Numbers 25:1-9

Baal Worship at Peor

1 While Israel lived in ¹Shittim, ²the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab.

2 ³These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.

3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.

4 And the LORD said to Moses, ⁴"Take all the chiefs of the people and ⁵hang^[a] them in the sun before the LORD, ⁶that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel."

5 And Moses said to ⁷the judges of Israel, ⁸"Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor."

6 And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were ⁹weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting.

7 ¹⁰When Phinehas ¹¹the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand

8 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.

9 Nevertheless, ¹²those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.

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Numbers 25:1-9 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 25

The contents of this chapter are, the sin of the people of Israel, their whoredom and idolatry, Nu 25:1-3, their punishment for it, multitudes being slain, Nu 25:4,5, whose number is given, Nu 25:9, the zeal of Phinehas in slaying two notorious offenders, Nu 25:6-8, whose names are observed, Nu 25:14,15 for which he is commended, and the covenant of priesthood was given and confirmed unto him, Nu 25:10-13, and the chapter is concluded with an order to vex the Midianites, for vexing Israel with their wiles, Nu 25:16-18.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 12

1. Numbers 33:49; Joshua 2:1; Joshua 3:1; Micah 6:5
2. [Numbers 31:16]
3. Exodus 34:15, 16; Joshua 22:17; Psalms 106:28; Hosea 9:10; [1 Corinthians 10:20]
4. See Deuteronomy 4:3
5. [Deuteronomy 21:23; 2 Samuel 21:6; Galatians 3:13]
6. ver. 11; Deuteronomy 13:17
7. [Numbers 11:16; Exodus 18:21, 25]
8. [Exodus 32:27]
9. Joel 2:17
10. Psalms 106:30
11. Exodus 6:25
12. Deuteronomy 4:3; [1 Corinthians 10:8]

Footnotes 1

[a]. Or impale

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.