Numbers 25:6 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Numbers 25:6
And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular absolute
children
מִבְּנֵ֨יmi.be.Nei
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵ֜לYis.ra.'El
H3478
Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
came
בָּ֗אBa'
H935
to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
brought
וַיַּקְרֵ֤בvai.yak.Rev
H7126
to approach (causatively · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
brethren
אֶחָיו֙'e.Chav
H251
a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relation… · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
woman
הַמִּדְיָנִ֔יתha.mid.ya.Nit
H4084
a Midjanite or descendant (native) of Midjan · definite article + noun, gentilic feminine singular absolute
sight
לְעֵינֵ֣יle.'ei.Nei
H5869
an eye (literally or figuratively) · preposition + noun, common feminine dual construct
Moses
מֹשֶׁ֔הmo.Sheh
H4872
Mosheh · proper noun, a man's name
sight
וּלְעֵינֵ֖יu.le.'ei.Nei
H5869
an eye (literally or figuratively) · conjunction + preposition + noun, common feminine dual construct
congregation
עֲדַ֣ת'a.Dat
H5712
a stated assemblage (specifically · noun, common feminine singular construct
children
בְּנֵיbe.nei-
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לYis.ra.'El
H3478
Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
weeping
בֹכִ֔יםvo.Khim
H1058
to weep · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
door
פֶּ֖תַחPe.tach
H6607
an opening (literally) · noun, common masculine singular construct
tabernacle
אֹ֥הֶל'O.hel
H168
a tent (as clearly conspicuous from a distance) · noun, common masculine singular construct
congregation
מוֹעֵֽדmo.'Ed
H4150
properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Joel 2:17 Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not t…
Numbers 22:4 And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the f…
Numbers 15:30-31 But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the LORD; and that soul sh…
Numbers 25:14-15 Now the name of the Israelite that was slain, even that was slain with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a chie…
Numbers 31:2 Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.
Numbers 31:9-16 And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all the…
Deuteronomy 29:19-21 And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk…
Judges 2:4 And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, an…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Numbers 25:6-15
Here is a remarkable contest between wickedness and righteousness, which shall be most bold and resolute; and righteousness carries the day, as no doubt it will at last.
I. Never was vice more daring than it was in Zimri, a prince of a chief house in the tribe of Simeon. Such a degree of impudence in wickedness had he arrived at that he publicly appeared leading a Midianitish harlot (and a harlot of quality too like himself, a daughter of a chief house in Midian) in the sight of Moses, and all the good people of Israel. He did not think it enough to go out with his harlot to worship the gods of Moab, but, when he had done that, he brought her with him to dishonour the God of Israel. He not o…
behold, one of the children of Israel . . . brought . . . a Midianitish woman--This flagitious act most probably occurred about the time when the order was given and before its execution.
who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle--Some of the rulers and well-disposed persons were deploring the dreadful wickedness of the people and supplicating the mercy of God to avert impending judgments.
