Leviticus 9:24
in Leviticus 9Fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And there came forth fire from before Jehovah, and consumed upon the altar the burnt-offering and the fat: and when all the people saw it, they shouted, and fell on their faces.
KJV
And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.
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This verse in Leviticus 9
Commentary
8 notes on this verseFrom before the Lord - Or, from the presence of the Lord, that is, from the place where God was in a special manner present, either from heaven or from the holy of holies. They shouted - As wondering at, rejoicing in, and blessing God for this gracious discovery of himself, and his favour. This also was a figure of good things to come.
This site's exposition
there came a fire out from before
Fire comes out from before the LORD, eats the burnt offering and the fat off the altar, and the people shout and fall on their faces. That is the promise of verse 4 kept, and it is the high point of the book to this stage. The next event Leviticus reports is 10:2, where fire went out from the LORD and devoured two of Aaron's sons, told in nearly the same words. The same fire from the same place accepts an offering and kills two priests, and the narrator lays the two side by side and adds nothing.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
6 And Moses said, This is the thing which the L ORD commanded that ye should do: and the glory of the L ORD shall appear unto you. 7 And Moses said unto Aaron, Go unto the altar, and offer thy sin offering, and thy burnt offering, and make an atonement for thyself, and for the people: and offer the offering of the people, and make an atonement for them; as the L ORD commanded.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:92%@v6-7
I would rather conjecture, because it is said of all these sacrifices that he burnt them (except the burnt-offering for the people, of which it is said that he offered it according to the manner,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And there came a fire out from before the Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The moment the solemn though welcome spectacle was seen, a simultaneous shout of joy and gratitude burst from the assembled congregation, and in the attitude of profoundest reverence they worshipped "a present Deity."
When all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces - 1. The miracle was done in such a way as gave the fullest conviction to the people of its reality. 2. They exulted in the thought that the God of almighty power and energy had taken up his abode among them.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The very ancient Jewish tradition has been widely adopted that the sacred fire of the altar originated in this divine act, and that it was afterward preserved on the altar of the tabernacle until the dedication of the temple, when fire again “came down from heaven.” 2Ch 7:1. But according to the sacred narrative the altar-fire had been lighted in a natural way before this occasion. (Compare Lev 8:16; Lev 9:10, Lev 9:13, etc.; Exo 40:29.) It would therefore seem that the fire which “came out from before the Lord” manifested itself, according to the words of Lev 9:24, not in kindling the fuel on the altar, but in the sudden consuming of the victim. For the like testimony to the acceptance of a sacrifice, see Jdg 13:19-20; 1Ki 18:38; 1Ch 21:26, and probably Gen 4:4. The phrase to turn a sacrifice to ashes, became equivalent to accepting it (Psa 20:3, see the margin). The fire of the altar was maintained in accordance with Lev 6:13.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתֵּ֤צֵא | vatetze' | and it went out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| אֵשׁ֙ | ʾesh | fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| מִלִּפְנֵ֣י | milifnei | from to before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַתֹּ֙אכַל֙ | vatokhal | and it consumed | H398 → | 810 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ | hamizbeach | the altar | H4196 → | 401 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָעֹלָ֖ה | haolah | the burnt offering | H5930 → | 287 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַחֲלָבִ֑ים | hachalavim | the fat<s> | H2459 → | 92 times |
| וַיַּ֤רְא | vaiyar' | and it saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעָם֙ | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וַיָּרֹ֔נּוּ | vaiyaronu | and they shouted | H7442 → | |
| וַֽיִּפְּל֖וּ | vaiyipelu | and they fell | H5307 → | 435 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּנֵיהֶֽם׃ | peneihem | faces their | H6440 → | 2123 times |
וַתֵּ֤צֵאand it went out
vatetze'H3318 →1067 times
אֵשׁ֙fire
ʾeshH784 →378 times
מִלִּפְנֵ֣יfrom to before
milifneiH6440 →2123 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַתֹּ֙אכַל֙and it consumed
vatokhalH398 →810 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַthe altar
hamizbeachH4196 →401 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָעֹלָ֖הthe burnt offering
haolahH5930 →287 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הַחֲלָבִ֑יםthe fat<s>
hachalavimH2459 →92 times
וַיַּ֤רְאand it saw
vaiyar'H7200 →1300 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָעָם֙the people
haamH5971 →1873 times
וַיָּרֹ֔נּוּand they shouted
vaiyaronuH7442 →
וַֽיִּפְּל֖וּand they fell
vaiyipeluH5307 →435 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פְּנֵיהֶֽם׃faces their
peneihemH6440 →2123 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
Exodus 3:2There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from within a bush. Moses saw the bush ablaze with fire, but it was not consumed.
it leads to
- Acts 7:30–35
After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai.
- Isaiah 43:2
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched;…
- Deuteronomy 33:16
with the choice gifts of the land and everything in it, and with the favor of Him who dwelt in the burning bush. May these rest on the head of Joseph and crown the…
- Mark 12:26
But concerning the dead rising, have you not read about the burning bush in the Book of Moses, how God told him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the…
- Luke 20:37
Even Moses demonstrates that the dead are raised, in the passage about the burning bush. For he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’
- Acts 7:30–35
Through
Judges 6:21Then the angel of the LORD extended the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread. And fire flared from the rock and consumed the…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 18:38
Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water in the trench.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Chronicles 7:1
When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
- 1 Kings 18:38
Through
1 Chronicles 21:26And there he built an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. He called upon the LORD, who answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.
it leads to
- Judges 6:21
Then the angel of the LORD extended the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread. And fire flared from the rock and consumed the…
- Judges 6:21
Where this verse is studied
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Andrew Bonar, A Commentary on Leviticus; 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 and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.