ויקחו שני בני אהרן איש מחתתו, they thought that just as after the daily communal offering which was accompanied by the manifestation of G’d’s Presence as we know from Exodus 29,42 עולת תמיד לדורותיכם פתח אהל מועד לפני יהוה אשר איועד לכם שמה, “the regular communal burnt offerings for your generations in the presence of the Lord, where I will manifest Myself there,” there would come the incense, so it would also be in order on this occasion to present a new incense offering honouring the manifestation of the Lord to the whole people and in honour of the heavenly fire having descended.

This is why they offered it in the sanctuary, i.e. 'לפני ה, on the golden altar. The Torah had stipulated that no foreign incense [nor other unauthorised offerings. Ed.] was to be offered on that altar (Exodus 30,9). Even assuming that the golden altar would qualify for additional incense offerings when a specific command to do so would be issued, the sons of Aaron sinned by doing this now and not having consulted with their mentors. This is why the Torah stresses

ותצא אש AND THERE WENT OUT FIRE — Rabbi Eleizer said: the sons of Aaron died only because they gave decisions on religious matters in the presence of their teacher, Moses (Sifra, Shemini, Mechilta d'Miluim 2 32; Eruvin 63a). Rabbi Ishmael said: they died because they entered the Sanctuary intoxicated by wine. You may know that this is so, because after their death he admonished those who survived that they should not enter when intoxicated by wine (vv. 8—9). A parable! It may be compared to a king who had a bosom friend, etc., as is to be found in Leviticus Rabbah 12:1, 4 (cf. Biur).

.וישימו עליה קטורת, “they placed incense on it.” They offered their own incense instead of the communal incense.. This is what is meant by the line: ויקריבו לפני ה' אש זרה, “they tendered before the Lord alien fire.” Incense without fire is an impossibility. Any incense offering that is than that of the community is called: “alien.”

אשר לא צוה אותם, “which He had not commanded them (to offer)”. The meaning, as opposed to the translation, is: “that He had commanded them not to offer.” Proof of this is to be found in Exodus 30,9: לא תעלו עליו קטורת זרה, “do not offer alien incense upon it.!” An example of a similar construction is found in Jeremiah 7,31: לשרוף את בניהם ואת בנותיהם באש אשר לא צויתי, “to burn their sons and daughters, which I did not command.”

ויקחו בני אהרן נדב ואביהוא, before the fire had emanated from the Holy of Holies they each took his own pan planning to offer incense on the golden altar, seeing that this offering precedes (timewise) the disposal of not totally burned leftovers from the previous day’s sacrificial meat. They placed “alien” fire on these pans, something which had not been commanded by Moses to be done on this day. Even though on ordinary days the rule of “the sons of Aaron will place in these pans fire on the altar” (Leviticus 1,7) was in effect, this rule did not apply to the day of inauguration, and Moses had not wanted any man made fire to be introduced into the Tabernacle. This was because he expected heavenly fire to manifest itself so that the addition of man made fire would have completely ruined the impact of the miracle. On this day the name of G’d would be glorified by all the people becoming aware of Divine approval of their offerings, by G’d accepting same by means of heavenly fire We find a parallel to this in Kings I 18,25 when the prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel ordered the priests not to put any fire on the altar.

AND PUT FIRE THEREIN. Not from the fire that came forth from the Lord. This is the meaning of strange fire.

ויקחו שני בני אהרן איש מחתתו, they thought that just as after the daily communal offering which was accompanied by the manifestation of G’d’s Presence as we know from Exodus 29,42 עולת תמיד לדורותיכם פתח אהל מועד לפני ה' אשר איועד לכם שמה, “the regular communal burnt offerings for your generations in the presence of the Lord, where I will manifest Myself there,” there would come the incense, so it would also be in order on this occasion to present a new incense offering honouring the manifestation of the Lord to the whole people and in honour of the heavenly fire having descended.

