Baal Worship at Peor

25 While Israel lived in (A)Shittim, (B)the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. (C)These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. And the Lord said to Moses, (D)“Take all the chiefs of the people and (E)hang[a] them in the sun before the Lord, (F)that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” And Moses said to (G)the judges of Israel, (H)“Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.”

And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were (I)weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting. (J)When Phinehas (K)the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped. Nevertheless, (L)those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.

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Footnotes

  1. Numbers 25:4 Or impale

25 And Yisroel was staying in Sheetim, and HaAm began to commit whoredom with the Banot Moav.

And they invited the people unto the zevakhim of their g-ds; and the people did eat and bowed down to their g-ds.

And Yisroel joined himself unto Baal-Peor [see Num.23:28]; and the Af Hashem was kindled against Yisroel.

And Hashem said unto Moshe, Take Kol Rashei HaAm, and kill them, hanging them [on a tree, stake], before Hashem against the shemesh, that the fierce Af Hashem (Anger of Hashem) may be turned away from Yisroel.

And Moshe said unto the shofetim of Yisroel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baal-Peor.

And, hinei, one of the Bnei Yisroel came and brought unto his brethren a woman from Midyan before the eyes of Moshe, and before the eyes of Kol Adat Bnei Yisroel, who were weeping before the entrance of the Ohel Mo’ed.

And when Pinchas ben Eleazar ben Aharon HaKohen saw it, he rose up from among HaEdah, and took a romach (spear) in his yad;

And he went after the ish Yisroel into the inner tent, and thrust through both of them, the ish Yisroel, and the isha through her belly. So the maggefah (plague) was stopped from the Bnei Yisroel.

And those that were the mesim (dead ones) in the maggefah (plague) were twenty and four thousand.

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