A verse by verse commentary on Numbers 25 dealing with Moab Seduces Israel, moses commanded to kill the Midianites,.

1. NUMBERS 25 COMMENTARY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Moab Seduces Israel
1 hile Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began
to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite
women,
BARNES, "The records of the neighboring cities of the plain, and the
circumstances of the origin of Moab (Gen_19:30 ff) suggest that the people
among whom Israel was now thrown were more than ordinarily licentious.
GILL, "And Israel abode in Shittim,.... A place in the plains of Moab, so
called from the shittim wood, which grew here in great abundance, so often
mentioned in the building of the tabernacle; which was a sort of white
thorn, or rather the acacia tree, since there was scarcely any thing else grew
in the deserts of Arabia; see Gill on Exo_25:5 its full name was Abelshittim,
Num_33:49, here the Israelites abode even to the death of Moses, for this
was their last station in the wilderness; they were now on the borders of the
land of Canaan, and just ready to enter into it, which is an aggravation of the
sins they here fell into, and are next observed:
and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab; and
of Midian also, as appears from Num_25:6 by the advice of Balaam, the
Moabites and Midianites found ways and means to become familiar with the
Israelites, and to introduce their daughters into their company and
conversation, and being ensnared and enamoured with them, they were
drawn to commit lewdness with them, and hereby were led on to commit
other abominations, which brought the divine displeasure upon them; so
that what they dared not attempt by war, and could not effect by sorceries
and divinations, they accomplished by those iniquitous arts, namely,
bringing the wrath, the curse, and plague of God upon them.
HENRY 1-5, "Here is, I. The sin of Israel, to which they were enticed by the
daughters of Moab and Midian; they were guilty both of corporal and
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2. spiritual whoredoms, for Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor, Num_25:3.
Not all, nor the most, but very many, were taken in this snare. Now
concerning this observe, 1. That Balak, by the advice of Balaam, cast this
stumbling-block before the children of Israel, Rev_2:14. Note, Those are
our worst enemies that draw us to sin, for that is the greatest mischief any
man can do us. If Balak had drawn out his armed men against them to fight
them, Israel had bravely resisted, and no doubt had been more than
conquerors; but now that he sends his beautiful women among them, and
invites them to his idolatrous feasts, the Israelites basely yield, and are
shamefully overcome: those are smitten with this harlots that could not be
smitten with his sword. Note, We are more endangered by the charms of a
smiling world than by the terrors of a frowning world. 2. That the daughters
of Moab were their tempters and conquerors. Ever since Eve was first in the
transgression the fairer sex, though the weaker, has been a snare to many;
yea strong men have been wounded and slain by the lips of the strange
woman (Pro_7:26), witness Solomon, whose wives were shares and nets to
him Ecc_7:26. 3. That whoredom and idolatry went together. They first
defiled and debauched their consciences, by committing lewdness with the
women, and then were easily drawn, in complaisance to them, and in
contempt of the God of Israel, to bow down to their idols. And they were
more likely to do so if, as it is commonly supposed, and seems probable by
the joining of them together, the uncleanness committed was a part of the
worship and service performed to Baal-peor. Those that have broken the
fences of modesty will never be held by the bonds of piety, and those that
have dishonoured themselves by fleshly lusts will not scruple to dishonour
God by idolatrous worships, and for this they are justly given up yet further
to vile affections. 4. That by eating of the idolatrous sacrifices they joined
themselves to Baal-peor to whom they were offered, which the apostle
urges as a reason why Christians should not eat things offered to idols,
because thereby they had fellowship with the devils to whom they were
offered, 1Co_10:20. It is called eating the sacrifices of the dead (Psa_
106:28), not only because the idol itself was a dead thing, but because the
person represented by it was some great hero, who since his death was
deified, as saints in the Roman church are canonized. 5. It was great
aggravation of the sin that Israel abode in Shittim, where they had the land
of Canaan in view, and were just ready to enter and take possession of it. It
was the highest degree of treachery and ingratitude to be false to their God,
whom they had found so faithful to them, and to eat of idol-sacrifices when
they were ready to be feasted so richly on God's favours.
