Leviticus 8:21

8:21 but the entrails and the legs he washed with water, ¹  and Moses offered the whole ram up in smoke on the altar – it was a burnt offering for a soothing aroma, a gift to the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ² 

Leviticus 10:1

Nadab and Abihu

10:1 Then ³  Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his fire pan and put fire in it, set incense on it, and presented strange fire ⁴  before the Lord, which he had not commanded them to do.

Leviticus 17:4

17:4 but has not brought it to the entrance of the Meeting Tent ⁵  to present it as ⁶  an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord. He has shed blood, so that man will be cut off from the midst of his people. ⁷ 

Leviticus 20:2

20:2 “You are to say to the Israelites, ‘Any man from the Israelites or from the foreigners who reside in Israel ⁸  who gives any of his children ⁹  to Molech ¹⁰  must be put to death; the people of the land must pelt him with stones. ¹¹ 

Leviticus 27:28

Things Permanently Dedicated to the Lord

27:28 “‘Surely anything which a man permanently dedicates to the Lord ¹²  from all that belongs to him, whether from people, animals, or his landed property, must be neither sold nor redeemed; anything permanently dedicated is most holy to the Lord.

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¹ tn Again, Aaron probably did the washing (v. 21a), but Moses presented the portions on the altar (v. 21b; cf. the note on v. 15 above).

² tn See Lev 1:9, 13.

³ tn Although it has been used elsewhere in this translation as an English variation from the ubiquitous use of vav in Hebrew, in this instance “then” as a rendering for vav is intended to show that the Nadab and Abihu catastrophe took place on the inauguration day described in Lev 9. The tragic incident in Lev 10 happened in close temporal connection to the Lord’s fire that consumed the offerings at the end of Lev 9. Thus, for example, the “sin offering” male goat referred to in Lev 10:16-19 is the very one referred to in Lev 9:15.

⁴ tn The expression “strange fire” (אֵשׁ זָרָה, ’esh zarah) seems imprecise (cf. NAB “profane fire”; NIV “unauthorized fire”; NRSV “unholy fire”; NLT “a different kind of fire”) and has been interpreted numerous ways (see the helpful summary in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 132-33). The infraction may have involved any of the following or a combination thereof: (1) using coals from someplace other than the burnt offering altar (i.e., “unauthorized coals” according to J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:598; cf. Lev 16:12 and cf. “unauthorized person” אִישׁ זָר (’ish zar) in Num 16:40 [17:5 HT], NASB “layman”), (2) using the wrong kind of incense (cf. the Exod 30:9 regulation against “strange incense” קְטֹרֶת זָרָה (qÿtoreh zarah) on the incense altar and the possible connection to Exod 30:34-38), (3) performing an incense offering at an unprescribed time (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 59), or (4) entering the Holy of Holies at an inappropriate time (Lev 16:1-2).

⁵ tn Smr and LXX add after “tent of meeting” the following: “to make it a burnt offering or a peace offering to the Lord for your acceptance as a soothing aroma, and slaughters it outside, and at the doorway of the tent of meeting has not brought it.”

⁶ tc Smr includes the suffix “it,” which is needed in any case in the translation to conform to English style.

⁷ sn The exact meaning of this penalty clause is not certain. It could mean (1) that he will be executed, whether by God or by man, (2) that he will be excommunicated from sanctuary worship and/or community benefits, or (3) that his line will be terminated by God (i.e., extirpation). See also the note on Lev 7:20.

⁸ tn Heb “or from the sojourner who sojourns”; NAB “an alien residing in Israel.”

⁹ tn Heb “his seed” (so KJV, ASV); likewise in vv. 3-4.

¹⁰ tn Regarding Molech and Molech worship see the note on Lev 18:21.

¹¹ tn This is not the most frequently-used Hebrew verb for stoning (see instead סָקַל, saqal), but a word that refers to the action of throwing, slinging, or pelting someone with stones (רָגָם, ragam; see HALOT 1187 s.v. רגם qal.a, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 136).

¹² tn Heb “Surely, any permanently dedicated [thing] which a man shall permanently dedicate to the Lord.” The Hebrew term חֵרֶם (kherem) refers to things that are devoted permanently to the Lord (see the note on v. 21 above).