What can we learn from Phinehas?

When sin threatens a whole people, passivity is not neutral: Phinehas rises up “from among the congregation” while everyone else weeps (Num 25:6-8). God honors zeal for his holiness: he gives Phinehas a covenant of peace, and his act is “counted unto him for righteousness” to all generations (Num 25:12-13; Ps 106:31). Zeal must be paired with listening: in Gilead, Phinehas asks before he strikes and rejoices to learn that his brothers are faithful (Josh 22:30-31). Phinehas’s act “made an atonement” for Israel (Num 25:13); for us, the decisive atonement is the sacrifice of Christ, “the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 2:2).

The wilderness, the conquest of Canaan, and the start of the judges · around 1400 BC

Phinehas in the Bible

The Priest Zealous for His God. Name meaning: A name the Bible does not comment on; not to be confused with Phinehas, one of Eli’s two sons (1 Sam 1:3)

The son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron, Phinehas rises up at Shittim when Israel joins itself to Baal-peor: with one thrust of a javelin, he ends the plague that has already killed twenty-four thousand (Num 25:7-9). The LORD gives him “my covenant of peace” and “an everlasting priesthood” (Num 25:12-13). We meet him again in the war against Midian, leading the delegation sent to the tribes in Gilead, and then before the ark at Bethel; the psalmist says his act was “counted unto him for righteousness” (Ps 106:31).

Main books: Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges

Key moments

He is born to Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest Exodus 6:25
He rises up and stops the plague of Baal-peor with a javelin Numbers 25:7–8
The LORD gives him a covenant of peace and an everlasting priesthood Numbers 25:12–13
He accompanies the army against Midian with the trumpets Numbers 31:6
He leads the delegation that averts war between the tribes Joshua 22:30–31
He stands before the ark at Bethel Judges 20:27–28
His act is counted to him for righteousness, to all generations Psalms 106:30–31

Strengths

Zeal for the LORD
Courage
Firmness
Willingness to listen
Faithfulness in sacred service

Weaknesses

Scripture records no personal failing in Phinehas. In the affair of the altar by the Jordan, the delegation he leads starts from a suspicion of “trespass” (Josh 22:16) that proves unfounded; but he listens to the tribes’ answer and acknowledges that the LORD is among Israel (Josh 22:30-31).

Lessons for today

When sin threatens a whole people, passivity is not neutral: Phinehas rises up “from among the congregation” while everyone else weeps (Num 25:6-8).
God honors zeal for his holiness: he gives Phinehas a covenant of peace, and his act is “counted unto him for righteousness” to all generations (Num 25:12-13; Ps 106:31).
Zeal must be paired with listening: in Gilead, Phinehas asks before he strikes and rejoices to learn that his brothers are faithful (Josh 22:30-31).
Phinehas’s act “made an atonement” for Israel (Num 25:13); for us, the decisive atonement is the sacrifice of Christ, “the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 2:2).

Phinehas, 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. Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace: And 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.

Numbers 25:11–13

Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed. And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore.

Psalms 106:30–31

And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh, This day we perceive that the Lord is among us, because ye have not committed this trespass against the Lord: now ye have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the Lord.

Joshua 22:31

People around Phinehas

Eleazar — Father, a priest
Aaron — Grandfather, the high priest (Ezra 7:5)
Moses — Sees his act and later sends him against Midian
Balaam — Slain by the sword in the war against Midian in which Phinehas takes part
Zimri and Cozbi — The two people he runs through with his javelin at Peor
Ezra — A descendant through the priestly line (Ezra 7:1-5)

Quiz: how well do you know Phinehas?

Who was Phinehas’s father?

How many people died in the plague that struck Israel at Shittim?

To which god did Israel join itself at Shittim, led astray by the daughters of Moab?

There are many more questions like these in Bible Academy, each with its explanation and verse. Start your free trial.