Leviticus 10:7

Lev 10:7 And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the LORD [is] upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses.

Ver. 7. For the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.] This is every true Christian’s case, who should therefore carry himself accordingly. There is a το πρεπον, a seemly carriage, belongs to every calling. "You have an unction," &c. {1Jn 2:20}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Lev 10:7. Ye shall not go from the tabernacle — Where at this time they were, because this happened within seven days of their consecration: for the oil of the Lord is upon you — You are devoted and consecrated to the service of God and of his people, which, therefore, it is proper you should prefer before all funeral solemnities, and which must not be omitted out of respect to any person whatsoever. The ministers of religion ought to consider that this law is still binding upon them, as to the spirit and intention of it. They, of all men, ought to be so heavenly-minded, and of such elevated affections, as to maintain an unbroken manly fortitude, amid all the calamities and afflictions, both private and public, which are incident to humanity in its present state. Though religion does not require that they should divest themselves of their passions, yet they ought to be examples to others how to moderate those passions, and keep them within due bounds; especially they must not be so swallowed up in the sorrows of the world as to be incapacitated thereby for discharging their duty to God.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

10:7 must not leave: Eleazar and Ithamar were not to attend the funeral. • the Lord’s anointing oil: Because they had recently been anointed as priests (see 7:36), they were to avoid any association with the dead.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 7. The anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.] They were consecrated to the Divine service, and this required their constant attendance, and most willing and cheerful service.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(7) From the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.—Better, away from the entrance of the tent of meeting. (See Lev_1:3.) But Aaron and his sons are not to quit the court of the sanctuary to take part in the burial.

For the anointing of the Lord is upon you.—The reason why they are not to join in the funeral rites is that they had been devoted by this holy unction to the service of God. Earthly relations were, therefore, not to interfere with the duties to God. Hence, it was sin for priests to mourn when they ministered before the Lord. (See Lev_21:10-12.) This law was strictly observed during the second Temple. When an officiating priest heard of the death of a relative, he did not quit the sanctuary, lest it should appear that he had greater love for the dead person than for the living God.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7. for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you] The commands of this verse do not necessarily imply that the seven days of consecration (Lev_8:33) are not yet ended, for a similar statement is applied in Lev_21:12 to the high priest at all times.

(4) Wine and strong drink forbidden (8, 9)

Aaron is the direct recipient of God’s commands here and in Num_18:1; Num_18:8; Num_18:20 only. Elsewhere they are given ‘unto Moses and unto Aaron’ or ‘unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron.’

According to an old tradition, Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire when under the influence of wine. The close connexion of this prohibition with the record of their transgression is probably the basis of this tradition. In many ancient cults wine was forbidden to priests and other officials. Cp. Eze_44:21.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die,.... That is, they were not to relinquish the service of the sanctuary, on the account of the death of these relations of theirs, and through grief for it, but go on in it; not Aaron on account of his children, nor his sons on account of their brethren: from hence, says Ben Gersom, we learn, that whatsoever priest leaves his service, and goes out of the sanctuary, is guilty of death: some think the seven days of consecration were not quite over, during which time Aaron and his sons were obliged to continue there, on pain of death, Lev 8:33 but it is pretty plain those days were over, and that it was the day after the consecration was finished; see Lev 9:1 and See Gill on Lev 10:2 wherefore this respects their continuance in the tabernacle on the day the above affair happened, and they were obliged to continue in and go through the service of the day, notwithstanding that:

for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you; a learned man (o) infers from hence, that this affair happened within the days of consecration, they being every day afresh anointed with oil, at least had it, with the blood of the sacrifices, sprinkled on them, on their garments, taking it in the strict sense, for the oil being still upon them; whereas it seems only to signify, that inasmuch as they were consecrated with oil to the priest's office, they were under obligation to continue and perform their service without being let or hindered by what had happened:

and they did according to the word of Moses; they showed no tokens of mourning on account of the dead, and did not offer to go out of the tabernacle and leave their service.

(o) Clayton's Chronology of the Hebrew Bible, p. 353.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

On you. So that you cannot now join in the funeral, as there are so few anointed. (Haydock) --- On other occasions, priests are allowed to mourn, chap. xxi.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle, where at this time they were, either because this happened within seven days of their consecration; see Lev 8:35; or because they were longer detained there about some other holy ministrations. Though the former may seem more probable, because the meat-offering here mentioned, Lev 10:12, and the sin-offering, Lev 10:16, were part of the consecration-offerings. The anointing oil of the Lord is upon you. You are persons consecrated peculiarly to God’s service, which therefore it is just and reasonable you should prefer before all funeral solemnities.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

7. Ye shall not go out — Primarily this relates to going forth to funerals. See Lev_21:10-12, notes. This prohibition must not be considered as absolute. They were not to come in contact with secular affairs by abandoning the service of the tabernacle. Lest ye die — By some supernatural interposition. Many a Christian minister has suffered spiritual death by voluntarily going forth from the tabernacle to enter upon secular matters with the anointing oil of the Lord upon him. See Lev_8:10; Lev_8:30, notes.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The priests are not to be taken away from their duties at the door of the tabernacle, that is, the court in front of the tabernacle, even for the sake of burying their dead. They had now been in the court for eight days continuously, and they had to remain there until, in the fulfillment of their public function, they had eaten the sacrificial meal. Cf. Mat_8:21, Mat_8:22, "Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me." God"s service comes before all things.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ye shall not go from the tabernacle - Where at this time they were, because this happened within seven days of their consecration. The oil of the Lord is upon you - You are persons consecrated peculiarly to God's service, which therefore it is just you should prefer before all funeral solemnities.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The latter were not to go away from the door (the entrance or court of the tabernacle), sc., to take part in the burial of the dead, lest they should die, for the anointing oil of Jehovah was upon them. The anointing oil was the symbol of the Spirit of God, which is a Spirit of life, and therefore has nothing in common with death, but rather conquers death, and sin, which is the source of death (cf. Lev 21:12).

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)