was to awaken the commingling emotions of joy and awe: “They shouted and fell on their faces.” Amid this scene Nadab and Abihu committed a rash act of sacrilege, “and there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them.” One vengeful flash from the Shekinah “struck them dead, with their censers in their hands, with not a moment’s warning. What a fearful exhibition of the truth that God’s jealousy burns fiercest about his altar!” <\/p>\n Strange fire <\/strong> Up to this event, which occurred just after the tabernacle was set up, and hence not more than four weeks before the census of the Levites, there is no record of any regulation respecting the character of the fire to be used for burning incense. But immediately after this sad catastrophe, in Lev 16:12<\/span>, the command is given to take the coals of fire from the altar of burnt offerings on which it was perpetually burning. Lev 6:9<\/span>; Lev 6:13<\/span>. We infer that such a command had been given before to these newly-robed priests. The fire on the altar had been enkindled by God, and it was the duty of the priests to see that it never should go out. It is probable that this fire, and this only, had been prescribed for this service, and that these sons of Aaron wilfully transgressed this requirement. Some are of the opinion that the fire was called “strange” because the incense was not prepared in accordance with the prescription, “Ye shall offer no strange incense.” Exo 30:9<\/span>. It has also been suggested that the incense was burned in uncanonical hours, and that this was the offence. <\/p>\n Before the Lord <\/strong> These words do not necessarily imply that they had usurped the office of their father Aaron, and had rushed into the awful sanctity of the most holy place, where Jehovah, in the cloud of the Shekinah, was enthroned between the cherubim, for the entire tabernacle was filled with the special presence of the Lord. See on Lev 1:3<\/span>. But from the prohibition of wine and strong drink to Aaron and his sons immediately following the account of the awful death of these two, we have good grounds for the inference that these priests were drunken when this impious act was committed. See Lev 10:8-11<\/span>, and note the preceding context. Drunkenness impairs the faculty of moral discernment to discriminate “between the holy and the unholy,” and incapacitates to “teach all the statutes of the Lord.” “I will be sanctified in them that come nigh unto me.” Inebriation involves all vices and sacrileges. <\/p>\n Eleazar and Ithamar <\/strong> Aaron’s sole surviving sons. Half the Aaronic priesthood had been cut off at a stroke, as before noticed. God can carry on his work better with a pure ministry few in number, than with a multitude of unholy men in priestly robes serving their own lusts.<\/p>\n Num 3:4<\/span><\/em><\/strong>. <\/strong>Eleazar and Ithamar ministeredin the sight of Aaron their father<\/em><\/strong><\/strong> See Num 3:38<\/span>. In the sight of their father, <\/em>means, most probably, together with their father. <\/p>\n Num 3:4 And Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD, when they offered strange fire before the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children: and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest’s office in the sight of Aaron their father.<\/p>\n Ver. 4. And Nadab and Abihu.<\/strong> ] Such a cross had David in his two eldest, Amnon and Absalom. See Trapp on “<\/em> Lev 10:1 “<\/em> See Trapp on “<\/em> Lev 10:2 “<\/em> <\/p>\n died before the LORD. This parenthetical statement is an undesigned coincidence referring to Lev 10:1-7. Compare Num 26:61, and 1Ch 24:2. <\/p>\n children = sons. <\/p>\n Nadab: Num 26:61, Lev 10:1, Lev 10:2 <\/p>\n Reciprocal: 1Ch 6:50 – Eleazar 1Ch 15:4 – the children of Aaron 1Ch 24:2 – died<\/p>\n Num 3:4. In the sight of Aaron Under his inspection and direction, and as his servants or ministers in the priests office.<\/p>\n 3:4 And Nadab and Abihu died {b} before the LORD, when they offered strange fire before the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children: and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest’s office in the {c} sight of Aaron their father.<\/p>\n (b) Or, before the altar.<\/p>\n (c) While their father lived.<\/p>\n And Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD, when they offered strange fire before the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children: and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest’s office in the sight of Aaron their father. 4. The incident here referred to is related in Lev 10:1-7. The meaning … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Numbers 3:4”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3705\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"