II. God's just displeasure against them for this sin. Israel's whoredoms did
that which all Balaam's enchantments could not do, they set God against
them; now he was turned to be their enemy, and fought against them. So
many of the people, nay, so many of the princes, were guilty, that the sin
became national, and for it God was wroth with the whole congregation. 1. A
plague immediately broke out, for we read of the staying of it (Num_25:8),
and of the number that died of it (Num_25:9), but no mention of the
beginning of it, which therefore must be implied in those words (Num_
25:3), The anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. It is said expressly
(Psa_106:29), The plague broke in. Note, Epidemical diseases are the fruits
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3. of God's anger, and the just punishments of epidemical sins; one infection
follows the other. The plague, no doubt, fastened on those that were most
guilty, who were soon made to pay dearly for their forbidden pleasures; and
though now God does not always plague such sinners, as he did here, yet
that word of God will be fulfilled, If any man defile the temple of God, him
shall God destroy, 1Co_3:17. 2. The ringleaders are ordered to be put to
death by the hand of public justice, which will be the only way to stay the
plague (Num_25:4): Take the heads of the people (that is, of that part of the
people that went out of the camp of Israel into the country of Moab, to join
in their idolatries) - take them and hang them up before the sun, as
sacrifices to God's justice, and for a terror to the rest of the people. The
judges must first order them to be slain with the sword (Num_25:5), and
their dead bodies must be hanged up, that the stupid Israelites, seeing their
leaders and princes so severely punished for their whoredom and idolatry,
without any regard to their quality, might be possessed with a sense of the
evil of the sin and the terror of God's wrath against them. Ringleaders in sin
ought to be made examples of justice.
JAMISON,"Num_25:1-18. The Israelites’ whoredom and idolatry with
Moab.
Israel abode in Shittim — a verdant meadow, so called from a grove of
acacia trees which lined the eastern side of the Jordan. (See Num_33:49).
K&D, "The Lord had defended His people Israel from Balaam's curse; but
the Israelites themselves, instead of keeping the covenant of their God, fell
into the snares of heathen seduction (Num_25:1, Num_25:2). Whilst
encamped at Shittim, in the steppes of Moab, the people began to commit
whoredom with the daughters of Moab: they accepted the invitations of the
latter to a sacrificial festival of their gods, took part in their sacrificial
meals, and even worshipped the gods of the Moabites, and indulged in the
licentious worship of Baal-Peor. As the princes of Midian, who were allied
to Moab, had been the advisers and assistants of the Moabitish king in the
attempt to destroy the Israelites by a curse of God; so now, after the failure
of that plan, they were the soul of the new undertaking to weaken Israel and
render it harmless, by seducing it to idolatry, and thus leading it into
apostasy from its God. But it was Balaam, as is afterwards casually observed
in Num_31:16, who first of all gave this advice. This is passed over here,
because the point of chief importance in relation to the object of the
narrative, was not Balaam's share in the proposal, but the carrying out of
the proposal itself. The daughters of Moab, however, also took part in
carrying it out, by forming friendly associations with the Israelites, and
then inviting them to their sacrificial festival. They only are mentioned in
Num_25:1, Num_25:2, as being the daughters of the land. The participation
of the Midianites appears first of all in the shameless licentiousness of
Cozbi, the daughter of the Midianitish prince, from which we not only see
that the princes of Midian performed their part, but obtain an explanation
of the reason why the judgment upon the crafty destroyers of Israel was to
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4. be executed upon the Midianites.
(Note: Consequently there is no discrepancy between Num_25:1-5 and
Num_25:6-18, to warrant the violent hypothesis of Knobel, that there are
two different accounts mixed together in this chapter-An Elohistic
account in Num_25:6-18, of which the commencement has been
dropped, and a Jehovistic account in Num_25:1-5, of which the latter
part has been cut off. The particular points adduced in proof of this fall
to the ground, when the history is correctly explained; and such
assertions as these, that the name Shittim and the allusion to the judges
in Num_25:5, and to the wrath of Jehovah in Num_25:3 and Num_25:4,
are foreign to the Elohist, are not proofs, but empty assumptions.)
