The Sin Of Nadab & Abihu Essays - Book Of Leviticus, Kohanim

The Sin Of Nadab & Abihu Essays - Book Of Leviticus, Kohanim The Sin of Nadab & Abihu Verse: (Lev. 10:1) And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron took either of them his censer, and put fire therin, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. (King James) The Sin of Nadab & Abihu: An Exegesis There is no clear consensus as to what sin Nadab and Abihu committed as detailed in verse 10:1 of the book Leviticus, in the Hebrew bible. Some commentators like to take into consideration material previously mentioned, some like the literal view of the story, others try to narrow the possibilities to come to a conclusion, while still more understand it all as simply a figurative tale. But in truth, few if any of the explanations this exegesist looked through seemed satisfactory, but blended together, and analyzed individually, they did form a far more satisfactory intrepretation of my own. The story is that Aaron, the newly consecrated Israelite High Priest had two sons, Nadab and Abihu, who were consumed by God for offering 'strange fire' before him. This occruance took place during the Octave-day celebrations which were taking place for the opening of the just completed Tent Of Meeting, or Tabernacle. Sacrifices, and prayers were to take place each day with special ritualistic rules in the preparation and performance of each. The priests were chiefly responsible for the running of events, and as most scholars agree Nadab and Abihu at the time of their death were priests, and so were presumably performing their priestly duties. Where the break in agreement occurs is with the question that naturally arises: What did Nadab and Abihu do wrong? The answer to this question lies in the context of the verse, the bigger picture involved. This does not, however, mean that it is clear enough so one can realize it with a read through or two. To best comprehend the situation, an understanding of the verse must be realized. The realization in this case is best accompolished through a translation of the verse from the original Hebrew that can put a clear picture of the happenings taking place. Unfortunately such a translation is not available. The King James is to poetic to be vivid, and the RSV changes the true meanings of words too much to be respected. Similar arguments could be put for the other translations out there. Faced with such a dillema, one must undertake the translating upon himself: "Then took Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each his censer and placed in them fiery coals, and put on them incense and sacrificed before the Lord with strange fire, which he had not commanded them." With this translation it is clear that the action is taking place with a specific sequence, in an event that has to be taken into consideration. Furthermore, it clarifies the problem with the 'strange fire' to explain that the fire was strange because it wasn't what God had commanded to be done. It is admitted, however, that this translation does not answer any questions beyond what any sentence can at any time answer. It is just a tale of events, and as any sentence studied individually would be, is a bit obscure. The whole picture must be taken into consideration. As for some explanation of the terms used: A censer is a pan used to carry coals. It has practical used even today in the middle east. The incense was a mixture of sweet herbs and spices as prescribed in Exodus 30:34. The one phrase that needs to be further developed is the hebrew 'esh zara' or 'strange fire'. The word esh as used here refers to fiery coals, but it has nevertheless compelled many scholars try to interpret it, mostly to fit their own theoretical views. In its present form esh zara, simply means a fire taken from an unauthorized source. This is what had made it strange and unholy for use in the Tent of Meeting. The use of the word zara which means strange, is a bit puzzling. Only a handful of times has the this form of strange been used in the Torah. Three other places other than Lev. 10:1 it's been used to