John Gill on Numbers 25:6
And, behold, one of the children of Israel came,.... From one of the cities of Moab or Midian, the latter rather, by what follows; where he had been, very probably, to an idolatrous feast, and had eaten of the sacrifices, and worshipped idols, and committed fornication with the daughters of the land; and not content with indulging himself with those impurities at a distance and where he was less known:
brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman; into his father's family, into a tent where his brethren dwelt:
in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel; in the most open and undisguised manner, into the midst of the camp, passing by Moses, and…
After these things it is reported that, when Phinehas the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest had seen a certain Israelite man go in to a Midianite woman, he snatched up a lance in his hand, entered the brothel, and pierced them both through their very shameful parts. And for this, it says, the Lord said to Moses: "Phinehas the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron has quieted my anger." Let these things have edified the former people; but you, who have been redeemed by Christ, and from whose hands the bodily sword has been taken away and the sword of the spirit given, snatch up this sword; and if you see an Israelite thought whoring with Midianite harlots — that is, wallowing with diabolical thoughts — do not spare, do not dissemble, but at once strike, at once destroy. The very womb also — that is, discerning and penetrating the secrets of nature — cut away that very kindling of sin, lest it conceive further, lest it generate further and the accursed offspring of sins contaminate the camp of Israel. For if you do this, you will straightway quiet the wrath of the Lord; for you have anticipated the day of judgment, which is called the day of wrath and fury, and, with the kindling of sin — which now is called the womb of the Midianite woman — exterminated from you, you will come secure to the day of judgment. And therefore, rising up, let us pray that we may find this sword of the spirit always ready, through which both the seeds themselves and the receptacles of sins may be exterminated, and that God may become favorable to us through the true Phinehas, our very Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Baal — Lord. (1.) The name appropriated to the principal male god of the Phoenicians. It is found in several places in the plural BAALIM (Judg. 2:11; 10:10; 1 Kings 18:18; Jer. 2:23; Hos. 2:17). Baal is…
Balaam — Lord of the people; foreigner or glutton, as interpreted by others, the son of Beor, was a man of some rank among the Midianites (Num. 31:8; comp. 16). He resided at Pethor (Deut. 23:4), in…
Congregation — (Heb. kahal), the Hebrew people collectively as a holy community (Num. 15:15). Every circumcised Hebrew from twenty years old and upward was a member of the congregation. Strangers resident in the…
Phinehas — Mouth of brass, or from old Egypt, the negro. (1.) Son of Eleazar, the high priest (Ex. 6:25). While yet a youth he distinguished himself at Shittim by his zeal against the immorality into which the…
Zimri — Praise-worthy. (1.) A son of Salu, slain by Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, because of his wickedness in bringing a Midianitish woman into his tent (Num. 25:6-15). (2.) Murdered Elah at Tirzah, and…
Alliance And Society With The Enemies Of God · Lead to idolatry — Lead to idolatry
Midianites · With the moabites: Seduced Israel to idolatry — With the moabites: Seduced Israel to idolatry
Miscegenation · .Israel — .Israel
Zimri · 1. A chief of Simeon — 1. A chief of Simeon
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
And, behold, one of the children of Israel came. Moses here relates a case which was foul and detestable beyond others. There is no doubt but that many, in the midst of such gross licentiousness as had now for some time generally prevailed, had filled the camp with various scandalous offenses; but there was something peculiarly enormous in the atrocity of this act, in that this impious despiser of God wantonly insulted both God and men amidst the tears and lamentations of all, as if he were triumphing over all shame and modesty. The multitude were weeping before the tabernacle, that is to say, all the pious who trembled at the thought of approaching calamity, since they were fully persuaded…
Whilst the heads of the people were deliberating on the subject, and the whole congregation was assembled before the tabernacle, weeping on account of the divine wrath, there came an Israelite, a prince of the tribe of Simeon, who brought a Midianitish woman, the daughter of a Midianitish chief (Num 25:14), to his brethren, i.e., into the camp of the Israelites, before the eyes of Moses and all the congregation, to commit adultery with her in his tent. This shameless wickedness, in which the depth of the corruption that had penetrated into the congregation came to light, inflamed the zeal of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the high priest, to such an extent, that he seized a spear, and rushing…
Here another Israelite defiled himself with a foreign woman; apparently both Moabite and Midianite women had been involved in the scandal (25:1-3, 16-18; 31:1-2). The man’s sin was particularly brazen, as he apparently disregarded the judgment and mourning around him. • Some suggest that his tent was an unauthorized shrine associated with the worship of Yahweh, and not just Zimri’s dwelling.
Rashi on Numbers 25:6
והנה איש וגו׳ AND BEHOLD, ONE [OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL CAME] The tribe of Simeon gathered to Zimri who was their prince, saying to him. “We are sentenced to death and you remain quiet!?”, — as it is related in the chapter beginning אלו הן הנשרפין (Sanhedrin 82a).
את המדינית THE MIDIANITISH WOMAN — Kozbi the daughter of Zur.
לעיני משה BEFORE THE EYES OF MOSES — They said to him: “Moses, is this Midianite woman forbidden or permissible as a wife. If you say she is forbidden, then who made Jethro’s daughter, a Midianite woman, permissible to you, etc.” as is related there (Sanhedrin 82a).
והמה בכים AND THEY WERE WEEPING — the law (decision on this matter) escaped him and therefore they all…
