Numbers 25: Baal Peor, and Phinehas
A free study, verse by verse. Text: World English Bible. Notes come from the Hebrew. How to read a study
What happens?
At Shittim the people of Israel play the prostitute with the women of Moab, eat their sacrifices and bow down to their gods, and Israel joins itself to Baal Peor. Yahweh's anger burns, and he tells Moses to take the chiefs of the people and hang them up to Yahweh in open daylight, and Moses tells the judges to kill the men who joined Baal Peor. When an Israelite brings a Midianite woman to his brothers, Phinehas, Aaron's grandson, kills them both with a spear and the plague stops. Twenty-four thousand died in the plague, and Yahweh gives Phinehas a covenant of peace and of a priesthood forever.
Who is speaking?
The narrator tells the story. God's own words are in 6 of the 18 verses: his command to Moses in verse 4, what he says about Phinehas in verses 11 to 13, and his command about the Midianites in verses 17 and 18. In verse 12 Yahweh gives Moses the words he is to say. Moses speaks to the judges of Israel in verse 5. God's own words are printed in gold, and those verses are marked God speaks
1Israel stayed in Shittim; and the people began to play the prostitute with the daughters of Moab;
In plain English: While Israel stayed at Shittim, the people began to play the prostitute (or: be unfaithful) with the women (literally: the daughters) of Moab.
The Hebrew word: "Play the prostitute" is zanah. The dictionary gives it as "to commit adultery", or "fornication", and "figuratively, to commit idolatry".
How it is translated: This Bible says "prostitute" or a longer form in 77 of the 81 verses that use zanah.
What changes: Read as "to commit idolatry", the verse speaks of turning to other gods. Here it can mean sexual sin with the women of Moab, the worship of their gods, or both, and goes on to their sacrifices and their gods.
Good to know: Chapter 25 does not name Balaam. says the women caused Israel to sin in the matter of Peor "through the counsel of Balaam", and says Balaam "taught Balak to throw a stumbling block before the children of Israel".
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2for they called the people to the sacrifices of their gods. The people ate and bowed down to their gods.
In plain English: They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.
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3Israel joined himself to Baal Peor, and Yahweh’s anger burned against Israel.
In plain English: So Israel joined (or: yoked) himself to Baal Peor, and Yahweh's anger burned against Israel.
The Hebrew words: "Joined himself" is tsamad, which the dictionary gives as "to link, i.e. gird": to be fastened or yoked to. The dictionary gives Baal Peor as "a Moabitish deity": the Baal of Peor, the mountain in . The word ba'al on its own means "a master" or owner, and is also the name of a god.
Good to know: and look back on this. The Psalm says they "ate the sacrifices of the dead".
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4Yahweh said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them up to Yahweh before the sun, that the fierce anger of Yahweh may turn away from Israel.”God speaks
In plain English: Yahweh said to Moses, "Take all the chiefs (literally: heads) of the people and hang them up (or: impale them) to Yahweh before the sun (in open daylight), so that Yahweh's fierce anger may turn away from Israel."
The Hebrew word: "Hang them up" is yaqa. The dictionary gives it as "to be dislocated", and also "to impale".
How it is translated: Yaqa is in 8 verses of the Bible. This Bible says "hang" or "hanged" in 4, as in , "hang them up to Yahweh", and "alienated" in 3.
What changes: Read as "impale", they are fastened on stakes, in open daylight. The text does not say how it was done.
Good to know: Here Yahweh says to take "all the chiefs of the people", and in Moses tells the judges to kill the men who joined themselves to Baal Peor. The text does not say whether "them" in this verse means the chiefs themselves or the men who sinned, and readers take it both ways. It does not say whether the command in verse 4 was carried out.
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5Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Everyone kill his men who have joined themselves to Baal Peor.”
In plain English: Moses said to the judges of Israel, "Each of you kill those of his men who have joined themselves to Baal Peor."
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6Behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought to his brothers a Midianite 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.
In plain English: Then one of the Israelites came and brought a Midianite woman to his brothers, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole community of Israel, while they were weeping at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
Good to know: The text does not say why they were weeping. The plague is first named in .
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7When Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the middle of the congregation, and took a spear in his hand.
In plain English: When Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he got up from among the community and took a spear in his hand.
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8He went after the man of Israel into the pavilion, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel.
In plain English: He went after the Israelite man into the tent (this Bible: pavilion) and drove the spear through both of them, the Israelite man, and the woman through her body (literally: her belly). So the plague on the Israelites was stopped.
The Hebrew words: "Pavilion" is qubbah, which the dictionary gives as "a pavilion (as a domed cavity)". "Body" here is qobah, "the abdomen". Each word is used only in this verse, and the two sound alike.
Good to know: The text does not say what kind of tent it was.
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9Those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.
In plain English: Those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.
Good to know: , which many readers take to speak of this event, says "in one day twenty-three thousand fell". Numbers says twenty-four thousand died in the plague. The text does not explain the difference, and readers explain it in different ways.
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10Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
In plain English: Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
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11“Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I didn’t consume the children of Israel in my jealousy.God speaks
In plain English: "Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites, because he was jealous (or: zealous) with my jealousy among them, so that I did not wipe out the Israelites in my jealousy.
The Hebrew words: "Jealous" is qana, and "jealousy" is qin'ah. The dictionary gives qana as "to be zealous", and "(in a bad sense) jealous or envious".
How it is translated: This Bible says "jealous" or a longer form in 15 of the 28 verses that use qana.
What changes: Read as "zealous", Phinehas acted with burning devotion for God. Read as "jealous", he shared God's own jealousy ("with my jealousy"). The same words are used of God himself in this verse.
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12Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace.God speaks
In plain English: So say: 'Look, I give him my covenant of peace.
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13It shall be to him, and to his offspring after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was jealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.’”God speaks
In plain English: It will be for him and for his descendants after him a covenant of a priesthood forever, because he was jealous (or: zealous) for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.'"
Good to know: and tell this again: "Then Phinehas stood up and executed judgment, so the plague was stopped. That was credited to him for righteousness, for all generations to come."
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14Now the name of the man of Israel that was slain, who was slain with the Midianite woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a fathers’ house among the Simeonites.
In plain English: The name of the Israelite man who was killed, killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri son of Salu, a leader of a father's house (a family) among the Simeonites.
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15The name of the Midianite woman who was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur. He was head of the people of a fathers’ house in Midian.
In plain English: The name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi daughter of Zur. He was the head of the people of a father's house in Midian.
Good to know: Zur is named again as one of the five kings of Midian in . The same verse tells that Balaam son of Beor was killed with the sword.
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16Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
In plain English: Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
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17“Harass the Midianites, and strike them;God speaks
In plain English: "Treat the Midianites as enemies (or: harass them), and strike them,
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18for they harassed you with their wiles, wherein they have deceived you in the matter of Peor, and in the incident regarding Cozbi, the daughter of the prince of Midian, their sister, who was slain on the day of the plague in the matter of Peor.”God speaks
In plain English: because they treated you as enemies with their tricks, by which they deceived you in the matter of Peor and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the prince of Midian, their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague because of Peor."
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