Shittim, an abbreviation of Abel-Shittim (see at Num_22:1), to which the
camp of the Israelites in the steppes of Moab reached (Num_33:49), is
mentioned here instead of Arboth-Moab, because it was at this northern
point of the camp that the Israelites came into contact with the Moabites,
and that the latter invited them to take part in their sacrificial meals; and in
Jos_2:1 and Jos_3:1, because it was from this spot that the Israelites
commenced the journey to Canaan, as being the nearest to the place where
they were to pass through the Jordan. ‫ָה‬‫נ‬ָ‫ז‬, construed with ‫ל‬ ֶ‫,א‬ as in Eze_
16:28, signifies to incline to a person, to attach one's self to him, so as to
commit fornication. The word applies to carnal and spiritual whoredom.
The lust of the flesh induced the Israelites to approach the daughters of
Moab, and form acquaintances and friendships with them, in consequence
of which they were invited by them “to the slain-offerings of their gods,” i.e.,
to the sacrificial festivals and sacrificial meals, in connection with which
they also “adored their gods,” i.e., took part in the idolatrous worship
connected with the sacrificial festival. These sacrificial meals were
celebrated in honour of the Moabitish god Baal-Peor, so that the Israelites
joined themselves to him. ‫ד‬ ַ‫מ‬ ָ‫,צ‬ in the Niphal, to bind one's self to a person.
Baal-Peor is the Baal of Peor, who was worshipped in the city of Beth-Peor
(Deu_3:29; Deu_4:46; see at Num_23:28), a Moabitish Priapus, in honour
of whom women and virgins prostituted themselves. As the god of war, he
was called Chemosh (see at Num_21:29).
CALVIN, "1And Israel abode in Shittim. From this narrative we learn assuredly
that the people were no more able to bear prosperity than adversity. Heretofore,
either worn out by fatigue, or rendered impatient by abstinence and famine, they
had often rebelled against God; now, when they have entered a habitable land, and
are resting in the midst of fruitful fields, they are incited by their more comfortable
dwelling-places, and more pleasant mode of life, to lasciviousness, and the
indulgence of filthy lusts. Moses relates how, when they had given way to their lust,
they fell at the same time into whoredom and idolatry. We shall presently see that
this arose from the counsel of Balaam, that the Moabites should prostitute their
women to the Israelites, in order to entice them by their blandishments to unholy
worship. Balaam had learnt by experience that God’s favor was an invincible
safeguard to protect the people from all injury. He, therefore, invents a plan
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5. whereby they may destroy themselves, by not only depriving themselves of God’s
protection, but also by provoking His wrath against them. By this fan, then, Balaam
stirred up the fire, which impelled these poor wretches, inflamed by blind lechery, to
another crime, by which they might arouse against themselves the enmity of God.
Consequently Paul, referring to this history, informs us that the punishment, which
will be mentioned immediately, was inflicted upon them for fornication. (1
Corinthians 10:8.) For, although it was God’s design to avenge the violation of His
worship, still it is fitting to examine into the origin and source of the evil. Just as, if a
drunken man has killed a person, the murder will be imputed to his drunkenness, so
Paul, seeing the Israelites impelled by fornication to idolatry, sets before us the
punishment as a warning to deter us from fornication, which was the primary cause
of their chastisement, and the means of their corruption. Since, then, the fall from
one sin to another is so easy, let us hence learn to be more watchful, lest Satan
should entangle us in his snares. Let us also observe that he creeps upon us by
degrees in order to entrap us. The Moabitish damsels did not straightway solicit the
Israelites to worship their idols, but first invite them to their banquets, and thus
tempt them to idolatry; for, if mention had been made at first of idol-worship,
perhaps they might have shuddered at the atrocity of the crime, to which they
allowed themselves to be beguiled by degrees. Now, to be present at a feast which
was celebrated in honor of false gods, was a kind of indirect renunciation of the true
God; and when they had been attracted thus far, they threw aside all shame, and
abandoned themselves to that extreme act whereby they transfer the honor due only
to the one true God, to false and imaginary deities.
COFFMAN, "The great importance of this chapter arises from the pivotal nature of
it in the subsequent history of Israel. Right here began the religious apostasy of
Israel that was to continue for centuries, resulting in the total corruption: (1) of the
Northern Israel, and (2) later of the Southern Israel also, with the result that both
nations went into captivity, and only the southern remnant survived. A careful
study of the episode also reveals the basis of Israel's rejection of their sacred
covenant with God. It simply came down to this, that the people rejected the strict
moral requirements of the Decalogue.
