Numbers 25:7
in Numbers 25On seeing this, Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, got up from the assembly, took a spear in his hand,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the midst of the congregation, and took a spear in his hand;
KJV
And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand;
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This verse in Numbers 25
Commentary
4 notes on this verseAnd lest we appear to you to bring these things forth from our own understanding rather than from the authority of the divine Scriptures, go back to the book of Numbers and recall what Phinehas the priest did when he saw a harlot of the Midianite people with an Israelite man clinging in impure embraces in the eyes of all. Filled with the wrath of divine jealousy, he drove a sword, which he had seized, through the breast of both.
This site's exposition
he rose up from among the congregation
on Numbers 25:7-8
Phinehas is Aaron's grandson and a priest, and he leaves the weeping assembly with a javelin in his hand. The word rendered tent in verse 8 is a rare one, and Matthew Henry reads it as a place fitted up for the act itself. Verse 8 ends by saying the plague was stayed, which is the first mention of a plague anywhere in the chapter, so the narrative reports the stopping of something it never reported starting. Psalm 106:30 tells it the same way, then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it,....
The civil magistrate is the avenger, to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil, and no private person may take his work out of his hand. Two ways God testified his acceptance of the pious zeal of Phinehas:-- 1.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֗רְא | vaiyar' | and he saw [it] | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| פִּֽינְחָס֙ | pinechas | Phinehas | H6372 → | 25 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אֶלְעָזָ֔ר | ʾelazar | Eleazar | H499 → | 72 times |
| בֶּֽן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אַהֲרֹ֖ן | ʾaharon | Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| הַכֹּהֵ֑ן | hakohen | the priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| וַיָּ֙קָם֙ | vaiyakom | and he arose | H6965 → | 628 times |
| מִתּ֣וֹךְ | mitokh | from among | H8432 → | 418 times |
| הָֽעֵדָ֔ה | haedah | the congregation | H5712 → | 149 times |
| וַיִּקַּ֥ח | vaiyikach | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| רֹ֖מַח | romach | a spear | H7420 → | |
| בְּיָדֽוֹ׃ | beyado | in hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
וַיַּ֗רְאand he saw [it]
vaiyar'H7200 →1300 times
פִּֽינְחָס֙Phinehas
pinechasH6372 →25 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אֶלְעָזָ֔רEleazar
ʾelazarH499 →72 times
בֶּֽן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אַהֲרֹ֖ןAaron
ʾaharonH175 →347 times
הַכֹּהֵ֑ןthe priest
hakohenH3548 →750 times
וַיָּ֙קָם֙and he arose
vaiyakomH6965 →628 times
מִתּ֣וֹךְfrom among
mitokhH8432 →418 times
הָֽעֵדָ֔הthe congregation
haedahH5712 →149 times
וַיִּקַּ֥חand he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
רֹ֖מַחa spear
romachH7420 →
בְּיָדֽוֹ׃in hand his
beyadoH3027 →1618 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
Exodus 6:25Aaron’s son Eleazar married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These were the heads of the Levite families by their clans.
it leads to
- Joshua 24:33
Eleazar son of Aaron also died, and they buried him at Gibeah, which had been given to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 24:33
Through
Psalms 106:30But Phinehas stood and intervened, and the plague was restrained.
it leads to
- Numbers 25:6–8
Just then an Israelite man brought to his family a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and the whole congregation of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the Tent of…
- Joshua 7:12
This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They will turn their backs and run from their enemies, because they themselves have been set apart for destruction. I will no longer be…
- Numbers 25:14–15
The name of the Israelite who was slain with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family.
- Jonah 1:12–15
“Pick me up,” he answered, “and cast me into the sea, so it may quiet down for you. For I know that I am to blame for this violent storm that has come upon…
- 1 Kings 18:40–41
Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a single one escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered them there.
- Numbers 25:6–8
Through
1 Samuel 19:9But as Saul was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, a spirit of distress from the LORD came upon him. While David was playing the harp,
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 16:14
After the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, a spirit of distress from the LORD began to torment him.
- 1 Samuel 16:14
Through
Judges 20:28and Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, served before it.) The Israelites asked, “Should we again go out to battle against our brothers the Benjamites, or should we stop?” The LORD answered,…
it leads to
- Judges 7:9
That night the LORD said to Gideon, “Get up and go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand.
- Judges 7:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers
Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonExodus eraAaronBrother of Moses and Israel's first high priest; his rod budded, his garments were for glory and beauty, and his line carried the…
- PersonWildernessEleazarAaron's third son who succeeded him as high priest on Mount Hor, founding the line that runs to Phinehas and Zadok.
- PersonWildernessPhinehasGrandson of Aaron whose zeal at Baal-Peor stayed the plague and secured "my covenant of peace… an everlasting priesthood."
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 1:17.