Inauguration of the Sacrificial System (9:1—10:20).

Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them (9:22). “The meaning here is that Aaron faced the people. His hands, of course, were raised toward heaven (Ex. 9:29, 33).”91 This was just after the first high priest had finished officiating the inaugural sacrifices and before the Lord consumed them with fire. In the Ugaritic epic that bears his name, Kirta’s hand-raising and sacrifice also functioned together to invoke a celestial deity (see sidebar “A Ugaritic Sacrifice” at 1:9).92 In the ancient Near East, raising hands before a superior human power (such as a military conqueror) was a gesture of submission.93 Thus, raising them toward God or heaven could accompany humble petition through prayer (see also 1 Kings 8:22, 54; cf. 1 Tim. 2:8).

Relief from the tomb of Horemheb at Memphis shows foreigners raising their hands to implore a royal servant.

Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY, courtesy of Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden, The Netherlands

The glory of the LORD appeared (9:23). When Aaron and his sons initiated the ritual system by performing their first priestly officiation, Yahweh’s glory appeared,94 and he consumed the sacrifices with fire to complete his acceptance of the sanctuary. Compare the Sumerian Cylinder B of the ruler Gudea, which describes initiation festivities when the god Ningirsu and his consort Baba, as represented by their idols, were settled into their new temple. Their entrance was accompanied by offerings as well as purification and divination procedures. Gudea presented “housewarming gifts” to the divine couple (cf. Num. 7), prepared a banquet for Ningirsu, and offered animal sacrifices.95

Comparison between the Israelite and Sumerian procedures yields a stunning contrast. The protocol for Ningirsu and Baba followed the standard ancient Near Eastern pattern: Installation of deities, represented by images, was part of a ritual process carried out by human beings. But Yahweh moved himself, not his image, into his Israelite tabernacle before any consecration or inauguration rituals were performed (Ex. 40:34–35) to rule out the possibility that anyone could think that humans had moved him in! By implication, of course, he could also leave on his own if he chose to do so (Ezek. 9–11).

They offered unauthorized fire (10:1). Burning incense as an offering to a deity had to be done right. Thus in the daily ritual in the temple of the god Amun-Re at Karnak (Egypt), the high priest was obliged to follow a detailed protocol: reciting spells for striking the fire, taking the censer, placing the incense bowl on the censer arm, putting incense on the flame, and advancing to the sacred place.96 The ritual mistake of Aaron’s two sons was burning incense to Yahweh with “unauthorized fire,” which apparently refers to live coals from a fire other than that which God himself had just lit on the altar in the courtyard (9:24; cf. 16:12; Num. 16:46).

Offering incense

Brian J. McMorrow

Do not let your hair become unkempt, and do not tear your clothes (10:6). Forbidden here (see also 21:10–12) are ancient Near Eastern mourning customs (cf. Gen. 37:34; Job 1:20; see comment on 19:28). In a Mesopotamian myth, when the goddess Ishtar descended to the underworld and fertility ceased, “Papsukkal, vizier of the great gods, hung his head, his face [became gloomy]; He wore mourning clothes, his hair was unkempt.”97

You and your sons are not to drink (10:9). All over the ancient Near East, wine and beer were regularly served to the gods with their sacrificial meals.98 The idea that deities could become intoxicated by such beverages is reflected in Ugaritic mythology and in the Babylonian Creation Epic (Enuma Elish), where partying gods make a momentous decision to exalt Marduk above other gods while they are “under the influence.”99 There is nothing like this in the Bible with regard to Israel’s God.100 Rather, he makes his tabernacle an alcohol-free zone so that his priests can make clear decisions between crucial categories.

The Hittite Instructions to Priests and Temple Officials recognize that drunken priests could cause disturbance or quarreling or could disrupt a festival. Rather than directly restricting alcohol use, however, these instructions mandate beating as punishment for obnoxious behavior and warn priests that they are accountable for proper performance of festivals, which implies the need for mental clarity.101