But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered unholy fire before the LORD: See the comments on 3.4. This verse reaffirms the priesthood of Eleazar and Ithamar as valid. But renders well the Hebrew waw conjunction here (literally “And”) since what this verse says is unexpected after the previous verse. The report of these deaths also functions implicitly as a third “warning” to the new generation (see verses 10 and 19), reminding them here of the LORD’s concern for strict ritual observance within the priesthood.

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .