Leviticus 10:3
in Leviticus 10Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when He said: ‘To those who come near Me I will show My holiness, and in the sight of all the people I will reveal My glory.’” But Aaron remained silent.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that Jehovah spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.
KJV
Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.
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This verse in Leviticus 10
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Rather, I will sanctify myself in them that come near to me (i. e. the priests), and I will glorify myself before all the people. The words used by Moses on this occasion are not found elsewhere in the Pentateuch. But the sense is implied in such passages as Exo 19:22; Exo 28:41; Exo 29:1, Exo 29:44. Aaron’s silence (compare Psa 39:9) on this occasion may be compared with his reasonable and natural expostulation with Moses when his surviving sons were rebuked for not having eaten the flesh of the sin-offering Lev 10:19.
This site's exposition
I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me
Moses answers by naming something the LORD had spoken, that he will be sanctified in them that come nigh him and glorified before all the people, and the words I will be sanctified fall only here and at Ezekiel 20:41. Aaron held his peace, and the chapter gives him no speech until verse 19. Keil and Delitzsch read the strange fire as common fire rather than coals taken from the altar, Jamieson, Fausset and Brown report the drink reading as one many have entertained on the strength of the rule at verse 9, and others have put it down to incense burned at an hour not appointed. The chapter settles none of it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening5 voices
A command not to drink wine or strong drink, and to distinguish between holy and unholy, ver. 8-11. Directions concerning the parts of the burnt-offerings which were to be eaten, ver. 12-15. Moses reproves the priests, but is pacified by Aaron, ver. 16-20.
quarantine:anchor (2026-07-29) — cites-ver-8/12/16-anchored-1-3
My spirits cannot but sink, when I see my family sinking; I must needs be heavy, when God is angry:" thus it is easy to say a great deal to aggravate an affliction, but it is better to say little. (2.) How he makes this an excuse for his varying from the appointment about the sin-offering.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
Howsoever the sense of them is in many places. I will be sanctified - This may note, either, 1. their duty to sanctify God, to demean themselves with such care, and reverence, and watchfulness, as becomes the holiness of the God whom they serve; whence he leaves them to gather the justice of the present judgment.
And Moses said unto Aaron,....
(2.) What was it that God spoke? It was this (the Lord by his grace speak it to all our hearts!) I will be sanctified in those that come nigh me, whoever they are, and before all the people I will be glorified. Note, First, Whenever we worship God, we come nigh unto him, as spiritual priests.
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
But here it was forbidden both to Aaron and his sons, because, (1.) They were now actually waiting, doing a great work, which must by no means cease ( Neh. vi. 3 ); and it was very much for the honour of God that their attendance on him should take place of their respects to their nearest relations, and that all services should give way to those of their ministry.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Aaron held his peace--The loss of two sons in so sudden and awful a manner was a calamity overwhelming to parental feelings. But the pious priest indulged in no vehement ebullition of complaint and gave vent to no murmur of discontent, but submitted in silent resignation to what he saw was "the righteous judgment of God" [Ro 2:5].
And Aaron held his peace - וידם אהרן vaiyiddom Aharon, and Aaron was dumb. How elegantly expressive is this of his parental affection, his deep sense of the presumption of his sons, and his own submission to the justice of God! The flower and hope of his family was nipped in the bud and blasted; and while he exquisitely feels as a father, he submits without murmuring to this awful dispensation of Divine justice. It is an awful thing to introduce innovations either into the rites and ceremonies, or into the truths, of the religion of Christ: he who acts thus cannot stand guiltless before his God. It has often been remarked that excessive grief stupefies the mind, so that amazement and deep anguish prevent at once both tears and complaints; hence that saying of Seneca, Curae leves loquantur; graviores silent. “Slight sorrows are loquacious; deep anguish has no voice. See Clarke on Lev 10:19 (note).
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֜ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| אֶֽל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אַהֲרֹ֗ן | ʾaharon | Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| הוּא֩ | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | [is that] which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| דִּבֶּ֨ר | diber | he spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| יְהוָ֤ה׀ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לֵאמֹר֙ | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| בִּקְרֹבַ֣י | bikrovai | in midst my | H7138 → | 77 times |
| אֶקָּדֵ֔שׁ | ʾekadesh | I will show myself holy | H6942 → | 171 times |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּנֵ֥י | penei | [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעָ֖ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אֶכָּבֵ֑ד | ʾekaved | I will gain glory | H3513 → | |
| וַיִּדֹּ֖ם | vaiyidom | and he was silent | H1826 → | |
| אַהֲרֹֽן׃ | ʾaharon | Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
מֹשֶׁ֜הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
אֶֽל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אַהֲרֹ֗ןAaron
ʾaharonH175 →347 times
הוּא֩it
hu'H1931 →1879 times
אֲשֶׁר־[is that] which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
דִּבֶּ֨רhe spoke
diberH1696 →1141 times
יְהוָ֤ה׀Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לֵאמֹר֙<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
בִּקְרֹבַ֣יin midst my
bikrovaiH7138 →77 times
אֶקָּדֵ֔שׁI will show myself holy
ʾekadeshH6942 →171 times
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
פְּנֵ֥י[the] face of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
כָל־all
khol-H3605 →5413 times
הָעָ֖םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
אֶכָּבֵ֑דI will gain glory
ʾekavedH3513 →
וַיִּדֹּ֖םand he was silent
vaiyidomH1826 →
אַהֲרֹֽן׃Aaron
ʾaharonH175 →347 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 2:30Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever. But now the LORD declares: Far be it…
it leads to
- John 12:26
If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, My servant will be as well. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
- Jeremiah 18:9–10
And if at another time I announce that I will build up and establish a nation or kingdom,
- Proverbs 3:9–10
Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your harvest;
- Malachi 1:6
“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me?” says the…
- 2 Chronicles 15:2
So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him,…
- John 12:26
Through
Isaiah 49:3He said to Me, “You are My Servant, Israel, in whom I will display My glory.”
it leads to
- 1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 42:1
“Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations.
- 1 Peter 2:9
Through
Numbers 20:12But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust Me to show My holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land that…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 1:37
The LORD was also angry with me on your account, and He said, “Not even you shall enter the land.
- Deuteronomy 1:37
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Leviticus
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.