Taberah (11:3). Taberah (“burning”), referring to the form of fiery judgment, often comes by means of lightning, though the mode of igniting the fire is not specified. This form of judgment parallels that meted out against Nadab and Abihu (Lev. 10:1–3), though that fire came out from the tabernacle. Natural disasters such as those caused by lightning were considered acts of divine judgment by people of the ancient Near East, even cases of fire caused by lightning in sacred precincts such as the Esagila in Babylon or the Assur Temple in Assyria. Fire was considered a divine quality that gave light to the people and fire for cooking sacred meals. The fiery judgment of the gods could be summoned by a diviner to bring down destruction upon one’s enemies.91