God Himself steps in to clarify Pinḥas's lineage. But why now? What did God see that prompted this?
The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Bamidbar Rabbah 21, digs deep into this. The Rabbis of old, in their insightful way, suggest that Zimri, son of Salu, wasn't just known by one name. In fact, they say he had six names! (Though some suggest it was actually five – the texts can be tricky sometimes! See Sanhedrin 82b). They list them: Zimri, son of Salu; Shaul, son of the Canaanite woman; Shelumiel, son of Tzurishadai. Each name, they argue, reflects a different aspect of his transgression.
Zimri, they say, shares a root with the word muzeret, meaning "rotten." He was like a rotten egg, devoid of life, spent from his illicit encounter. Son of Salu? He magnified, sila, his family's iniquity. Shaul? He lent, shehishil, himself to transgression. And son of the Canaanite woman? He performed a Canaanite act, an idolatrous act.
In Midrash, as Zimri lay slain, the tribes murmured, questioning Pinḥas's right to act as he did. "Have you seen," they said, "this son of Putiel, whose mother's father fattened calves for idol worship, kill a prince of Israel?" The commentary Etz Yosef and others explain that Pinḥas's mother was a descendant of Yitro, who was also called Putiel (see Shemot Rabba 7:5). So, the question was: did Pinḥas, with his potentially questionable lineage, have the right to take such drastic action?
That's why the verse emphasizes his lineage: "Pinḥas, son of Elazar, son of Aaron the priest." God Himself validates his lineage and, more importantly, His covenant with him: "Therefore, say: Behold, I am giving him My covenant of peace" (Numbers 25:12). This covenant of peace, according to some interpretations, continues to this day! The Etz Yosef even suggests this alludes to the belief that Pinḥas is actually Elijah, still alive and active in the world. We see echoes of this promise in (Malachi 2:5): "My covenant was with him, life and peace, and I gave it to him for the fear that he feared Me."
But what about the act itself? Did Pinḥas offer a sacrifice? Not in the traditional sense. Instead, the Midrash teaches that "anyone who sheds the blood of the wicked, it is as though he sacrificed an offering." A powerful, and perhaps unsettling, statement about the weight of justice.
The Torah then contrasts Pinḥas's legacy with Zimri's: "The name of the Israelite man who was slain, who was slain with the Midianite woman, was Zimri son of Salu, prince of a Simeonite patrilineal house" (Numbers 25:14). Just as God praises the righteous, He also publicly shames the wicked. Pinḥas is praised; Zimri is defamed. As (Proverbs 10:7) says, "The memory of the righteous is for blessing, and the name of the wicked will rot."
The Midrash sees Zimri as someone who breached a fence, violating a boundary set by his ancestors. "One who breaches a fence, a serpent will bite him" (Ecclesiastes 10:8). His ancestor Simeon, along with Levi, had acted zealously against harlotry (Genesis 34:25). Zimri, in his actions, undermined that legacy.
Even Kozbi, the Midianite woman, isn't spared scrutiny: "And the name of the Midianite woman who was slain: Kozbi daughter of Tzur; he was head of the nations of a patrilineal house in Midian" (Numbers 25:15). The Midianites, the Midrash emphasizes, went to great lengths to lead Israel astray. Tzur, Kozbi's father, was even a king who sacrificed his daughter's reputation for this cause. He was the greatest of them all, a king who "demeaned himself and publicized his daughter in disgrace."
So, what does it all mean? This passage isn't just about a single event. It's about lineage, legacy, and the consequences of our choices. It's about how we uphold or betray the values of our ancestors. And it's about the enduring power of God's covenant, a covenant that extends not just to individuals, but to generations. It reminds us that our actions echo through time, shaping not only our own destinies but the destinies of those who come after us.
What did the Holy One blessed be He see that led Him to trace Pinḥas’s lineage after that incident? When Zimri son of Salu was stabbed, the Sages said that Zimri had six names:3Etz Yosef, Reshash, and Radal suggest that the correct reading is five names (see Sanhedrin 82b). Zimri, son of Salu; Shaul, son of the Canaanite woman; Shelumiel, son of Tzurishadai; Zimri – because he became upon that Midianite woman like a rotten [hamuzeret] egg.4He was so exhausted from his sexual activity that he was like an egg that would not produce a fledgling. The name Zimri shares the same root as muzeret. Son of Salu – a son who magnified [sila] his family’s iniquity. Shaul – as he lent [shehishil] himself for transgression. Son of the Canaanite woman – as he performed a Canaanite act. What was his name? Shelumiel. You find that when Zimri was stabbed, the tribes stood near him and said: Have you seen, this son of Putiel, whose mother’s father5A midrash states that Pinḥas’s mother was a descendant of Yitro, who was also called Putiel (see Shemot Rabba 7:5). fattened calves for idol worship, killed a prince of Israel? That is why the verse came to trace his lineage: “Pinḥas, son of Elazar, son of Aaron the priest.” “Therefore, say: Behold, I am giving him My covenant of peace” (Numbers 25:12). “Therefore, say: Behold, I am giving him My covenant of peace” – as he is still alive.6The Etz Yosef explains that this is a reference to the view that Pinḥas is Elijah, and therefore he is still alive. Likewise it says: “My covenant was with him, life and peace, and I gave it to him for the fear that he feared Me, and because he was in awe of My name” (Malachi 2:5). “It shall be for him, and for his descendants after him, a covenant of an eternal priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and he atoned for the children of Israel” (Numbers 25:13). “It shall be for him, and for his descendants after him…and he atoned” – did he sacrifice an offering, that atonement is stated in his regard? It is, rather, to teach you that anyone who sheds the blood of the wicked, it is as though he sacrificed an offering. “The name of the Israelite man who was slain, who was slain with the Midianite woman, was Zimri son of Salu, prince of a Simeonite patrilineal house” (Numbers 25:14). “The name of the Israelite man who was slain, who was slain with the Midianite woman” – just as the Holy One blessed be He engages in praise of the righteous to publicize it in the world, so, He engages in defamation of the wicked to publicize them in the world. Pinḥas, He publicized him for praise; Zimri, for defamation. In their regard it is stated: “The memory of the righteous is for blessing, and the name of the wicked will rot” (Proverbs 10:7). “Prince of a Simeonite patrilineal house” – as anyone who tarnishes himself, tarnishes his family with him. “Zimri son of Salu” – the verse is astonished in his regard: “One who breaches a fence, a serpent will bite him” (Ecclesiastes 10:8). His ancestor was initially zealous regarding harlotry, as it is stated: “The two sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, took [each man his sword…and slew all the males]” (Genesis 34:25), and this one breached the fence that his ancestor had established. “And the name of the Midianite woman who was slain: Kozbi daughter of Tzur; he was head of the nations of a patrilineal house in Midian” (Numbers 25:15). “And the name of the…woman who was slain…he was head of the nations of a patrilineal house…” – to inform you of the extent to which the Midianites devoted themselves [to cause Israel to sin]. They even renounced a king’s daughter, as it is stated: “They killed the kings of Midian among those who were slain [Evi, and Rekem, and Tzur, and Ḥur, and Reva, the five kings of Midian]” (Numbers 31:8) – Tzur was the greatest of them all. He was a king and renounced his daughter; who would not renounce? Because he demeaned himself and publicized his daughter in disgrace, the verse demoted him and wrote him third. But he was the king over all of them: “He was head of the nations of a patrilineal house in Midian.”
