Глава 10

1–4. Divine punishment of the eldest sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu by death. 6–7. Prohibition for Aaron and the priests to mourn the dead. 8–11. Prohibition for priests to drink alcohol before entering the tabernacle. 12–20. The law of eating victims. Lev.10:1. Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer, and put fire in it, and put incense in it, and brought strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them; Lev.10:2. and fire came out from the Lord and burned them, and they died before the Lord. Lev.10:3. And Moses said to Aaron: This is what the Lord spoke about when he said: Among those who draw near to Me I will be sanctified, and I will be glorified before all the people. Aaron was silent. Lev.10:4. And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel, Aaron's uncle, and said to them, Go, carry your brothers out of the sanctuary and beyond the camp. The first steps of the Old Testament priests were accompanied by a fatal mistake or sin of two of them, Nadab and Abihu. The nature of their sin is not specified. According to tradition, this was their self-exaltation before Aaron and arbitrary, untimely incense, perhaps while drunk (cf. Lev. 10:9), or the incense itself was prepared contrary to the law on this subject (Ex. 30: 7, 34-38), and the fire for it was brought from outside the fence of the tabernacle. By blessed To Theodoret (question 9 on Lev.), “since Nadab and Abihu, the children of Aaron, brought in fire made with hands, divine fire consumed them” (Lev. 9:24). In any case, their offense expressed their disrespect for the shrine, it could instill the same among the people, and therefore they are approximately punished - to protect the sanctity of the sanctuary and to exalt the dignity of the priesthood itself (Lev.10:3, cf. Lev.19.22). Struck by grief, the father of the ill-fated priests, Aaron, does not indulge in the usual violent manifestations of mourning in the East, but, aware of the gravity of sin and the deservedness of punishment, remains silent, thereby proving his understanding of the height and responsibility of his sacred service. Lev.10:5. And they went and carried them out in their tunics outside the camp, as Moses said. The dead are carried out not by the father and brothers, clothed in sacred clothes and who could not touch the dead, but by close relatives, cousins ​​of Moses and Aaron (see Exodus 6.22). Lev.10:6. Moses said to Aaron and Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons: Do not uncover your heads and do not tear your clothes, lest you die and bring wrath upon the whole congregation; but your brothers, all the house of Israel, may weep for those who are burned, whom the Lord has burned, Lev.10:7. And do not go out of the door of the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses. A deliberate warning to Aaron and his sons, the priests, not to wear any mourning for Nadab and Abihu, punished by death: not to bare their heads, not to tear their clothes, etc., leaving all this to other relatives and the entire people, who, naturally, should have seen the people’s misfortune in the death of two priests during the priestly service. Lev.10:8. And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying: Lev.10:9. You and your sons with you shall not drink wine or strong drink when you enter the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. This is an everlasting decree throughout your generations, Lev.10:10. so that you can distinguish the sacred from the unholy and the unclean from the pure, Lev.10:11. and to teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord spoke unto them by Moses. Tradition considers God's appeal directly to Aaron to be an expression of God's favor towards him for his self-control (Lev. 10:3). The prohibition for the priests to drink wine and generally intoxicating drinks before serving in the tabernacle (for example, beer, known in Egypt and, of course, to the Jews), now given to Aaron, may suggest that the sin of Nadab and Abihu could have been precisely intoxication at the first service. The purpose or motive of the prohibition: so that employees do not lose clarity of mind and the ability to strictly distinguish between the sacred and profane, ritually pure and unclean, legal and illegal, teaching the people what is legal by example. Wine is prohibited (cf. Herod. 2 about the Egyptians: ὄινω ο ἐκ κριὕέων πεποιημένω διαχρέωνται) and so on. alcoholic drinks are not unconditional, but only for the duration of each ministry (cf. Ezekiel 44.21) (Blessed Theodoret, question 10 on Lev.). The whole section of Lev.11–15 treats the difference between clean and unclean. Lev.10:12. And Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar, and to Ithamar, his remaining sons: Take the grain offering which is left over from the sacrifices of the Lord, and eat it unleavened at the altar, for it is greatly holy; Lev.10:13. and you shall eat it in the holy place, for this is your portion and the portion of your sons from the sacrifices of the Lord: thus I have been commanded [by the Lord]; Lev.10:14. and the breast of the wave and the shoulder of the wave shall you eat in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you, for it was given as an allotment to you and as an allotment to your sons from the peace offerings of the children of Israel; Lev.10:15. the shoulder of the wave and the chest of the wave they shall offer with the fat offerings, shaking before the Lord, and this shall be an everlasting portion for you and for your sons [and your daughters] with you, as the Lord commanded [Moses]. A reminder to the priests about their consumption of the prescribed portions of the sacrifices (cf. Lev. 6:16–19), in particular Moses' strict rebuke of their violation (probably resulting from the confusion caused by the death of Nadab and Abihu) of this law: contrary to the decree of Lev. 6.26–30 regarding the sin offering, the remains of the meat of the goat for the sin of the elders were burned (Lev. 10:16), although the blood of this sacrifice was not brought into the sanctuary (cf. Lev. 6.29–30). Lev.10:19. Aaron said to Moses: Behold, today they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and this has happened to me; If I eat a sin offering today, will it please the Lord? Lev.10:20. And Moses heard and approved. Aaron's justification, imbued with deep humility and secret grief for his sons, satisfies Moses. You might be interested in: