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According to the
Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.
Hebrew: ''Tān ...
, Phinehas or Phineas (; , ''Phinees'', ) was a
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
during the
Israelites The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...
Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...
journey. The grandson of
Aaron According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...
and son of
Eleazar Eleazar (; ) or Elʽazar was a priest in the Hebrew Bible, the second High Priest, succeeding his father Aaron after he died. He was a nephew of Moses. Biblical narrative Eleazar played a number of roles during the course of the Exodus, from c ...
, the High Priests (), he distinguished himself as a youth at Shittim with his
zeal Zeal may refer to: * Zealotry, fanaticism ** Zeal of the convert * Diligence, the theological virtue opposite to acedia * Zeal (horse), race horse * Zeal (surname) * Zeal (web), an internet directory * Zeal Monachorum, a village in Devon * South ...
against the
heresy of Peor Numbers 31 is the 31st Chapters and verses of the Bible, chapter of the Book of Numbers, the fourth book of the Pentateuch (Torah), the central part of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), a sacred text in Judaism and Christianity. Scholars such as ...
. Displeased with the immorality with which the Moabites and
Midianites Midian (; he, מִדְיָן ''Mīḏyān'' ; ar, مَدْيَن, Madyan; grc-gre, Μαδιάμ, ''Madiam'') is a geographical place mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and Quran. William G. Dever states that biblical Midian was in the "northwest Ara ...
had successfully tempted the Israelites () to inter-marry and to worship
Baal-peor Numbers 31 is the 31st chapter of the Book of Numbers, the fourth book of the Pentateuch (Torah), the central part of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), a sacred text in Judaism and Christianity. Scholars such as Israel Knohl and Dennis T. Olson ...
, Phinehas personally executed an Israelite man and a Midianite woman while they were together in the man's tent, running a javelin or spear through the man and the belly of the woman, bringing to an end the plague sent by God to punish the Israelites for sexually
intermingling Intermingling, or heterophily, from a sociological perspective includes the various forms of interactions between individuals that go against a particular society's Norm (social), cultural norms. These relationships stem from Interpersonal ties#We ...
with the Midianites. Phinehas is commended by God in Numbers 25:10-13, as well as King David in for having stopped Israel's fall into idolatrous practices brought in by Midianite women, as well as for stopping the desecration of God's sanctuary. After the entry to the land of Israel and the death of his father, he was appointed the third
High Priest of Israel High Priest ( he, כהן גדול, translit=Kohen Gadol or ; ) was the title of the chief religious official of Judaism from the early post- Exilic times until the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE. Previously ...
, and served at the sanctuary of Bethel ().


Name

The name "Phinehas" probably comes from the
Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
name Pa-nehasi,
Panehesy Panehesy (also transcribed as PinhasyAldred, Cyril, Akhenaten: King of Egypt ,Thames and Hudson, 1991 (paperback), , pg 16,18,24,66,131,222 or PanehsyKemp, Barry, The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and its People, Thames and Hudson, 2012 ...
(). According to the ''Oxford Companion to the Bible'', "the Bible also uses Egyptian and Nubian names for the land and its people ... For the Egyptians used to these color variations, the term for their southern neighbors was Neḥesi, 'southerner', which eventually also came to mean 'the black' or 'the Nubian'. This Egyptian root (nḥsj, with the preformative pʾ as a definite article) appears in Exodus 6.25 as the personal name of Aaron's grandson, Phinehas (= ''Pa-neḥas'')". ''The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament'' interprets the name to mean "the bronze-colored one".


