(4) And Moses called . . . the sons of Uzziel.--Uzziel was the son of Kohath, the younger brother of Amram. As Amram was the father of Aaron, Uzziel was the uncle of Aaron. Uzziel had three sons, of whom Mishael and Elzaphan were two (Exodus 6:18; Exodus 6:22). Eleazar and Ithamar, as ordinary priests, might have been employed in removing the remains of their slain brothers. (See Leviticus 21:1-4) Naturally they were too much affected by this appalling scene; Moses therefore wanted to spare their feelings, and hence charged their cousins-german with the task of carrying away the dead bodies. The reason why Izar and Hebron, the two older uncles of Aaron, are here passed over is because the discontent of their children with the choice of Aaron and his sons to the priesthood, which afterward broke out in open rebellion on the part of Korah, Izar's son (Numbers 16, 17), had evidently begun to show itself when they witnessed the imposing ceremonies of the consecration. It was necessary that those who suffered so signally for the transgression of the Divine institutions should be buried by men whose allegiance to God's law was unimpeachable.
From before the sanctuary.--In the courtyard of the sanctuary, where the incense was offered in the midst of the rejoicing people, and where they were struck dead. (See Leviticus 9:5.)
Verse 4. - Uzziel was the youngest brother of Amram (see Exodus 6:18-22). His sons, Mishael and Elzaphan, were therefore second cousins of Nadab and Abihu, who are here called their brethren. (Cf. the use of the term "brothers of the Lord," applied probably to his first cousins in the New Testament.)
10:3-7 The most quieting considerations under affliction are fetched from the word of God. What was it that God spake? Though Aaron's heart must have been filled with anguish and dismay, yet with silent submission he revered the justice of the stroke. When God corrects us or ours for sin, it is our duty to accept the punishment, and say, It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good. Whenever we worship God, we come nigh unto him, as spiritual priests. This ought to make us very serious in all acts of devotion. It concerns us all, when we come nigh to God, to do every religious exercise, as those who believe that the God with whom we have to do, is a holy God. He will take vengeance on those that profane his sacred name by trifling with him.
And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel, the uncle of Aaron,.... Uzziel was a son of Kohath, a brother of Amram, the father of Aaron, and so Aaron's uncle, as here; he had four sons, two of which are here mentioned as called by Moses; these were first cousins to Aaron, and second to his sons; see Exodus 6:18,
and said unto them, come near; it is very probable they were in the court of the tabernacle, being Kohathites, of the tribe of Levi; but not being priests, had no right to go into the holy place, where the two sons of Aaron lay dead, without a special order for it, which they here had for this time, and upon this occasion:
carry your brethren from before the sanctuary, out of the camp; the sons of Aaron are called their brethren, though but cousins, it being usual to call any relations brethren, and even if only of the same tribe, yea, of the same nation. Now these were ordered to take the dead bodies of Aaron's sons out of the holy place, and out of the tabernacle, even from before it, which, as Aben Ezra says, was the court over against the camp; and they were to carry them out of the camp into some field, or place adjacent, and there bury them; it not being usual in those times to bury in cities and towns, and much less in places devoted to sacred worship, as the tabernacle was; and therefore they were carried from both the sanctuary and the camp: it is an observation of Aben Ezra, that"some say the incense was before the altar of burnt offering, and the Levites entered there;''but if by incense is meant the altar of incense, the place where these sons of Aaron offered theirs, that was in the holy place, and not in the court, where stood the altar of burnt offering: but they seem to mean as if their incense was offered in another place, and not on the altar, somewhere in the court, and before you come to the altar of burnt offering; and so the persons Moses called could come in thither, and take up their bodies there fallen: but the same writer observes, that others say, that"it was upon the altar of incense (i.e. that their incense was offered), and Moses brought them out of the tabernacle of the congregation,''and then called these men to carry them from thence without the camp.
Carry your brethren.--That is, your kinsmen. The expression brother is frequently used in the Bible in the sense of near relation. (See Genesis 13:8; Genesis 14:6; Genesis 24:48; Genesis 29:12-15, &c.)
From before the sanctuary.--In the courtyard of the sanctuary, where the incense was offered in the midst of the rejoicing people, and where they were struck dead. (See Leviticus 9:5.)
and said unto them, come near; it is very probable they were in the court of the tabernacle, being Kohathites, of the tribe of Levi; but not being priests, had no right to go into the holy place, where the two sons of Aaron lay dead, without a special order for it, which they here had for this time, and upon this occasion:
carry your brethren from before the sanctuary, out of the camp; the sons of Aaron are called their brethren, though but cousins, it being usual to call any relations brethren, and even if only of the same tribe, yea, of the same nation. Now these were ordered to take the dead bodies of Aaron's sons out of the holy place, and out of the tabernacle, even from before it, which, as Aben Ezra says, was the court over against the camp; and they were to carry them out of the camp into some field, or place adjacent, and there bury them; it not being usual in those times to bury in cities and towns, and much less in places devoted to sacred worship, as the tabernacle was; and therefore they were carried from both the sanctuary and the camp: it is an observation of Aben Ezra, that"some say the incense was before the altar of burnt offering, and the Levites entered there;''but if by incense is meant the altar of incense, the place where these sons of Aaron offered theirs, that was in the holy place, and not in the court, where stood the altar of burnt offering: but they seem to mean as if their incense was offered in another place, and not on the altar, somewhere in the court, and before you come to the altar of burnt offering; and so the persons Moses called could come in thither, and take up their bodies there fallen: but the same writer observes, that others say, that"it was upon the altar of incense (i.e. that their incense was offered), and Moses brought them out of the tabernacle of the congregation,''and then called these men to carry them from thence without the camp.