When Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he got up from the assembly, took a spear in his hand, followed the Israelite man into the tent,[a] and drove it through both the Israelite man and the woman—through her belly. Then the plague on the Israelites was stopped, but those who died in the plague numbered twenty-four thousand.(A)

10 The Lord spoke to Moses, 11 “Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the Israelites because he was zealous among them with my zeal,[b](B) so that I did not destroy the Israelites in my zeal. 12 Therefore declare: I grant him my covenant of peace.(C) 13 It will be a covenant of perpetual priesthood for him and his future descendants,(D) because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.”

14 The name of the slain Israelite man, who was struck dead with the Midianite woman, was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family.[c] 15 The name of the slain Midianite woman was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur, a tribal head of a family in Midian.

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Footnotes

  1. 25:8 Perhaps a tent shrine or bridal tent
  2. 25:11 Or jealousy
  3. 25:14 Lit a father’s house, also in v. 15

(A)When Phinehas (B)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, (C)those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.

The Zeal of Phinehas

10 And the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he (D)was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in (E)my jealousy. 12 Therefore say, (F)‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace, 13 and it shall be to him and to (G)his descendants after him the covenant of (H)a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel.’”

14 The name of the slain man of Israel, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, chief of a father's house belonging to the Simeonites. 15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of (I)Zur, who was the tribal head of a father's house in Midian.

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