“Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his fire pan, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered before the Eternal strange fire, which God had not commanded them” Leviticus 10:1
April 24, 2025 10:07
Sefer Vayikra (the Book of Leviticus) is not known for its dramatic storytelling.
This week, however, we encounter Vayikra’s most significant moment of drama: the deaths of Nadab and Abihu. These two sons of Aaron, newly initiated into a priesthood which will consist of strict laws around the sacrificial system, come into the Mishkan (Tabernacle) with offerings that were not ordered by God.
As a result, fire came down “from before God”, and the two young men “died before God” (10:2).
But why?
The text does not give us the motivations of Nadab and Abihu, leaving room for imaginative commentaries. Perhaps Nadab and Abihu were full of hubris, thinking they knew better than their teachers. Perhaps they were even drunk.
Perhaps the “alien fire” they brought was a deliberate slight against God’s law. These commentaries all start from the assumption that Nadab and Abihu misbehaved and were punished.
It is not, however, the only way to read the text.
Philo of Alexandria (1st century CE) writes: “[Nadab and Abihu] have been taken up by unextinguishable violence and imperishable light; because, having discarded all fear and hesitation, they had duly consecrated the fervent and fiery zeal, consuming the flesh, and very easily and vehemently excited towards piety, which is unconnected with creation, but is akin to God, … becoming dissolved into ethereal beams like a whole burnt-offering” (On Dreams 2:67).
Philo suggests that Nadab and Abihu did not sin; they were simply overcome with passion for God and were accepted as their own sacrificial offerings. They transcended their bodies through utter zeal.
It is a kinder reading of the characters of Nadab and Abihu, but not necessarily a positive reading. The result is the same: Nadab and Abihu are gone, and their father’s silent grief speaks volumes.
Perhaps, however, it makes sense of what Sefer Vayikra does next. The text now pivots from sacrificial offerings and the setting up of sacred space into questions of purity and impurity, dictating how barriers are built around sacrificial experiences.
Perhaps these next parashiyot dictate a protective measure around the Temple and experiences of the divine. Should we be in a vulnerable position, such as sickness or brushes with mortality, we must avoid the devastating draw of “fiery zeal”.
Nadab and Abihu were “unconnected with creation” in their relationship with God. We are called to love God with our feet on the ground.