Numbers 25:12
in Numbers 25Declare, therefore, that I am granting him My covenant of peace.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace:
KJV
Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace:
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This verse in Numbers 25
Commentary
7 notes on this verseMy covenant of peace - of an everlasting priesthood - As the word peace implied all kinds of blessings, both spiritual and temporal, it may mean no more here than the promise of God, to grant him and his family the utmost prosperity in reference to both worlds. The everlasting priesthood refers properly to the priesthood of Christ which was shadowed out by the priesthood under the law; no matter in what family it was continued.
This site's exposition
has turned My wrath away
on Numbers 25:11-12
Phinehas receives "My covenant of peace" for a zeal that verse 11 calls God's own, "My zeal". Malachi 2:5 joins the same pair for Levi: "My covenant with him was one of life and peace".
This site's exposition
My covenant of peace
John Wesley reads peace two ways. Phinehas had made peace between God and Israel, and the priest's standing work was to keep that peace by sacrifice, incense and prayer.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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.
Wherefore say,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A 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.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
My covenant of peace - Equivalent to “the covenant of My peace.” God established with Phinehas in particular that covenant which He had made generally with all his people; and among its blessings peace is especially mentioned, because of the peace between God and the congregation which Phinehas had brought about. As an additional gift there is assigned to him and his seed forever the office of peace-making, the legitimate function of the priesthood (compare Eph 2:14); and the covenant was thus to him a covenant not only of peace but of life (compare the marginal reference). Phinehas became highpriest after the death of his father Eleazar, and the office, with a short interruption from the days of Eli to those of David, when for unknown reasons it was filled by the descendants of his uncle Ithamar, was perpetuated in his line; nor indeed is it known to have departed from that line again until the typical priesthood of the sons of Aaron was merged in the actual priesthood of the Saviour of mankind.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
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
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לָכֵ֖ן | lakhen | <to> therefore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| אֱמֹ֑ר | ʾemor | say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הִנְנִ֨י | hini | here I | H2005 → | 316 times |
| נֹתֵ֥ן | noten | [am] about to give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| ל֛וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּרִיתִ֖י | beriti | covenant my | H1285 → | 284 times |
| שָׁלֽוֹם׃ | shalom | peace | H7965 → |
לָכֵ֖ן<to> therefore
lakhenH3651 →771 times
אֱמֹ֑רsay
ʾemorH559 →5305 times
הִנְנִ֨יhere I
hiniH2005 →316 times
נֹתֵ֥ן[am] about to give
notenH5414 →2011 times
ל֛וֹto <the> him
lo
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּרִיתִ֖יcovenant my
beritiH1285 →284 times
שָׁלֽוֹם׃peace
shalomH7965 →
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
Isaiah 54:10Though the mountains may be removed and the hills may be shaken, My loving devotion will not depart from you, and My covenant of peace will not be broken,” says the LORD, who has…
it leads to
- Psalms 89:33–34
But I will not withdraw My loving devotion from him, nor ever betray My faithfulness.
- Psalms 46:2
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth is transformed and the mountains are toppled into the depths of the seas,
- Ephesians 2:4–5
But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
- Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
- Romans 11:29
For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable.
- Psalms 89:33–34
Through
Malachi 3:1“Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He…
it leads to
- Malachi 4:5
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.
- Luke 1:76
And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him,
- Mark 1:2–3
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way.”
- Malachi 4:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.