Bible Strands
Leviticus 10:6
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses speaks to Aaron and his surviving sons Eleazar and Ithamar immediately after the deaths of Nadab and Abihu. He commands them to keep their hair intact and their garments unrent while the rest of Israel mourns the fire the Lord ignited.
The words — The verse opens with וַ/יֹּ֣אמֶר (va/i.Yo.mer), meaning "and he said," and names מֹשֶׁ֣ה (mo.Sheh), "Moses," as the speaker. It identifies the recipients with אַהֲרֹ֡ן ('a.ha.Ron), "Aaron," and בָּנָ֜י/ו (ba.Na/v), "his sons," anchoring the command to the priestly line.
The thread — The warning against corporate wrath in this command aligns with the intercessory plea in Numbers 16:22 and the camp boundary mandate in Numbers 1:53 that prevents divine anger from falling on the assembly. It also mirrors the sudden judgment on the whole congregation triggered by individual sin in Joshua 7:1.
Why it lands — The text demands that those bearing the LORD’s anointing oil suppress personal grief to maintain ritual stability. Readers must recognize that priestly authority requires prioritizing communal holiness over individual mourning when divine judgment is present.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Numbers 1:53 But 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.”
- 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?”
- 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 apart. So the anger of the LORD burned against the Israelites.
- Joshua 22:18 And 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.
- Leviticus 13:45 A diseased person must wear torn clothes and let his hair hang loose, and he must cover his mouth and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’
- 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!’”
- 2 Samuel 24:1 Again 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.”
- Numbers 6:6 Throughout the days of his separation to the LORD, he must not go near a dead body.
- Numbers 18:5 And you shall attend to the duties of the sanctuary and of the altar, so that wrath may not fall on the Israelites again.
- Ezekiel 24:16 “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.