Not all of this appears on the surface of the narrative, but it is clear enough that we
are not dealing with two different episodes, but with one, and in order to appreciate
the more comprehensive event and the relationship of the two phases of it appearing
in this chapter to the total situation, some reading between the lines is necessary. A
failure to do this is sure to result in the most ridiculous conclusions, as, for example,
that of Marsh:
"This chapter contains two stories, from JE and P respectively, concerning Israel's
intercourse with foreign women and the consequent idolatry. The first, featuring
Moabite women, lacks an ending; the second, introducing Midianite women, has no
beginning. The interests of the two stories are widely different."[1]
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6. That such conclusions are absolutely false has been known for ages. As Keil stated
it, "There is no discrepancy in these `two' accounts. The points offered as proof of
such assertions fall to the ground when the history is correctly explained."[2] Even
Martin Noth who frequently followed a critical pattern in his commentaries stated
that, "There is a lack of any convincing indications which would enable us to divide
the narrative into various `sources,' (as J or P)."[3]
It is easy enough to reconstruct the larger narrative of which the seemingly isolated
events of this chapter are vital ingredients. First, the Moabites and the Midianites
were allies, their kingdoms at the moment being under a common ruler, Balak, a
Midianite who was also king of Moab.[4] Balak was serving the interests of both
Midian and Moab by his seeking to frustrate the progress of Israel. Balaam had not
succeeded in cursing Israel, but his hatred of God's people was an invariable
element in his activities first to last. Therefore, Balak and Balaam eventually teamed
up in the plot for the seduction of Israel. Hengstenberg supposed that Balaam's
suggestion for using the Moabite women as instruments of their seduction (Numbers
31:16), came about as follows:
"Balaam having failed to get all those rich rewards he had hoped to get from Balak,
decided that he would try to get them from the Israelites. So he went to Moses and
told him all about his blessing Israel so many times and the prophecies about their
triumphs over Moab and other enemies, and then asked Moses to pay him rich
rewards! Moses refused, and then Balaam went back to Balak and said, "Well, I
cannot curse Israel, but I can tell you how to bring them down by seduction." We
see how this diabolical plot worked out in this chapter."[5]
Such happenings are not related in the Bible, but even Keil allowed the "possibility"
that that is exactly what happened. True, only the Moabite women are mentioned
first, but the Midianites came through on schedule with their part of the plot also,
when Cozbi, a Midianite princess, married one of the princes of Israel, Zimri, who
was the spokesman and outstanding leader of an all-out rebellion against Moses and
the Decalogue which he protested and repudiated in its entirety, declaring it not to
have been from God at all, but only from Moses! With the understanding of such a
background, strongly supported by the most vigorous statements in the word of
God, it is easy to see that we have one narrative here and not two, and that the
whole rebellion and apostasy against God in evidence here was part of the evil work
of Balaam, "who loved the wages of unrighteousness."
"And Israel abode in Shittim; and the people began to play the harlot with the
daughters of Moab: for they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods; and
the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. And Israel joined himself unto
Baal-peor: and the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel. And Jehovah said
unto Moses, Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them up unto Jehovah
before the sun, that the fierce anger of Jehovah may turn away from Israel. And
Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye everyone his men that have joined
themselves unto Baal-peor."
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7. "Shittim ..." This means "Acacia Trees."[6] It was the very last stopping place of
Israel prior to crossing the Jordan (Joshua 2:1; 3:1). It was not very far from Mount
Peor, from which the last effort of Balaam to curse Israel was attempted. It is
thought that a special shrine or temple to Baal-peor was located on the top of it.
"Gods ..." are mentioned in Numbers 25:2; but only Baal-Peor is mentioned in
Numbers 25:3. The Baalim were in fact plural and consisted of many `gods.' Here
the noted Baal-Peor stands for all of them. These pagan gods were worshipped with
the most abominable sexual ceremonies in which the people acted out the mating of
their fertility gods, supposing that such orgies led to abundant crops, etc.
