Biblical Parallels Index – Vayikra 10

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Overview

This index is meant to help the reader explore Biblical parallels, be they two accounts of the same event, stories with similar motifs and themes, or units of text which are linguistically similar and perhaps alluding one to the other. The page includes links to tools that aid in comparison, primary sources that touch upon the parallels, and summaries of and links to articles which analyze them in depth.

Nadav and Avihu Parallels

The death of Nadav ad Avihu is mentioned in Vayikra 10 and 16, and in Bemidbar 3 and 26. Scholars have compared the narrative to both to the story of the blasphemer later in Vayikra 24, and to the stories of Moshe and Pinechas.

Tools

  •  Use the Tanakh Lab to compare the stories of Nadav and Avihu and the blasphemer.  There are not many linguistic parallels, though one in particular stands out - the bringing of each Nadav and Avihu and the blasphemer outside of the camp ("אֶל מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה").  This might be of symbolic significance as both stories touch on the question of the line between the sacred and profane, and borders between "inside" and "out".

Articles

  • See The Zeal of Moshe, Nadav and Avihu, and Pinchas, by Professor Yonatan Grossman, for analysis of the parallels and contrasts between these three stories and what the comparison teaches about the proper role and limits of zealousness. Prof. Grossman suggests that Pinchas’ defining quality is his lack of self-interest; this is what differentiates his zeal from that of others, making it laudatory.
  • Listen to The Two Narratives of Vayikra, by R. Avraham Walfish, for comparison of the stories of Nadav and Avihu and of the blasphemer and analysis of their messages about divine and human justice and appropriate boundaries in religious life. 
    See The Blasphemer, by R. Mosheh Lichtenstein, for comparison and contrast of the narratives of Nadav and Avihu and of the blasphemer as two opposite but equally inappropriate approaches to sanctity, which serve to illustrate the proper understanding of sanctifying the mundane. While Aharon's sons sin lay in their attempt to sanctify something that was not worthy of being sanctified, the blasphemer sinned in denouncing the idea that the profane can become holy.
  • For analysis of the story of Nadav and Avihu itself, with extensive discussion of what led to their death and how their act should be evaluated, see  Why Were Nadav and Avihu Killed?. 
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