Numbers 25
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 25
Worship of Baal of Peor. 1 While Israel was living at Shittim,[a] the people profaned themselves by prostituting themselves with the Moabite women.(A) 2 These then invited the people to the sacrifices of their god, and the people ate of the sacrifices(B) and bowed down to their god. 3 Israel thereby attached itself to the Baal of Peor,(C) and the Lord’s anger flared up against Israel. 4 (D)The Lord said to Moses: Gather all the leaders of the people, and publicly execute them[b] before the Lord, that the blazing wrath of the Lord may turn away from Israel. 5 So Moses told the Israelite judges, “Each of you kill those of his men who have attached themselves to the Baal of Peor.”[c]
Zeal of Phinehas. 6 At this a certain Israelite came and brought in a Midianite woman[d] to his kindred in the view of Moses and of the whole Israelite community, while they were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 7 (E)When Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he rose up from the assembly, and taking a spear in his hand, 8 followed the Israelite into the tent where he pierced the two of them, the Israelite and the woman. Thus the plague upon the Israelites was checked; 9 but the dead from the plague were twenty-four thousand.
10 Then the Lord said to Moses: 11 Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned my anger from the Israelites by his being as jealous among them as I am; that is why I did not put an end to the Israelites in my jealousy.[e] 12 (F)Announce, therefore, that I hereby give him my covenant of peace,[f] 13 which shall be for him and for his descendants after him the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was jealous on behalf of his God and thus made expiation for the Israelites.
14 [g]The name of the slain Israelite, the one slain with the Midianite woman, was Zimri, son of Salu, prince of a Simeonite ancestral house. 15 The name of the slain Midianite woman was Cozbi, daughter of Zur, who was head of a clan, an ancestral house, in Midian.
Vengeance on the Midianites. 16 [h]The Lord then said to Moses: 17 (G)Treat the Midianites as enemies and strike them, 18 for they have been your enemies by the deceitful dealings they had with you regarding Peor and their kinswoman Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite prince, who was slain at the time of the plague because of Peor.
III. Second Census of a New Generation and Preparation to Enter the Promised Land
Chapter 26
The Second Census. 19 After the plague
Footnotes
- 25:1 Shittim: the full name was Abel-shittim, a locality at the foot of the mountains in the northeastern corner of the plains of Moab (33:49). Prostituting themselves: the application to men of such traditional language for apostasy clearly suggests apostasy was taken to be an inevitable consequence of intermarriage with the Midianite women.
- 25:4 Publicly execute them: the same phrase occurs in 2 Sm 21:6–14, where the context shows that at least a part of the penalty consisted in being denied honorable burial. In both passages, dismemberment or impalement (perhaps subsequent to the actual execution) as a punishment for the breaking of covenant pledges, is a possible interpretation of the Hebrew phrase.
- 25:5 Thereby Moses apparently alters the Lord’s command to execute all the leaders.
- 25:6 Midianite woman: according to 22:4, 7, the Midianites were allied with the Moabites in opposing Israel, while 31:16 claims that Balaam had induced the Midianite women to lure the Israelites away from the Lord. They were weeping: on account of the plague that had struck them; cf. v. 8.
- 25:11 My jealousy: God’s desire to maintain an exclusive hold on the allegiance of the Israelites.
- 25:12 Covenant of peace: by means of this covenant between God and Phinehas, Phinehas can expect God’s protection, especially from any threat of reprisal for his action; cf. Is 54:10; Ez 34:25; 37:26.
- 25:14–15 The noble lineage of the slain couple is mentioned in order to stress the courage of Phinehas in punishing them. The zeal of Phinehas became proverbial; cf. Ps 106:30; Sir 45:23; 1 Mc 2:26, 54.
- 25:16–18 The account of the execution of this command is given in 31:1–18.
Números 25
La Biblia de las Américas
El pueblo peca en Sitim
25 Mientras Israel habitaba en Sitim(A), el pueblo comenzó a prostituirse(B) con las hijas de Moab. 2 Y estas invitaron al pueblo a los sacrificios que hacían a sus dioses(C), y el pueblo comió y se postró ante sus dioses. 3 Así Israel se unió a Baal de Peor[a](D), y se encendió la ira del Señor contra Israel. 4 Y el Señor dijo a Moisés: Toma a todos los jefes del pueblo y ejecútalos delante del Señor a plena luz del día[b], para que se aparte de Israel la ardiente ira del Señor(E). 5 Entonces Moisés dijo a los jueces de Israel: Cada uno de vosotros mate a aquellos de los suyos que se han unido a Baal de Peor[c](F).
6 Y he aquí que un hombre, uno de los hijos de Israel, vino y presentó una madianita(G) a sus parientes[d], a la vista de Moisés y a la vista de toda la congregación de los hijos de Israel, que lloraban a la puerta de la tienda de reunión(H). 7 Y cuando lo vio Finees(I), hijo de Eleazar, hijo del sacerdote Aarón, se levantó de en medio de la congregación, y tomando una lanza en su mano, 8 fue tras el hombre de Israel, entró en la alcoba y los traspasó a los dos, al hombre de Israel y a la mujer por su vientre. Y así cesó la plaga sobre los hijos de Israel(J). 9 Y los que murieron por la plaga fueron veinticuatro mil(K).
10 Entonces habló el Señor a Moisés, diciendo: 11 Finees(L), hijo de Eleazar, hijo del sacerdote Aarón, ha apartado mi furor de los hijos de Israel porque demostró su celo por mí entre ellos, y en mi celo no he destruido a los hijos de Israel(M). 12 Por tanto, di: «He aquí, yo le doy(N) mi pacto de paz(O); 13 y será para él y para su descendencia[e] después de él, un pacto de sacerdocio perpetuo(P), porque tuvo celo por su Dios e hizo expiación por los hijos de Israel(Q)».
14 El nombre del hombre de Israel que fue muerto[f] con la madianita era Zimri, hijo de Salu, jefe de una casa paterna de Simeón. 15 Y el nombre de la mujer madianita que fue muerta[g] era Cozbi(R), hija de Zur(S), el cual era cabeza del pueblo de una casa paterna en Madián.
16 Entonces habló el Señor a Moisés, diciendo: 17 Hostigad a los madianitas y heridlos(T); 18 pues ellos os han sido hostiles con sus engaños, con los que os engañaron en el asunto de Peor, y en el asunto de Cozbi, hija del jefe de Madián, su hermana, que fue muerta[h] el día de la plaga por causa de Peor.
Footnotes
- Números 25:3 O, Baal-peor
- Números 25:4 Lit., frente al sol
- Números 25:5 O, Baal-peor
- Números 25:6 Lit., hermanos
- Números 25:13 Lit., simiente
- Números 25:14 Lit., herido
- Números 25:15 Lit., herida
- Números 25:18 Lit., herida
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
