Thursday, March 28, 2024

Did Nadav and Avihu die of an incense overdose?

DR. SHEILA TULLER KEITER: The Cause of Nadav and Avihu’s Death: Incense Smoke? (TheTorah.com).
Immediately after the death of two of Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, YHWH warns Moses that priests are prohibited from consuming wine before serving in the Tabernacle. Is their mysterious death the result of some form of intoxication?
I would file the story of Nadav and Avihu (Nadab and Abihu) in Leviticus 10 as fiction. But it's fair to ask how the author intended the readers to think that they died. An overdose? Maybe.

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