Numbers 16:37

37 and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, Take up the brazen censers out of the midst of the men that have been burnt, and scatter the strange fire yonder, for they have sanctified the censers

Numbers 16:37 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 16:37

Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest
His eldest son, that was to succeed him as high priest, and who perhaps was upon the spot to see the issue of things; and who, rather than Aaron, is bid to do what follows, partly because Aaron was now officiating, burning incense, and that he might not be defiled with the dead bodies; and partly because it was more proper and decent for the son to do it than the father; and it may be also because it was for the further confirmation of the priesthood in the posterity of Aaron:

that he take up the censers out of the burning;
either out from among the dead bodies burnt with fire from the Lord, or out of the burning of the incense in them; these were the censers of Korah and the two hundred fifty men with him:

and scatter thou the fire yonder;
the fire that was in the censers; the incense burning in them was to be cast out and scattered here and there, or carried to some unclean place at a distance, as a token of the rejection of the services of these men: and thus the Lord answered the prayer of Moses, that he would not have respect to their offering, ( Numbers 16:15 ) ; if incense is intended there; though that seems to refer only to Dathan and Abiram, and not to these two hundred fifty men:

for they are hallowed,
incense being offered in them before the Lord, and therefore were not to be made use of in common service.

Numbers 16:37 In-Context

35 And fire went forth from the Lord, and devoured the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.

36 And the Lord said to Moses,

37 and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, Take up the brazen censers out of the midst of the men that have been burnt, and scatter the strange fire yonder, for they have sanctified the censers

38 of these sinners against their own souls, and do thou make them beaten plates a covering to the altar, because they were brought before the Lord and hallowed; and they became a sign to the children of Israel.

39 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest took the brazen censers, which the men who had been burnt brought near, and they put them as a covering on the altar: