4 min read

Phinehas Divided His Army into Warriors, Guards, and Prayers

Moses put the gold plate in his hand before they crossed. One third of the men would never draw a sword. They would only pray.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. One Third Would Never Draw a Sword
  2. Moses Put the Plate in His Hand
  3. Balaam Took Five Layers of Air
  4. The Clouds Closed Over Him
  5. The Name Brought Them Down

Phinehas counted on the east bank of the Jordan. Thirty-six thousand men. He did not send them all to fight.

Phinehas Divided His Army into Warriors, Guards, and Prayers Click for full size

He cut the host into three. Twelve thousand would meet Midian with weapons. Twelve thousand would guard the baggage, the food, the sacred vessels. Twelve thousand would stand off the field and pray until the fighting ended. The priests in that third did not carry spears. Their work was to keep asking God for the men who did.

The warriors knew the ground. Cross. Meet the five kings. Take the cities from three sides and leave one side open, so flight was still a door. Moses had been clear about that. Vengeance was commanded. A total trap was not.

The baggage guards were not leftovers. An army that loses its wagons loses the next day. They stood over the packs and the Ark's escort and did not chase glory into the smoke.

The third part did not move when the horns sounded. They named the battle. They named the brothers on the ground. They did not stop.

Moses Put the Plate in His Hand

Moses did not send a priest with a sword and a wish. He gave Phinehas the Holy Ark, which Israel takes into every war. He gave him the Urim ve-Tummim (אוּרִים וְתֻמִּים), the priestly lots, so he could ask God if the field turned strange. Then he took the gold plate from the high priest's forehead, the plate with the Name on it, and set it in Phinehas's palm.

"The knave Balaam will fly by sorcery," Moses said. "He will lift the five Midianite kings with him. Hold up the plate. They will fall to earth."

Phinehas closed his hand on the gold and crossed (Numbers 31:6).

Balaam Took Five Layers of Air

The cities fell. Temples, idols, palaces. The five kings broke. Balaam, who had told Balak to send the daughters of Moab into the camp, saw Phinehas coming and went up.

His sons Jannes and Jambres worked the air with him. He rose where spears could not follow.

Phinehas shouted to the army, "Is there any one among us who is able to fly after this villain?"

Zaliah the Danite answered. He was a master of that same craft. He rose after Balaam.

The Clouds Closed Over Him

Balaam took a path Zaliah could not take. He climbed through five layers of air until the Danite lost him. Zaliah hung in empty sky and did not know which way to turn.

Phinehas spoke. The invocation tore the clouds. Balaam showed again. Zaliah forced him down to the dirt in front of the priest.

Balaam begged. He promised never to curse Israel again.

"Art not thou the Aramean Laban who tried to destroy our father Jacob?" Phinehas said. "Then thou didst pass on to Egypt to destroy Jacob's seed. When they left Egypt thou didst incite Amalek. When the curse would not stick, thou gavest Balak the daughters. Twenty-four thousand of us died of that advice. In vain therefore dost thou plead that thy life be spared."

The Name Brought Them Down

They held up the gold plate. The Name faced the sorcery. Balaam and the five kings hit the ground.

They hanged him. They kindled a fire under the gallows. They struck off his head. They dropped the body into the fire. Four deaths for one man who had spent a life trying to end a people.

Moses counted at the river. Every one of the thirty-six thousand was there. The warriors. The guards. The third that had never drawn a sword. The prayers had held for the whole time the gold plate was doing its work in the air.

PhinehasMidianBalaamWarPrayerUrim Ve TummimNumbers
← All myths

From the tradition

Sources

2 sources

The texts behind this telling. Some cards carry a translation of the source; others are our own retelling of it, and each card says which. Every card links out to the original.

Legends of the Jews 6:104Legends of the Jews

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg (1909) · Public Domain

The familiar reading treats these stories, but the details… the nitty-gritty… well, those are sometimes left to our imagination. But the Legends of the Jews, as compiled by Ginzberg, fills in many of those gaps, drawing on centuries of rabbinic thought. And the story of the war against Midian is a prime example.

Phinehas is in charge, and his army isn't just a fighting force; it's a carefully orchestrated machine, divided into three parts. One third are the actual warriors, ready to clash with the enemy. Another third? They’re guarding the baggage, making sure the army's supplies are safe. But the final third. now, They are praying, constantly beseeching God to grant victory to their brothers on the battlefield.

Moses doesn't just hand Phinehas a sword and say, "Good luck!" He equips him with the most potent weapons imaginable. First, there's the Holy Ark, which, as we know, always accompanies Israel into battle. Then comes the Urim ve-Tummim, (אוּרִים וְתֻמִּים) those mysterious objects used for divination, allowing Phinehas to consult directly with God when needed.

