Numbers 25:13
in Numbers 25It will be a covenant of permanent priesthood for him and his descendants, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and it shall be unto him, and to his seed after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was jealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.
KJV
And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.
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This verse in Numbers 25
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Phinehas . . . hath turned my wrath away--This assurance was a signal mark of honor that the stain of blood, instead of defiling, confirmed him in office and that his posterity should continue as long as the national existence of Israel.
This site's exposition
a covenant of permanent priesthood
A man with a spear "made atonement for the Israelites", the verb of a priest's work at the altar. The high priesthood runs through Phinehas, and 1 Chronicles 6:4-8 traces Zadok back through him to Eleazar.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Neither, then, was God unjust, nor His purpose mutable; for He detected Balaam's mind and the secrets of his heart, and He therefore tried him as a diviner, He did not choose him as a prophet. Surely he ought to have been converted if it were only by the grace of such great oracles and the sublimity of his revelations, but his mind, full of iniquity, brought forth words but did not yield belief, seeking to frustrate by its counsels that event which it had predicted.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
But this promise was conditional, and therefore might be made void, by the miscarriages of Phinehas's sons, as it seems it was, and thereupon a like promise was made to Eli of the line of Ithamar, that he and his should walk before the Lord, namely, in the office of high- priest, forever, which also for his and their sins was made void, 1 Sam. ii, 30.
By the covenant of peace given him, some understand in general a promise of long life and prosperity, and all good; it seems rather to be meant particularly of the covenant of priesthood, for that is called the covenant of life and peace ( Mal. ii. 5 ), and was made for the preservation of peace between God and his people.
), and therefore he and his shall henceforward be employed in making atonement by sacrifice. He was zealous for his God, and therefore he shall have the covenant of an everlasting priesthood. Note, It is requisite that ministers should be not only for God, but zealous for God.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And he shall have it, and his seed after him,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
והיתה לו AND IT SHALL BE UNTO HIM — this covenant of Mine shall be unto him —
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָ֤יְתָה | vehayetah | and it will belong | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לּוֹ֙ | lo | to him | ||
| וּלְזַרְע֣וֹ | ulezaro | and to offspring his | H2233 → | 229 times |
| אַחֲרָ֔יו | ʾacharav | after him | H310 → | 715 times |
| בְּרִ֖ית | berit | a covenant of | H1285 → | 284 times |
| כְּהֻנַּ֣ת | kehunat | priesthood of | H3550 → | 14 times |
| עוֹלָ֑ם | olam | perpetuity | H5769 → | 438 times |
| תַּ֗חַת | tachat | because | H8478 → | 505 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| קִנֵּא֙ | kine' | he was zealous | H7065 → | 34 times |
| לֵֽאלֹהָ֔יו | lelohav | for God his | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וַיְכַפֵּ֖ר | vaykhaper | and he made atonement | H3722 → | 102 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בְּנֵ֥י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וְהָ֤יְתָהand it will belong
vehayetahH1961 →3559 times
לּוֹ֙to him
lo
וּלְזַרְע֣וֹand to offspring his
ulezaroH2233 →229 times
אַחֲרָ֔יוafter him
ʾacharavH310 →715 times
בְּרִ֖יתa covenant of
beritH1285 →284 times
כְּהֻנַּ֣תpriesthood of
kehunatH3550 →14 times
עוֹלָ֑םperpetuity
olamH5769 →438 times
תַּ֗חַתbecause
tachatH8478 →505 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
קִנֵּא֙he was zealous
kine'H7065 →34 times
לֵֽאלֹהָ֔יוfor God his
lelohavH430 →2601 times
וַיְכַפֵּ֖רand he made atonement
vaykhaperH3722 →102 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
בְּנֵ֥י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hebrews 2:17For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, in order to make atonement…
it leads to
- Hebrews 4:14
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess.
- Philippians 2:7–8
but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness.
- Hebrews 2:14
Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil,
- Romans 5:10
For if, when we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!
- 2 Corinthians 5:18–21
All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
- Hebrews 4:14
Through
Jeremiah 33:22As the hosts of heaven cannot be counted and as the sand on the seashore cannot be measured, so too will I multiply the descendants of My servant David and the Levites who minister…
it leads to
- Genesis 22:17
I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.
- Genesis 15:5
And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”
- Genesis 22:17
Through
Psalms 106:31It was credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come.
it leads to
- Numbers 25:11–13
“Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned My wrath away from the Israelites; for he was zealous for My sake among them, so that I did not consume the…
- Numbers 25:11–13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, Letters 41-50; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.