Heresy of Peor

The account appears immediately after the story of
Balaam Balaam (; , Standard ''Bīlʿam'' Tiberian ''Bīlʿām'') is a diviner in the Torah (Pentateuch) whose story begins in Chapter 22 of the Book of Numbers (). Ancient references to Balaam consider him a non-Israelite, a prophet, and the son of Beo ...
, who had been hired by the Moabite chieftain,
Balak Balak ( ''Bālāq'') was a king of Moab described in the Book of Numbers in the Hebrew Bible, where his dealings with the prophet Balaam are recounted. Balak tried to engage Balaam for the purpose of cursing the migrating Israelite community. On ...
, to curse the Israelites. Balaam failed to do so, as God had put words in his mouth of blessing for Israel, instead (the first prayer said by Jews as part of their daily prayer service comes from this exact text). Having failed to curse them, Balaam left for his own country. The
Book of Numbers The book of Numbers (from Greek Ἀριθμοί, ''Arithmoi''; he, בְּמִדְבַּר, ''Bəmīḏbar'', "In the desert f) is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah. The book has a long and com ...
asserts a direct connection between Balaam and the events at Peor, stating that the Moabites "caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the in the matter of Peor". Moses gave orders to kill all the idolaters, yet Zimri, the son of the
Israelite The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...
prince Salu from the
Tribe of Simeon According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Simeon (; he, ''Šīm‘ōn'', "hearkening/listening/understanding/empathizing") was one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The Book of Judges locates its territory inside the boundaries of the Tribe of ...
, openly defied Moses and publicly showed his opinion to those standing at the
Tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...
entrance with Moses by going in to
Cozbi Cozbi or Kozbi ( hbo, כָּזְבִּי, tr. ''Kozbī'') is mentioned in in the Hebrew Bible as " hedaughter of Zur", a prominent Midianite, and a wife or concubine of the Israelite Zimri, son of Salu. The Lord objected to the mixing of the Isr ...
, the daughter of the
Midianite Midian (; he, מִדְיָן ''Mīḏyān'' ; ar, مَدْيَن, Madyan; grc-gre, Μαδιάμ, ''Madiam'') is a geographical place mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and Quran. William G. Dever states that biblical Midian was in the "northwest Ar ...
prince Sur. In a moment of great strength born of holy zeal, Phinehas went after them and ran them through with a spear. He thus "stayed the plague" that had broken out among the people, and by which twenty-four thousand of them had already perished. God noticed that Phinehas showed loyalty and bravery for God. God decided not to destroy all of the children of Israel in anger because Phinehas had made atonement for their sins. God declared that Phinehas, and his sons' sons for all eternity, would receive divine recognition for this; a covenant of peace and the covenant of an everlasting hereditary priesthood. The Christian
book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of R ...
mirrors this sentiment. Revelation describes
Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
as speaking to one of seven Christian churches: "Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing
sexual immorality Immorality is the violation of moral laws, norms or standards. It refers to an agent doing or thinking something they know or believe to be wrong. Immorality is normally applied to people or actions, or in a broader sense, it can be applied to gr ...
." Giving a more elaborated version of events, the 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian
Flavius Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...
asserts that Balaam sent for Balak and the princes of Midian and told them that, if they wished to bring evil upon Israel, they would have to make the Israelites sin. Balaam advised that they send the most beautiful women to seduce the Israelites to idolatry. This strategy succeeded, and soon many of the Israelites had been seduced.


Later activities

Phinehas later led a 12,000-strong Israelite army against the Midianites to avenge this occasion. Among those slain in the expedition were five Midianite kings, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, and also
Balaam Balaam (; , Standard ''Bīlʿam'' Tiberian ''Bīlʿām'') is a diviner in the Torah (Pentateuch) whose story begins in Chapter 22 of the Book of Numbers (). Ancient references to Balaam consider him a non-Israelite, a prophet, and the son of Beo ...
, son of Beor. According to the Israelite roll-calls, the Israelites did not lose a man in the expedition. Phinehas son of Eleazar appears again in the
book of Joshua The Book of Joshua ( he, סֵפֶר יְהוֹשֻׁעַ‎ ', Tiberian: ''Sēp̄er Yŏhōšūaʿ'') is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament, and is the first book of the Deuteronomistic history, the story of Isra ...
. When the tribes of
Reuben Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob. Variants include Rúben in European Portuguese; Rubens in Brazilian Portugue ...
and Gad, together with the half-tribe of Manasseh, depart to take possession of their lands beyond the Jordan, they build a great altar on the other side; the remainder of the Israelites mistake this for a separatist move to set up a new religious centre, and send Phinehas to investigate. According to , Phinehas owned land in the mountains of Ephraim, where he buried his father. In addition to these episodes, Phinehas appears as the chief adviser in the war with the Benjamites. He is commemorated in .According to some rabbinical commentators, Phineas sinned due to his not availing his servitude of Torah instruction to the masses at the time leading up to the
Battle of Gibeah The episode of the Levite's concubine, also known as the Benjamite War, is a biblical narrative in Judges 19–21 (chapters 19, 20 and 21 of the Book of Judges). It concerns a Levite from Ephraim and his concubine, who travel through the Benjami ...
. In addition, he also failed to address the needs of relieving
Jephthah Jephthah (pronounced ; he, יִפְתָּח, ''Yīftāḥ''), appears in the Book of Judges as a judge who presided over Israel for a period of six years (). According to Judges, he lived in Gilead. His father's name is also given as Gilead, ...
of his
vow A vow ( Lat. ''votum'', vow, promise; see vote) is a promise or oath. A vow is used as a promise, a promise solemn rather than casual. Marriage vows Marriage vows are binding promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a wedd ...
to sacrifice his daughter. As consequence, the high priesthood was taken from him and temporarily given to the offspring of
Ithamar In the Torah, Ithamar () was the fourth (and the youngest) son of Aaron the High Priest."Ithamar", ''Encyclopaedia Biblica'' Following the construction of the Tabernacle, he was responsible for recording an inventory to ensure that the constructed ...
, essentially
Eli Eli most commonly refers to: * Eli (name), a given name, nickname and surname * Eli (biblical figure) Eli or ELI may also refer to: Film * ''Eli'' (2015 film), a Tamil film * ''Eli'' (2019 film), an American horror film Music * ''Eli'' (Jan ...
and his sons. According to , his relation to
Zadok Zadok (or Zadok HaKohen, also spelled Ṣadok, Ṣadoc, Zadoq, Tzadok, or Tsadoq; he, צָדוֹק הַכֹּהֵן, meaning "Righteous, Justified") was a Kohen (priest), biblically recorded to be a descendant from Eleazar the son of Aaron (). H ...
is the following: Phinehas begat
Abishua Abishua ( ''ʾĂḇīšūaʿ'', "my father is rescue") was an early High priest of Israel. z,, Name and namesakes *The meaning of the name "Abishua" is uncertain, but may be "the (divine) father is opulence."Cheyne and Black (1899), ''Encyclopaedi ...
, Abishua begat
Bukki Bukki ( ''Buqqi'', "proved") may have been an early High Priest of Israel. Another Bukki is mentioned in Numbers as a leader in the Tribe of Dan. Bukki is mentioned in the books 1 Chronicles (6:4) and Ezra (7:4) as the son of the High Priest Abishu ...
, Bukki begat
Uzzi Uzzi is a given name. One derivation is biblical, from ''Uzzî'' () meaning "my strength". The name can also be transliterated as Uzi. It may be a nickname for Uzza/Uzzah, Uzzia/Uzziah, and Uziel/Uzziel. Biblical characters with this name: * Uz ...
, Uzzi begat Zerahiah, Zerahiah begat Meraioth, Meraioth begat
Amariah Amariah ( he, אֲמַרְיָה) means "promised by God" in Hebrew. It was commonly used as a name of priests in the History of ancient Israel and Judah. It appear several times in the Hebrew Bible: #One of the descendants of Aaron by Eleazar ( ...
, Amariah begat Ahitub, and Ahitub begat Zadok. According to
1 Maccabees The First Book of Maccabees, also known as First Maccabees (written in shorthand as 1 Maccabees or 1 Macc.), is a book written in Hebrew by an anonymousRappaport, U., ''47. 1 Maccabees'' in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001)The Oxford Bible Comme ...
, he is an ancestor of
Matitiyahu Mattathias ben Johanan ( he, מַתִּתְיָהוּ הַכֹּהֵן בֶּן יוֹחָנָן, ''Mattīṯyāhū haKōhēn ben Yōḥānān''; died 166–165 BCE) was a Kohen (Jewish priest) who helped spark the Maccabean Revolt against t ...
.