There’s more! According to the legend, Moses gives Phinehas the gold plate from the High Priest's forehead. Why? Because that wily Balaam, that sorcerer, is expected to use his magic to fly into the air – and even enable the five Midianite kings to fly with him! Moses instructs Phinehas to hold up the gold plate, which is engraved with God's name. The power of God’s name, exposed in this way, will cause Balaam and the kings to plummet to the earth. And guess what? It works! They all come crashing down.

So, what happens to Balaam after that? Well, the Israelites didn't exactly show mercy. They executed him according to Jewish law. That means… hanging, burning, decapitation, and then, to really drive the point home, dropping his lifeless body back into the fire. It's a brutal end for a man who tried to curse Israel.

Now, here's a fascinating detail. Even though God commanded them to wage this war against Midian to avenge the wrongs done to them, the Israelites still approached it with a degree of… humanity. As the story goes, they attacked the Midianite cities from only three sides, leaving one side open for escape. They didn't want to completely cut off the possibility of flight. Victory was theirs. They captured cities filled with temples, idols, and palaces. The five kings of Midian? They shared Balaam's fate, meeting their end at the hands of the Israelites. It was a communal destruction, as they had all been united in their desire to destroy Israel.

Balaam traveled all the way from Mesopotamia, expecting riches for his wicked advice. Instead, he found death at the hands of the very people he sought to harm. A stark reminder that sometimes, what we seek most fervently leads us to our own undoing. The story of Balaam’s end, as recounted in Legends of the Jews, is a powerful and cautionary tale.

Full source
Legends of the Jews 6:106Legends of the Jews

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg (1909) · Public Domain

Our story today takes us into the realm of magic, betrayal, and a desperate attempt to outrun destiny. It’s a wild ride, so buckle up.

We know him from the Torah, where he’s hired by Balak, king of Moab, to curse the Israelites. But, as Ginzberg tells us in Legends of the Jews, Balaam's story doesn't end with his failed attempts to curse Israel. Oh no, it gets much more dramatic.

Balaam, caught red-handed, tries to escape the wrath of Phinehas, a zealous priest and leader of the Israelite army. How does he do it? He takes to the skies! Yes, you read that right. Balaam uses his mastery of sorcery, aided by his equally wizardly sons, Jannes and Jambres (names that echo through magical lore), to literally fly away.

Picture the scene: Phinehas and his army watching in disbelief as Balaam ascends. Phinehas, never one to back down from a challenge, shouts, "Is there any one among us who is able to fly after this villain?"

Enter Zaliah, a Danite and, according to the tale, a "past master in the art of sorcery." He answers the call and gives chase, soaring into the air after Balaam. It’s like a wizarding duel, but with higher stakes.

But Balaam is slippery. He’s not just flying; he's weaving through different "layers of air," whatever that means! He manages to lose Zaliah, vanishing from sight. Poor Zaliah is left stranded, unsure of what to do next.

That's when Phinehas steps in, using his own magical abilities. He dispels the clouds concealing Balaam, revealing him to Zaliah. Now exposed, Balaam is forced to descend and face Phinehas.

Balaam, desperate, pleads for his life, promising never to curse Israel again. But Phinehas isn’t buying it. He launches into a scathing indictment of Balaam's past transgressions. "Art not thou the Aramean Laban who tried to destroy our father Jacob?" Phinehas asks, reminding him of his long history of animosity toward the Israelites. He recounts Balaam's involvement with Amalek and his disastrous advice to Balak, which led to the sin with the daughters of Moab and the death of twenty-four thousand Israelites. According to this account, Balaam's wickedness stretched far and wide.

Phinehas condemns him: "In vain therefore dost thou plead that thy life be spared."

He orders Zaliah to execute Balaam, but with a crucial caveat: "be sure not to kill him through the holy name of God, as it does not befit so great a sinner to meet his death in such a way." Even in meting out justice, there's a concern for the sacred.

But it's not so simple. Balaam's magic protects him from ordinary weapons. Zaliah's initial attempts to kill him fail. He’s seemingly invincible.

Finally, Phinehas provides the solution: a sword engraved with a serpent on both sides, accompanied by the cryptic words, "Kill him with that to which he belongs, through this he will die." This, my friends, is poetic justice at its finest. Balaam, the master of dark arts, will be defeated by a weapon imbued with the very symbolism of his wickedness. And with this sword, Zaliah finally ends Balaam's life.

What are we to make of this fantastical tale? It’s more than just a story of good versus evil. It's a reminder that actions have consequences and that even the most powerful magic cannot ultimately shield someone from the repercussions of their choices. Balaam's story, as retold in Legends of the Jews, becomes a potent symbol of the futility of trying to escape accountability, no matter how high you fly.

Full source