AND THERE CAME FORTH FIRE ‘MILIPHNEI’ (FROM BEFORE) THE ETERNAL. The meaning of “miliphnei the Eternal” is like: “from before the pnei (presence of) the Eternal.” The student learned [in the mystic lore of the Cabala] will understand, for I have already explained this. The nature of the sin of Nadab and Abihu you may know from that which it says, and they offered ‘strange fire’ before the Eternal, and it does not say “and they offered before the Eternal ‘incense’ which He had not commanded them.” Thus they put incense upon the fire, similarly to that which Scripture says, they shall put incense ‘b’apecha’ (before Thee), and they directed their thoughts only to this, and thus it was not a fire-offering of a sweet savor. This is the sense of the expression, and they laid ‘aleha’ (upon her) incense. and it does not say “and they laid upon them [i.e., the censers] incense,” as is said with reference to the company of Korah, and put fire therein, and put incense upon them, and again it is said there, and put incense upon them. But here it says upon her, to allude [to the fact] that they put the incense only on “the fire,” [and therefore it says], And there came forth fire from before the Eternal, and devoured them. It is possible that the verse which He said, Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, alludes to this, meaning that he should not cause it [the fire] to be strange. It is in connection with this that Scripture states, when they [Nadab and Abihu] drew near before the Eternal, and died, which means “when they offered l’phanav they died.”

Bar Kappara said in the name of Rabbi Yirmeya ben Elazar: Due to four matters Aaron’s sons died: For drawing near; for sacrificing; for alien fire; and because they did not take counsel from one another. For drawing near, because they entered the innermost sanctum; for sacrificing, because they sacrificed an offering regarding which they were not commanded; for alien fire, they brought in fire from a stove; and because they did not take counsel from one another, as it is stated: “Each took his fire pan” (Leviticus 10:1), each on his own, as they did not take counsel from one another. Rabbi Yirmeya ben Elazar said: In four places, it mentions the death of Aaron’s sons, and in all of them it mentions their sin. Why to that extent? It is to inform you that they had committed only this sin alone. Rabbi Elazar HaModa’i said: Come and see how difficult the death of Aaron’s sons was before the Holy One blessed be He, as every place that it mentions their death it mentions their sin. Why to that extent? It is to inform you [of their sin], so that all who enter the world will not have pretext to say: ‘They had clandestinely committed corrupt actions and that was the reason they died.’

So they took each-man his pan, and placed on them fire, and put on them smoking-incense, and stood at the entrance to the Tent of Appointment, as [did] Moshe and Aharon.

And fire went out from before the presence of YHWH and consumed the fifty and two hundred men, those bringing near the incense.

You are to make its pails for removing-its-ashes, its scrapers, its bowls, its flesh-hooks and its pans— all of its implements, you are to make of bronze.

You are to make an altar, a smoking one for smoking-incense, of acacia wood are you to make it,

a cubit its length and a cubit its width; square is it to be, and two cubits its height, its horns from itself.

You are to overlay it with pure gold— its roof, its walls all around, and its horns, and you are to make a rim of gold all around.

And two rings of gold you are to make for it, beneath its rim, on its two flanks, you are to make [them] on its two sides, that they may be for holders for poles, to carry it by [means of] them.

You are to make the poles of acacia wood and you are to overlay them with gold.

And you are to put it in front of the curtain that is over the Coffer of the Testimony, in front of the purgation-cover that is over the Testimony, where I will appoint-meeting with you.

And Aharon is to send-up-in-smoke, fragrant smoking-incense on it, in the morning, [every] morning; when he polishes the lamps, he is to send-it-up-in-smoke.

And when Aharon draws up the lampwicks, between the setting-times, he is to send-it-up-in-smoke, a regular smoke-offering before the presence of YHWH, throughout your generations.

You are not to offer-up on it any outsider’s smoking-incense, either as offering-up or as grain-gift, nor are you to pour out any poured-offering upon it.

Aharon is to do-the-purging upon its horns, once a year, with the decontaminating blood of purgation; once a year he is to do-the-purging on it, throughout your generations—; holiest holiness it is for YHWH.

Now YHWH said to Moshe: Take you fragrant-spices, drop-gum, onycha, and galbanum, [these] fragrances and clear incense; part equaling part are they to be.

You are to make [with] it smoking-incense, perfume, of perfumer’s making, salted, pure—holy.

