Priest living at the time of Egypt and Wilderness
Abihu was a son of Aaron who served as a priest. (Exo.6.23)
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Abihu was the second son of Aaron and Elisheba, and the brother of Nadab, Eleazar, and Ithamar (Exo.6.23; Num.3.2). He was consecrated as a priest along with his brothers to serve at the tabernacle (Exo.28.1). Abihu went up Mount Sinai with Moses, Aaron, Nadab and seventy elders of Israel to worship the Lord before He gave the tablets of the Testimony to Moses (Exo.24.1,9).
However, Abihu and his brother Nadab offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, and fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died (Lev.10.1-2; Num.3.4; 26.61). This occurred on the eighth day of the priests' consecration. Aaron and his surviving sons were not allowed to mourn their deaths (Lev.10.6).
The sin of Abihu and Nadab was in offering "strange fire" which the Lord had not commanded (Lev.10.1). This may refer to offering incense that was not prepared according to God's instructions, or performing this in a wrong manner or at an inappropriate time. Their deaths served as a stern warning against improper worship. After this incident, God gave Aaron further regulations for priestly service and conduct (Lev.10.8-11). The genealogies record Aaron's descendants through his other sons Eleazar and Ithamar, since Nadab and Abihu had no children before their untimely deaths (Num.3.4; 1Ch.24.1-2).
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Father of Him; i.e., “worshipper of God”, the second of the sons of Aaron (Ex. 6:23; Num. 3:2; 26:60; 1 Chr. 6:3). Along with his three brothers he was consecrated to the priest’s office (Ex. 28:1). With his father and elder brother he accompanied the seventy elders part of the way up the mount with Moses (Ex. 24:1, 9). On one occasion he and Nadab his brother offered incense in their censers filled with “strange” (i.e., common) fire, i.e., not with fire taken from the great brazen altar (Lev. 6:9, etc.), and for this offence they were struck dead, and were taken out and buried without the camp (Lev. 10:1-11; comp. Num. 3:4; 26:61; 1 Chr. 24:2). It is probable that when they committed this offence they were intoxicated, for immediately after is given the law prohibiting the use of wine or strong drink to the priests.
(he (God) is my father), the second son, (Numbers 3:2) of Aaron by Elisheba. (Exodus 6:23) Being, together with his elder brother Nadab, guilty of offering strange fire to the lord, he was consumed by fire from heaven. (Leviticus 10:1,2)
ABI'HU (whose father is He, i. e. God), the second son of Aaron, who with his elder brother, Nadab. his father, and 70 of the elders of Israel, went upon Mount Sinai with Moses. Ex 6:23; Ex 28:1. He was afterward set apart by God, with his brothers, Nadab, Eleazar, and Ithamar, to the priesthood. Soon after they entered on their sacred duties. Nadab and Abihu violated God's commands respecting the manner of offering incense, and were instantly consumed. Lev 10:1, Lev 10:2. This event happened in the wilderness of Sinai. The nature of their offence is very obvious; they used common fire instead of the fire which burnt continually upon the altar of burnt-offering, and some suppose they were drawn into this presumptuous sin by the too free use of wine. Their father and brothers were forbidden to make public mourning for them.
ABI'HU (whose father is He, i. e. God), the second son of Aaron, who with his elder brother, Nadab. his father, and 70 of the elders of Israel, went upon Mount Sinai with Moses. Ex 6:23; Ex 28:1. He was afterward set apart by God, with his brothers, Nadab, Eleazar, and Ithamar, to the priesthood. Soon after they entered on their sacred duties. Nadab and Abihu violated God's commands respecting the manner of offering incense, and were instantly consumed. Lev 10:1, Lev 10:2. This event happened in the wilderness of Sinai. The nature of their offence is very obvious; they used common fire instead of the fire which burnt continually
upon the altar of burnt-offering, and some suppose they were drawn into this presumptuous sin by the too free use of wine. Their father and brothers were forbidden to make public mourning for them.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
12 verses in 4 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H0030
And Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD—you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of Israelʼs elders—and you are to worship at a distance.
Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel,
“Next, have your brother Aaron brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, to serve Me as priests.
Now Aaronʼs sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense, and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to His command.
These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, then Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
Nadab and Abihu, however, died in the presence of the LORD when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD in the Wilderness of Sinai. And since they had no sons, only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron.
Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar were born to Aaron,
but Nadab and Abihu died when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD.
The children of Amram: Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. The sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
These were the divisions of the descendants of Aaron. The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
But Nadab and Abihu died before their father did, and they had no sons; so Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.