🔢WEB · Numbers 25:14
What does Numbers 25:14 mean?
"Now 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."
— Numbers 25:14 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
“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.
Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace.
It 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.’”
Now 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.
The 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.
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
“Harass the Midianites, and strike them,
Explanation
Numbers 25:14 simply names the man who was killed in the previous verses' account of divine judgment: Zimri, son of Salu, a leader ("prince") of a family within the tribe of Simeon. This verse functions as a kind of epilogue or clarifying footnote to the dramatic events just described, making sure the reader knows exactly who this man was and what standing he held in Israel. He was not an anonymous or insignificant figure but a recognized leader of his clan, which makes his sin and its consequences all the more significant.
The context is found earlier in Numbers 25. Israel, camped near Moab, had been enticed by Moabite and Midianite women into both sexual immorality and the worship of Baal of Peor, a local deity. This was no small lapse; it represented Israel forsaking the covenant with
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