You are to beat some of it into fine-powder and are to put some of it in front of the Testimony in the Tent of Appointment, where I will appoint-meeting with you—; holiest holiness it is to be for you.

You are to beat some of it into fine-powder and are to put some of it in front of the Testimony in the Tent of Appointment, where I will appoint-meeting with you—; holiest holiness it is to be for you.

As for the smoking-incense that you make, you are not to make any for yourselves in its [exact] proportion—; holiness shall it be for you, for YHWH.

Any man that makes any like it to savor it is to be cut off from his kinspeople!

In the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, I was sitting at home, and the elders of Judah were sitting before me, and there the hand of the Sovereign GOD fell upon me.

As I looked, there was a figure that had the appearance of fire: from what appeared as the loins down, [there was] fire; and from the loins up, the appearance was resplendent and had the color of amber.

The form of a hand stretched out, and took me by the hair of my head. A spirit lifted me up between heaven and earth and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the Penimith Gate that faces north; that was the site of the infuriating image that provokes fury.

And the Presence of the God of Israel appeared there, like the vision that I had seen in the valley.

And I was told, “O mortal, turn your eyes northward.” I turned my eyes northward, and there, north of the gate of the altar, was that infuriating image on the approach.

And [God] said to me, “Mortal, do you see what they are doing, the terrible abominations that the House of Israel is practicing here, to drive Me far from My Sanctuary? You shall yet see even greater abominations!”

Then [God] brought me to the entrance of the court; and I looked, and there was a hole in the wall.

I was told, “Mortal, break through the wall”; so I broke through the wall and found an entrance.

And I was told, “Enter and see the vile abominations that they are practicing here.”

I entered and looked, and there all detestable forms of creeping things and beasts and all the fetishes of the House of Israel were depicted over the entire wall.

Before them stood seventy of the elders of the House of Israel, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing in their midst. Everyone had a censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense smoke ascended.

Aharon’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, took each one his pan, placed fire in them, put smoking-incense on it, and brought near, before the presence of YHWH, outside fire, such as he had not commanded them.

And fire went out from the presence of YHWH and consumed them, so that they died, before the presence of YHWH.

YHWH spoke to Moshe after the death of the two sons of Aharon, when they came-near before the presence of YHWH and died;

YHWH said to Moshe: Speak to Aharon your brother, [so] that he [does] not enter, at [just] any time, the Holy-Shrine, inside the curtain, facing the Purgation-Cover that is on top of the Coffer, that he [does] not die; for in a cloud I make-myself seen, over the Purgation-Cover.

In this [manner] is Aharon to enter the Holy-Shrine: with a bull, a young-one of the herd, for a hattat-offering, and a ram for an offering-up.

In a holy tunic of linen he is to dress, linen breeches are to be upon his [naked] body, with a sash of linen he is to gird himself, with a turban of linen he is to turban himself; they are garments for the Holy-Shrine. He is to wash his body in water, and dress in them.

From the community of the Children of Israel he is to take two hairy goats for a hattat-offering, and one ram for an offering-up.

He is to take the two hairy [goats] and is to stand them before the presence of YHWH, at the entrance to the Tent of Appointment.

Aharon is to place upon the two hairy [goats] lots, one lot for YHWH and one lot for Azazel.

Then Aharon is to bring near the hairy one for which the lot for YHWH came up, and is to designate it as a hattat-offering,

and the hairy-one for which the lot of Azazel came up is to be left standing-alive, before the presence of YHWH, to effect-atonement upon it, to send it away to Azazel into the wilderness.

Then Aharon is to bring near the bull of the hattat-offering that is his, and effect-atonement on behalf of himself and on behalf of his household; he is to slaughter the bull of the hattat-offering that is his,

and is to take a panful of fiery coals from atop the altar, from before the presence of YHWH, and [two] fistfuls of fragrant-incense, finely-ground, and is to bring [it] inside the curtain.

Then he is to place the incense on the fire, before the presence of YHWH, so that the cloud [from] the incense covers the Purgation-Cover that is over the Testimony, so that he does not die.