וַיִּשְׂאוּ֙ אֶת־עֲשָׂהאֵ֔ל וַֽיִּקְבְּרֻ֙הוּ֙ בְּקֶ֣בֶר אָבִ֔יו אֲשֶׁ֖ר בֵּ֣ית לָ֑חֶם וַיֵּלְכ֣וּ כָל־הַלַּ֗יְלָה יוֹאָב֙ וַֽאֲנָשָׁ֔יו וַיֵּאֹ֥ר לָהֶ֖ם בְּחֶבְרֽוֹן׃
Asahela zaś podnieśli i pochowali w grobie ojca jego, znajdującego się w Betlehem. Poczem szedł Joab i ludzie jego przez całą noc, aż rozwidniło się im w Hebronie.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ועל כל העדה יקצוף, “and He will be angry at the entire community.” It is not reasonable to understand these words to mean that G’d will punish the entire Jewish people for a sin committed by the Priests or an individual Priest. G’d does not punish one nation for the sins of another, and the Priests are considered as a separate nation in this respect. Even if the Israelites were to do the very thing that the Priests are forbidden to do, i.e. leave their heads unshorn or their clothing rent, this would not be accounted a sin for them at all as the whole legislation applies only to the Priests.
However, G’d’s anger and wrath would apply to the Israelites if, when they are commanded to observe mourning and to weep for the death of the sons of Aaron, they fail to do so. (Compare Rabbeinu Saadyah Gaon). The word יקצוף does not mean “He will be angry,” but “there will be קצף,” i.e. there will be a manifestation of that anger. We find a similar construction in Samuel II 2,32: ויאור להם בחברון, “day broke upon them in Chevron” (after marching all night). The word ויאור in that verse does not mean “He made it light for them.” We find that “the Children of Israel mourned the death of Aaron for thirty days, the entire nation,” (Numbers 20,29). When Moses died (Deut. 34,8) we also find that “the Children of Israel mourned for him for thirty days in the wilderness of Moav.” Here too, mourning for the deaths of Nadav and Avihu was mandatory and this directive is couched in the words “and your brethren the entire House of Israel shall bewail the conflagration.” We know from Exodus 24,1 that Nadav and Avihu were members of the elite of the people, unsurpassed by any of the elders except Moses and Aaron. This is why G’d mentioned them by name before the elders -who obviously were senior to them in age- before mentioning the elders (without naming the latter). In fact, the mourning rites for these two sons of Aaron exceeded the mourning for Aaron and Moses as Moses himself had described them as their brethren (Rabbeinu Saadyah gaon). [Moses and Aaron were mourned as leaders, not as close family members such as brothers. Ed.].
However, G’d’s anger and wrath would apply to the Israelites if, when they are commanded to observe mourning and to weep for the death of the sons of Aaron, they fail to do so. (Compare Rabbeinu Saadyah Gaon). The word יקצוף does not mean “He will be angry,” but “there will be קצף,” i.e. there will be a manifestation of that anger. We find a similar construction in Samuel II 2,32: ויאור להם בחברון, “day broke upon them in Chevron” (after marching all night). The word ויאור in that verse does not mean “He made it light for them.” We find that “the Children of Israel mourned the death of Aaron for thirty days, the entire nation,” (Numbers 20,29). When Moses died (Deut. 34,8) we also find that “the Children of Israel mourned for him for thirty days in the wilderness of Moav.” Here too, mourning for the deaths of Nadav and Avihu was mandatory and this directive is couched in the words “and your brethren the entire House of Israel shall bewail the conflagration.” We know from Exodus 24,1 that Nadav and Avihu were members of the elite of the people, unsurpassed by any of the elders except Moses and Aaron. This is why G’d mentioned them by name before the elders -who obviously were senior to them in age- before mentioning the elders (without naming the latter). In fact, the mourning rites for these two sons of Aaron exceeded the mourning for Aaron and Moses as Moses himself had described them as their brethren (Rabbeinu Saadyah gaon). [Moses and Aaron were mourned as leaders, not as close family members such as brothers. Ed.].
Radak
ויזרח לו השמש, an expression similar in principle to Samuel II 2,39 ויאור להם בחברון, “it became light for them in Chevron,” when Yaakov passed Penuel the sun had just risen. An aggadic explanation (Bereshit Rabbah 78,8) of the wording, based on the word לו, “for him,” is that the sun had a therapeutic effect on Yaakov’s limp. Rabbi Berechyah explains the wording to mean that whereas everyone in Yaakov’s retinue appreciated the sun for its light, Yaakov appreciated it for its therapeutic effect on his injury. Rabbi Hunna says whereas the heat of the sun’s rays had a therapeutic effect on Yaakov, it had a debilitating effect on Esau and his hordes. He quotes Maleachi 3 10-20 “For lo! The day is at hand, burning like an oven. The arrogant and all the doers of evil shall be straw, and the day that is coming-said the Lord of Hosts- shall burn them to ashes and leave of them neither stock nor boughs. But for you who revere My name a sun of victory shall rise, a healing” You shall go forth and stamp like stall-fed calves and you shall trample the wicked to a pulp for they shall be dust beneath your feet on the day I am preparing, said the Lord of Hosts.