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Leviticus 10:6

in Leviticus 10

Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair become disheveled and do not tear your garments, or else you will die, and the LORD will be angry with the whole congregation. But your brothers, the whole house of Israel, may mourn on account of the fire that the LORD has ignited.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Let not the hair of your heads go loose, neither rend your clothes; that ye die not, and that he be not wroth with all the congregation: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which Jehovah hath kindled.

KJV

And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord hath kindled.

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This verse in Leviticus 10

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Uncover not your heads, etc. - They were to use no sign of grief or mourning, 1. Because those who were employed in the service of the sanctuary should avoid every thing that might incapacitate them for that service; and, 2. Because the crime of their brethren was so highly provoking to God, and so fully merited the punishment which he had inflicted, that their mourning might be considered as accusing the Divine justice of undue severity.

This site's exposition

do not tear your garments

on Leviticus 10:6-7

Aaron and his two remaining sons are forbidden the signs of grief, and the whole house of Israel mourns in their place. They may not leave the entrance to the Tent of Meeting because the seven days of ordination at Leviticus 8:33 are not finished.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

proposed

Uncover not your head - That is, give no signification of your sorrow; mourn not for them; partly lest you should seem to justify your brethren, and tacitly reflect upon God as too severe; and partly lest thereby you should be diverted from, or disturbed in your present service, which God expects to be done cheerfully.
And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar, and unto Ithamar, his sons,....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Uncover not your heads--They who were ordered to carry out the two bodies, being engaged in their sacred duties, were forbidden to remove their turbans, in conformity with the usual customs of mourning; and the prohibition "neither rend your garments," was, in all probability, confined also to their official costume.
Aaron and his two surviving sons are forbidden to show the accustomed signs of mourning, or to leave the court of the tabernacle in order to attend the funeral, because, from their office, they were especially concerned as consecrated priests in outwardly maintaining the honor of Yahweh. They were to bear visible testimony to the righteousness of the punishment of Nadab and Abihu. The people, on the other hand, as not formally standing so near to Yahweh, were permitted to “bewail” as an acknowledgment that the nation had a share in the sin of its priests. (Compare 1Co 12:26.) Lev 10:6 Uncover not your heads - Or, “set free ... let go loose.” It was a custom to let the hair grow long and fall loosely over the head and face Lev 13:45; 2Sa 15:30; 2Sa 19:4; and the substance of the command would thus be that they should not let the hair go disheveled. Ripping the clothes in front so as to lay open the breast was one of the most common manifestations of grief (see Gen 37:29; Gen 44:13; 2Sa 1:11; Job 1:20; Joe 2:13, etc.). The garments as well as the persons of the priests were consecrated; this appears to be the reason of the prohibition of these ordinary signs of mourning. Compare Lev 20:10. Lest ye die - See Exo 28:35 note. Lev 10:7 The anointing oil ... is upon you - See Lev 8:12, Lev 8:30. The holy oil, as the symbol of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Life and immortality and joy, was the sign of the priests being brought near to Yahweh. It was therefore by its meaning connected both with the general law which forbade the high priest ever to put on signs of mourning on account of death Lev 21:10-12, and with the special reason for the prohibition on this occasion.

The words behind it

29 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • מֹשֶׁ֣הMoses

    moshehH4872 →765 times

  • אֶֽל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • אַהֲרֹ֡ןAaron

    ʾaharonH175 →347 times

  • וּלְאֶלְעָזָר֩and to Eleazar

    uleelazarH499 →72 times

  • וּלְאִֽיתָמָ֨ר׀and to Ithamar

    uleitamarH385 →21 times

  • בָּנָ֜יוsons his

    banavH1121 →4930 times

  • רָֽאשֵׁיכֶ֥םheads your

    rasheikhemH7218 →599 times

  • אַל־may not

    ʾal-H408 →724 times

  • תִּפְרָ֣עוּ׀you let loose

    tifrauH6544 →16 times

  • וּבִגְדֵיכֶ֤םand garments your

    uvigdeikhemH899 →217 times

  • לֹֽא־not

    lo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • תִפְרֹ֙מוּ֙you must tear

    tifromuH6533 →3 times

  • וְלֹ֣אand not

    velo'H3808 →5168 times

  • תָמֻ֔תוּyou will die

    tamutuH4191 →839 times

  • וְעַ֥לand towards

    vealH5921 →5755 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • הָעֵדָ֖הthe congregation

