Numbers 25 (Bemidbar) Outline: (vv 1-3) Israel at Shittim whores with Moab & worships Baalpeor. (v 4) YHVH instructs Moses (vv 5-6) Moshe instructs the chieftains (vv 7-15) Phinehas slays Zimri & Cozbi; YHWH rewards him (vv 16-18) YHVH instructs Moshe about Midianites.
1 And Israel abode in Shittim 1, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.
2 And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.
3 And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of the Lord יְהוָ֖ה was kindled against Israel.
4 And the Lord יְהוָ֖ה said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the Lord יְהוָ֖ה against the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel.
5 And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baalpeor.
6 And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
7 And when Phinehas 2, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand;
8 And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.
9 And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.
1 And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit harlotry with the daughters of Moab. 2 And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods; and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. 3 And Israel joined himself unto the Baal of Peor; and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. 4 And the Lord said unto Moses: ‘Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them up unto the Lord in face of the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.’ 5 And Moses said unto the judges of Israel: ‘Slay ye every one his men that have joined themselves unto the Baal of Peor.’ 6 And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, while they were weeping at the door of the tent of meeting. 7 And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the midst of the congregation, and took a spear in his hand. 8 And he went after the man of Israel into the chamber, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel. 9 And those that died by the plague were twenty and four thousand.
Numbers 25 B’midbar:
Parshah Pinchas Begins
10 And the Lord יְהוָ֖ה spake unto Moses, saying,
11 Phinehas 3, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.
12 Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace 4:
13 And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood 5; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.
14 Now the name of the Israelite that was slain, even that was slain with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a chief house among the Simeonites.
15 And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was head over a people, and of a chief house in Midian.
16 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
17 Vex the Midianites, and smite them:
18 For they vex you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, which was slain in the day of the plague for Peor’s sake.
¶ 10 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying: 11 ‘Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the prie st, hath turned My wrath away from the children of Israel, in that he was very jealous for My sake among them, so that I consumed not the children of Israel in My jealousy. 12 Wherefore say: Behold, I give unto him My covenant of peace; 13 and it shall be unto him, and to his seed after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was jealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.’ 14Now the name of the man of Israel that was slain, who was slain with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a fathers’house among the Simeonites. 15 And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was head of the people of a fathers’house in Midian.
¶ 16 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying: 17 ‘Harass the Midianites, and smite them; 18 for they harass you, by their wiles wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the prince of Midian, their sister, who was slain on the day of the plague in the matter of Peor.’
¶ 19 And it came to pass after the plague,
Notes:
- Numbers 25:1 Shittim – lit means “in the acacias”. It complete name was Abel-shittem. Later Joshua will sent out the spies from here and cross the Jordan from here. ↩
- Numbers 25:7 Phinehas – is an Egyptian name meaning “the Nubian” ↩
- Numbers 25:11 – I have read many people commenting and mentioning a small yod in Phinehas’ name but I am unable to locate the small yod with a Mesoretic note. So I will reserve commenting on the small yod until I see a Mesoretic note or a verifiable reason to believe these teachings. ↩
- Numbers 25:12 covenant of peace – (1) There is a nuance in the Hebrew here. The word peace “shalom” is spelled shin, lamed, vav, mem sofet. The Vav is broken. I read that there are over 20 teachings about the broken Vav. At some point I will add an article about it. (2) Lit. translated “My covenant the covenant of peace. This is not a typical covenant but it is a promise from HaShem to Phinehas as recorded in Psalms 106:28 They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead. 29 Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions: and the plague brake in upon them. 30 Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed. 31 And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore. The Rabbi’s considers him Elijah. ↩
- Numbers 25:13 everlasting priesthood –בְּרִ֖ית כְּהֻנַּ֣ת עוֹלָ֑ם lit. the covenant priesthood of an everlasting. His descendents where the High Priests, except during the time of Eli, until the fall of Jerusalem, according to list on Jewish Encyclopedia. For more read the article: “Phinehas (Pinchas) the War High Priest“ ↩