In Jewish culture

Pinechas is the name of the 41st weekly
Parashah The term ''parashah'' ( he, פָּרָשָׁה ''Pārāšâ'', "portion", Tiberian , Sephardi , plural: ''parashot'' or ''parashiyot'', also called ''parsha'') formally means a section of a biblical book in the Masoretic Text of the Tanakh (Heb ...
or portion in the annual Jewish cycle of
Torah reading Torah reading (; ') is a Judaism, Jewish religion, religious tradition that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Sefer Torah, Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the scroll (or scrolls) fro ...
and the eighth in the book of
Numbers A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The original examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...
. The beginning of this parashah tells the judgement of Phinehas son of Eleazar; the end of the previous parashah tells of his zealous act. The Hebrew expression "One who acts like Zimri and asks for a reward as if he were Phinehas" () refers to
hypocrite Hypocrisy is the practice of engaging in the same behavior or activity for which one criticizes another or the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform. In moral psychology, it is the ...
s who ask for undeserved rewards and honors. It derives from the
Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
(
Sotah Sotah ( he, סוֹטָה or he, שׂוֹטָה) is a tractate of the Talmud in Rabbinic Judaism. The tractate explains the ordeal of the bitter water, a trial by ordeal of a woman suspected of adultery, which is prescribed by the Book of Number ...
, Ch.22, p. 2), where it is attributed to the Hasmonean King
Alexander Jannaeus Alexander Jannaeus ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξανδρος Ἰανναῖος ; he, ''Yannaʾy''; born Jonathan ) was the second king of the Hasmonean dynasty, who ruled over an expanding kingdom of Judea from 103 to 76 BCE. A son of John Hyrcanus, h ...
(see Hebrew Wikipedia ). In some traditions (for example in the
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Targum Jonathan is a western targum (interpretation) of the Torah (Pentateuch) from the land of Israel (as opposed to the eastern Babylonian Targum Onkelos). Its correct title was originally Targum Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Targum), which is how it wa ...
) Phinehas is identified with
Elijah Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) was, according to the Books of ...
. This identification apparently arose during the first century A.D.


Veneration

*The
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
commemorates him as a saint on 1 July and 1 March. *The
Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...
commemorates him as a saint on 12 March and 25 March.


Patrilineal ancestry


References


Sources

*


External links


"Phinehas"
at ''Jewish Encyclopedia'' {{Authority control High Priests of Israel Book of Numbers people Christian saints from the Old Testament Midian Biblical murderers Christian saints in unknown century Military saints Saints from the Holy Land