    haedahH5712 →149 times

  • יִקְצֹ֑ףhe will be angry

    yiktzofH7107 →

  • וַאֲחֵיכֶם֙and relatives your

    vaacheikhemH251 →630 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • בֵּ֣ית[the] house of

    beitH1004 →2046 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • יִבְכּוּ֙they will weep for

    yivkuH1058 →

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • הַשְּׂרֵפָ֔הthe burning

    haserefahH8316 →

  • אֲשֶׁ֖רwhich

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • שָׂרַ֥ףhe has burned

    sarafH8313 →117 times

  • יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Leviticus 13:45A diseased person must wear torn clothes and let his hair hang loose, and he must cover his mouth and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’8 worksNumbers 16:46Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, place fire from the altar in it, and add incense. Go quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, because wrath has come out from the LORD; the plague has begun.”6 worksNumbers 16:22But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the whole congregation?”4 worksNumbers 1:53But the Levites are to camp around the tabernacle of the Testimony and watch over it, so that no wrath will fall on the congregation of Israel. So the Levites are responsible for the tabernacle of the Testimony.”4 worksJoshua 7:1The Israelites, however, acted unfaithfully regarding the things devoted to destruction. Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of what was set apart. So the anger of the LORD burned against the Israelites.4 worksJoshua 22:18And now, would you turn away from the LORD? If you rebel today against the LORD, tomorrow He will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel.4 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Joshua 22:20Was not Achan son of Zerah unfaithful regarding what was set apart for destruction, bringing wrath upon the whole congregation of Israel? Yet it was not only Achan who perished because of his sin!’”3 works2 Samuel 24:1Again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He stirred up David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”3 worksDeuteronomy 33:9He said of his father and mother, ‘I do not consider them.’ He disregarded his brothers and did not know his own sons, for he kept Your word and maintained Your covenant.3 worksExodus 33:4When the people heard these bad tidings, they went into mourning, and no one put on any of his jewelry.3 worksEzekiel 24:17Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Put on your turban and strap your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips or eat the bread of mourners.”3 worksEzekiel 24:16–17“Son of man, behold, I am about to take away the desire of your eyes with a fatal blow. But you must not mourn or weep or let your tears flow.2 worksNumbers 6:6–7Throughout the days of his separation to the LORD, he must not go near a dead body.2 worksNumbers 18:5And you shall attend to the duties of the sanctuary and of the altar, so that wrath may not fall on the Israelites again.2 worksLeviticus 21:5Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies.2 worksEzra 7:5the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest—2 worksJoshua 7:11Israel has sinned; they have transgressed My covenant that I commanded them, and they have taken some of what was devoted to destruction. Indeed, they have stolen and lied, and they have put these things with their own possessions.1 worksExodus 33:5For the LORD had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. If I should go with you for a single moment, I would destroy you. Now take off your jewelry, and I will decide what to do with you.’”1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Joshua 22:20

    Was not Achan son of Zerah unfaithful regarding what was set apart for destruction, bringing wrath upon the whole congregation of Israel? Yet it was not only Achan who perished because of his sin!’”

    it leads to

    • Joshua 7:1

      The Israelites, however, acted unfaithfully regarding the things devoted to destruction. Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of what was set…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

  • Through

    Joshua 7:1

    The Israelites, however, acted unfaithfully regarding the things devoted to destruction. Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of what was set…

    it leads to

    • Joshua 22:20

      Was not Achan son of Zerah unfaithful regarding what was set apart for destruction, bringing wrath upon the whole congregation of Israel? Yet it was not only Achan who perished because of his sin!’”

    • Ecclesiastes 9:18

      Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

    • 1 Chronicles 2:6–7

      The sons of Zerah: Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Dara—five in all.

    • 1 Chronicles 21:7

      This command was also evil in the sight of God; so He struck Israel.

  • Through

    Numbers 16:22

    But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the whole congregation?”

    it leads to

    • Numbers 27:16

      “May the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation

    • Zechariah 12:1

      This is the burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD, who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth, who forms the spirit of man…

    • Job 12:10

      The life of every living thing is in His hand, as well as the breath of all mankind.

Where this verse is studied

About Leviticus

The Scapegoat, William Holman Hunt, 1854. Public domain.
The Scapegoat, William Holman Hunt, 1854. Public domain.
Leviticus: the study guide →Read Leviticus 10 →

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) and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.

Read on in Leviticus 10 →