Phinehas

Biblical Account

Phinehas was the grandson of Aaron and the son of Eleazar. He first appears in Exodus 6:25 as the son born to Eleazar by one of the daughters of Putiel.

The best-known episode of his life is the Baal-peor incident in Numbers 25. While Israel was encamped at Shittim, the people committed sexual immorality with Moabite women and bowed down to their god, Baal-peor, and a plague broke out. When Zimri of the tribe of Simeon brought a Midianite woman named Cozbi into his tent, Phinehas thrust both of them through with a spear, and the plague was stopped. Those who died numbered twenty-four thousand (Numbers 25:9). God declared that Phinehas "was zealous for my sake" and had made atonement for Israel, and He gave him "my covenant of peace" and "the covenant of an everlasting priesthood" (Numbers 25:11–13).

Phinehas later went out as priest in the war against Midian, bearing the holy instruments and the trumpets (Numbers 31:6). When the tribes east of the Jordan built an altar, he went with ten chiefs to investigate the matter; upon hearing that the altar was not intended for idolatry, he brought the dispute to a peaceful resolution (Joshua 22). When his father died, Eleazar was buried in the land that had been given to Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim (Joshua 24:33). During the civil war with the tribe of Benjamin, Phinehas appears as the priest ministering before the ark of the covenant at Bethel (Judges 20:27–28).

Significance Within Scripture

1 Chronicles places him in the line of the high priests (1 Chronicles 6:4) and records that he "was the ruler over them in time past, and the LORD was with him" (1 Chronicles 9:20). His name also appears in the genealogy of Ezra (Ezra 7:5). Psalm 106:30–31 celebrates how he stood up and intervened so that the plague was stayed, adding, "And that was counted unto him for righteousness."

Phinehas is not mentioned by name in the New Testament. However, 1 Corinthians 10:8 cites the Baal-peor incident as a warning, and Revelation 2:14 refers to the teaching of Balaam as lying behind the episode (cf. Numbers 31:16).

Phinehas the son of Eli (1 Samuel 2:12–17; 4:11) is a different person who merely shares the same name.

Interpretation and Issues

• The problem of violence: The passage is read as an example of zeal for guarding God's holiness. Many commentators stress that the event took place in the particular circumstances of ancient Israel and therefore cannot serve as grounds today for individuals to punish others or use violence in the name of faith.
• "Counted unto him for righteousness": The wording of Psalm 106:31 resembles that of Genesis 15:6 concerning Abraham. This has prompted discussion of whether being reckoned righteous is connected with faith or with works. Protestant commentators often distinguish this from justification, reading it as an acknowledgment of his covenant faithfulness.
• Numerical discrepancy: Numbers gives twenty-four thousand, whereas 1 Corinthians 10:8 says that "three and twenty thousand" fell "in one day." Proposed explanations include a distinction between those who died in a single day and the total number, as well as the use of round numbers.
• Extrabiblical traditions: The apocryphal books of Sirach (45:23) and 1 Maccabees (2:26) praise Phinehas as a model of zeal. Some scholars connect this with the Zealots of the New Testament era. Certain Jewish traditions identify him with Elijah, but this has no basis in the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

Phinehas is treated chiefly in sermons on Numbers 25. Such preaching commonly uses the phrase "the zeal of Phinehas" and focuses on themes such as passion for God, the holiness of the community, and firmness against sin. Joshua 22 is also presented as an example of resolving a misunderstanding through dialogue and thereby preventing division within the community.