Leviticus 16:1
in Leviticus 16Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of two of Aaron’s sons when they approached the presence of the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah spake unto Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before Jehovah, and died;
KJV
And the Lord spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the Lord, and died;
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This verse in Leviticus 16
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The reference to the death of Nadab and Abihu is a notice of the occasion on which the instructions were given, well calculated to add point and emphasis to the solemn admonition to the high priest in the second verse. The death of his sons Lev 10:2, for drawing near to Yahweh in an unauthorized manner, was to serve as a warning to Aaron himself never to transgress in this respect.
This site's exposition
after the death of the two sons of Aaron
on Leviticus 16:1-2
The chapter is dated by a funeral. Two priests came near in a way they were not told to and died in chapter 10, and the instruction that follows opens by naming them. Aaron may not come inside the vail at all times, and the reason the verse gives for the limit is that he die not.
The record, by era
The Reformation1 voice
For although at other seasons of the year also both their public and private sins were expiated, and for this purpose availed the daily sacrifices, still this more solemn rite was meant to arouse the people's minds, that they might more earnestly apply themselves all the year through to the diligent seeking for pardon and remission.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the Lord spake unto Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron,....
Lest Aaron should fear that any remaining guilt of that sin should cleave to his family, or (seeing the priests were so apt to offend) that some after-sin of his other sons should be the ruin of his family, he is directed how to make atonement for his house, that it might keep in with God; for the atonement for it would be the establishment of it, and preserve the entail of the blessing upon it.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the Lord, and died--It is thought by some that this chapter has been transposed out of its right place in the sacred record, which was immediately after the narrative of the deaths of Nadab and Abihu [Le 10:1-20].
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
After the death of the two sons of Aaron - It appears from this verse that the natural place of this chapter is immediately after the tenth, where probably it originally stood; but the transposition, if it did take place, must be very ancient, as all the versions acknowledge this chapter in the place in which it now stands.
How the passage was read
On Leviticus 16:1-34On Leviticus 16:1-34
The day Israel still fasts
This chapter founds the Day of Atonement, in Hebrew Yom Kippur, the most solemn day of the Jewish year: the one day the high priest entered the innermost room of the sanctuary with blood for the nation's sins. With no Temple standing since AD 70, the day is kept now as a full fast: roughly 25 hours with no food or drink, most of it spent in synagogue prayer, many wearing white.
The Mishnah (the first code of Jewish oral law, about AD 200) defines the day's five abstentions: eating and drinking, washing, anointing, leather shoes, and marital relations (Yoma 8:1). It also carries a saying worth any reader's time: the day atones for sins between a person and God, “but for sins between a person and his fellow, the Day of Atonement does not atone until he has appeased his fellow” (Yoma 8:9). Reconciliation with people is homework done before the day.
What the Jewish commentators add
The meaning of the phrase after the death of the two sons of Aaron, is that immediately after the death of his sons He had warned Aaron against [drinking] wine or strong drink [when going into the Tent of Meeting], so that he should not die, 1 Above,:9.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Yoma 8:1 (the five abstentions) · Mishnah Yoma 8:9 (appease your fellow first) · The Day of Atonement (this site's study)
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 7 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְדַבֵּ֤ר | vaydaber | and he spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֔ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| אַחֲרֵ֣י | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| מ֔וֹת | mot | [the] death of | H4194 → | 156 times |
| שְׁנֵ֖י | shenei | [the] two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אַהֲרֹ֑ן | ʾaharon | Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| בְּקָרְבָתָ֥ם | bekarevatam | when drew near they | H7126 → | 280 times |
| לִפְנֵי־ | lifnei- | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיָּמֻֽתוּ׃ | vaiyamutu | and they died | H4191 → | 839 times |
וַיְדַבֵּ֤רand he spoke
vaydaberH1696 →1141 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מֹשֶׁ֔הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
אַחֲרֵ֣יafter
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
מ֔וֹת[the] death of
motH4194 →156 times
שְׁנֵ֖י[the] two
sheneiH8147 →768 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] sons of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
אַהֲרֹ֑ןAaron
ʾaharonH175 →347 times
בְּקָרְבָתָ֥םwhen drew near they
bekarevatamH7126 →280 times
לִפְנֵי־<to> before
lifnei-H6440 →2123 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיָּמֻֽתוּ׃and they died
vaiyamutuH4191 →839 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
On this chapter
About Leviticus
Who and where
1 name 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 Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.