Salu

Biblical Record

Salu appears only once, in Numbers 25:14. The verse identifies him solely as the father of Zimri and says nothing about his life or deeds.

Numbers 25 records events that took place while Israel was encamped at Shittim. When the people committed whoredom with the women of Moab and joined themselves to Baal of Peor, a plague broke out. At that time Salu's son Zimri brought a Midianite woman named Cozbi into the camp. Phinehas, the son of the priest Eleazar, killed them both, and the plague was stayed (Numbers 25:6-9). The text then gives the names and families of the two who died. The KJV describes Zimri as "the son of Salu, a prince of a chief house among the Simeonites" (Numbers 25:14) and Cozbi as the daughter of Zur, a Midianite chief (Numbers 25:15).

Significance Within Scripture

Salu's name functions as genealogical information, identifying his son Zimri and the family to which he belonged. Commentators often take the recording of both families as a way of showing that the offense was committed not by anonymous individuals but by people from leading families.

The Baal-peor incident is also mentioned in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 10:8; Revelation 2:14), but Salu's name does not appear there.

Interpretation and Issues

Scripture does not say whether Salu was involved in the incident, when he lived, or how he died. Accounts that assess his character or faith therefore have no basis in the text.

The Korean Revised Version (Gaeyeok Hangeul) uses the name "Salu" elsewhere as well, but in each case it refers to a different person; English Bibles generally spell these names Sallu. The Sallu of 1 Chronicles 9:7 and Nehemiah 11:7 was a Benjamite who lived in Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile, and the Sallu of Nehemiah 12:7 was a priest in the time of Jeshua. Likewise, Salu's son Zimri is a different person from the northern Israelite king Zimri (king of Israel).

In the Korean Church

Salu is rarely treated as a subject in his own right. His name is mentioned mainly as the father of Zimri in sermons and Bible studies on Phinehas or the Baal-peor incident.