“And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp.”
Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Aaron's uncle Uzziel, and said to them, come here; carry your cousins outside the camp, away from the front of the sanctuary. The removal of the bodies of Nadab and Abihu is assigned to their cousins — other Levites rather than their father Aaron or their surviving brothers Eleazar and Ithamar. The reasons will become clear in verse 6: Aaron and his remaining sons are not to display the signs of mourning that would normally accompany the death of close relatives. The priestly service must continue; the ministry cannot stop because of personal loss. The removing of the bodies outside the camp follows the same outside-the-camp principle as the disposal of the sin offering — what is consumed by the holy fire goes outside the sacred precinct.
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