1 And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.

2And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.

3And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.

4And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel.

5And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baalpeor.

6And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

7And 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;

8And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.

9And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.

10And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

11Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.

12Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace:

13And 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.

14Now the name of the Israelite that was slain, even that was slain with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a chief house among the Simeonites.

15And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was head over a people, and of a chief house in Midian.

16And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

17Vex the Midianites, and smite them:

18For they vex you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, which was slain in the day of the plague for Peor's sake.

1 And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people begun to commit whoredome with the daughters of Moab.

2And they called the people vnto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eate, and bowed downe to their gods.

3And Israel ioyned himselfe vnto Baal-Peor: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.

4And the Lord said vnto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them vp before the Lord against the Sunne, that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel.

5And Moses said vnto the Iudges of Israel, Slay ye euery one his men, that were ioyned vnto Baal-Peor.

6 And behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought vnto his brethren a Midianitish woman, in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the Congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the doore of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.

7And when Phinehas the sonne of Eleazar, the sonne of Aaron the Priest saw it, hee rose vp from amongst the Congregation, and tooke a iauelin in his hand.

8And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them thorow, the man of Israel, and the woman, thorow her belly: So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.

9And those that died in the plague, were twentie and foure thousand.

10 And the Lord spake vnto Moses, saying,

11Phinehas the sonne of Eleazar, the sonne of Aaron the Priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, (while hee was zealous for my sake among them) that I consumed not the children of Israel in my ielousie.

12Wherefore say, Behold, I giue vnto him my Couenant of peace.

13And he shall haue it, and his seed after him, euen the Couenant of an euerlasting Priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.

14Now the name of the Israelite that was slaine, euen that was slaine with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri the sonne of Salu, a Prince of a chiefe house among the Simeonites.

15And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slaine, was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur, hee was head ouer a people, and of a chiefe house in Midian.

16 And the Lord spake vnto Moses, saying,

17Uexe the Midianites, and smite them:

18For they vexe you with their wiles, wherewith they haue beguiled you, in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a Prince of Midian their sister, which was slaine in the day of the plague, for Peors sake.

I == Num 31:16 ; 33:49 ; 1st Cor 10:8

II == Ex 20:5 , 34 , 15-16 ; Josh 22:17 ; Ps 106:28 ; Hos 9:10 ; 1st Cor 10:20

 

 

IV == Deut 4:3 ; 13:17 ; Josh 22:17

 

 

 

V == Ex 18:21 , 25 ; 32:27 ; Deut 13:6 , 9 , 13 , 15

VI == Joel 2:17

 

 

 

 

 

VII == Ex 6:25 ; Ps 106:30

 

 

 

 

 

 

IX == Deut 4:3 ; 1st Cor 10:8

 

 

XI == Ex 20:5 ; Deut 32:16 , 21 1st Kings 14:22 ; Ps 78:58 ; 106:30 ; Ezek 16:38 ; Zeph 1:18 ; 3:8

 

XII == Mal 2:4-5 ; 3:1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XV == Num 31:8 ; Josh 13:21

 

 

 

XVII == Num 31:2

XVIII == Num 31:16 ; Rev 2:14

 

 

 

1 While Israel was living at Shittim, the people degraded themselves by having illicit relations with the Moabite women.

2 These then invited the people to the sacrifices of their god, and the people ate of the sacrifices and worshiped their god.

3 When Israel thus submitted to the rites of Baal of Peor, the LORD'S anger flared up against Israel,

4 and he said to Moses, "Gather all the leaders of the people, and hold a public execution of the guilty ones before the LORD, that his blazing wrath may be turned away from Israel."

5 So Moses told the Israelite judges, "Each of you shall kill those of his men who have submitted to the rites of Baal of Peor."

6 Yet a certain Israelite came and brought in a Midianite woman to his clansmen in the view of Moses and of the whole Israelite community, while they were weeping at the entrance of the meeting tent.

7 When Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, and taking a lance in hand,

8 followed the Israelite into his retreat where he pierced the pair of them, the Israelite and the woman. Thus the slaughter of Israelites was checked;

9 but only after twenty-four thousand had died.

10 Then the LORD said to Moses,

11 "Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned my anger from the Israelites by his zeal for my honor among them; that is why I did not put an end to the Israelites for the offense to my honor.

12 Announce, therefore, that I hereby give him my pledge of friendship,

13 which shall be for him and for his descendants after him the pledge of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous on behalf of his God and thus made amends for the Israelites."

14 The Israelite slain with the Midianite woman was Zimri, son of Salu, prince of an ancestral house of the Simeonites.

15 The slain Midianite woman was Cozbi, daughter of Zur, who was head of a clan, an ancestral house, in Midian.

16 The LORD then said to Moses,

17 "Treat the Midianites as enemies and crush them,

18 for they have been your enemies by their wily dealings with you as regards Peor and as regards their kinswoman Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite prince, who was killed at the time of the slaughter because of Peor."

19 After the slaughter

Summary concerning sins of Balaam.

Way of Balaam, 2 Pet. 2:15. Is characterized by false teachers who make market of spiritual things for gain.
Error of Balaam, Jude 11 Natural morality thought God must curse such people as Israel. By vicarious atonement, God is just & yet is the justifier of believing sinners.
Doctrine of Balaam, Rev. 14. The doctrine of Balaam is his teaching Balak to corrupt a people he could not curse. Num. 25:1-3. and Num. 31:16.

v 1-3. Shittim is just east of the Jordan river crossing. This teaching or Doctrine of Balaam is also seen in Num. 31:16. It appears he still was anxious to get a reward from Balak, so when he could not curse Israel, he stuck around to get Moab to corrupt Israel’s morals. Probably beautiful prostitutes were sent down first, then the Moabites invited Israelites to sacrificial feasts, where immorality was a part of their worship. As word got around, this religion was no doubt quite attractive to Israel’s young men.

v 4,5. To appease the Lord’s anger, those of Israel’s leaders who joined unto Baalpeor were to be hung that very day. Presumably they were stoned first.

v 6-9. While many people were weeping over the situation, one Israelite brazenly took a Midianite woman into his tent in view of all the people. Phinehas was a priest, son of Eleazar the high priest, and authoritatively followed them in and slew them in their immoral act. The Lord also sent a plague and killed an additional twenty four thousand. 1 Cor. 10:8 reports only 23,000, probably not including those killed on a different day. It took more than weeping and prayer, it took Phinehas’ action to appease the Lord, a point which should also be well taken by us.

v 10-13. The Lord not only stopped the plague because of this atoning action, of Phinehas, but also assured him of an everlasting priesthood. He would follow Eleazar, who died, Josh. 24:33, who followed Aaron. The high priest office for some reason went over to the family of Ithamar from Eli in Samuel’s time to Abiathar in David’s.

v 14,15. The heinousness of the immorality broken up by Phinehas was partly because it involved key people. The Israelite was a prince of an important house of Simeon, and the woman was daughter of a main leader of Midian. She was no doubt a cult prostitute, meeting due to leadership positions at the feasts to Baal, v 1-3. It may be that many Simeonites were caught up in this immorality and slain, because the first census lists them 59,300 (1:23) down to 22,000 (26:14). Their sinfulness may account for why Zimri was brazen enough to bring her right into his tent in the camp of Simeon. 

v 16-18. The Lord command’s to attack the Midianites due to them getting Israel involved in Baal worship, and specifically the immoral act of Cozbi in v 10-15. The Midianites and Moabites were in close affinity, so some Moabites probably came under the sword, even though the nation did not. Balaam was also killed with them, see, Num. 31:8. The command of

v 17 is described and fulfilled in chapter 31.