The particularly Satanic action of this chapter appears in the "design" and purpose
of the event. Having already broken over to "commit whoredom" with the seductive
women of Moab, it was natural enough that the women should have invited the Jews
to attend the services of "their gods"! It appears that this "party" was a howling
success indeed with a thousand of the judges of Israel among the invited guests! This
was the purpose of the Midianite-Moabite conspiracy from the beginning.
"To play the harlot with the daughters of Moab ... (Numbers 25:1). Orlinsky
rendered this: "They profaned themselves by whoring."[7]
WHY ISRAEL DID THIS
At this point, we shall address the question of what actually lay behind this conduct,
and the whole conception of implacable hatred against God's people by the pagan
nations. All of it went back to the strict moral code of the Decalogue. In a pagan
world organized around the temples of Aphrodite, Bacchus, a host of Baals, and a
whole stable of pagan gods and goddesses, where the sale and exploitation of sex and
all other vices was their appeal, their source of income, and the evil evangelistic
apparatus of their orgiastic religion ... what a challenge the pure morality of the
Decalogue presented to that kind of world! No wonder the world of that day hated
it.
Israel had been in the wilderness environment for forty years, and now that
renewed conflict with the pagan world was available, many found the temptation
more than they could overcome. That the Moabite-Midianite conspiracy was aimed
squarely at breaking the influence of the Decalogue in Israel cannot for a moment
be doubted. Josephus has a very interesting account of the part played by Zimri. In
no sense was he just an innocent who became enamoured with a beautiful princess.
No, he was a rebel against God! In a great assembly before all the people, Zimri said
the Ten Commandments were not of God, but of Moses, and that Moses had made
up those laws himself, and that he was "harder on the Hebrews than were the
Egyptians themselves"! Zimri further boasted that he had "married a strange
woman" and that "of course, he had sacrificed to her gods," saying, "I think it is
right to seek the truth by inquiring of many people (gods) and not of merely one."[8]
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8. It is certain that Zimri had a large popular following. Josephus stated that unless he
had been executed, the contagion might have become far greater.
There is a textual problem with just who were hanged before God in the sun,
following God's command to Moses. Whitelaw stated unequivocally that there is no
authority for reading "them" in Numbers 25:4 as a reference to any except the
judges. The lines in Numbers 25:5 that mention those "who have joined themselves
unto Baal-Peor" merely state what the offense of the judges was.[9] With the
subsequent death of 23,000 by the plague, when added to the thousand judges that
were "hanged," the total number comes to 24,000. Paul devoted a significant part of
1 Corinthians 10 to the events of this chapter, in fact, shedding additional light upon
what the people here did.
"Hang them up ..." Many scholars agree that the mode of execution here is not
certainly known. Orlinsky rendered it, "impaled."[10] Many believe that the
exposure of the bodies "in the sun" was merely to advertise the penalty and not for
the purpose of causing death, that being inflicted before the impaling.
The severe penalty executed upon the incompetent judges who had not only made
no move to prevent such a defection but who had actually participated in it
themselves, along with the announced fierce anger of Jehovah brought the host of
Israel into a great public convocation where the people were weeping and pleading
for God's anger to be turned away from them. Right in the midst of that pitiful and
tragic situation, the rebellious advocate of Satan himself, Zimri, made his daring
attempt to take the people away from Moses. The next paragraph tells how. As Noth
stated it, "A certain amount has to be read between the lines to understand what
follows."[11]
COKE, "Numbers 25:1-2. Israel abode in Shittim, &c.— A place in the plains of
Moab, where they were before encamped. It is called Abel-Shittim, ch. Numbers
33:49 i.e. the mourning of Shittim; probably on account of the mourning for the
24,000 who died here of the plague, Numbers 25:9. This was the last station which
the Israelites made while they remained in the wilderness; for from this place
Joshua removed them, after Moses's death, to Jordan, whence they passed over to
Gilgal, Joshua 3:1; Joshua 4:19. Wherefore they are admonished to remember
"what Balak consulted, and what Balaam answered him, from Shittim to Gilgal,
that they may know the righteousness of the Lord," Micah 6:5 that is, that they
might know the goodness of God towards them, in turning Balaam's intended curse
into a blessing. But what all the inchantments and divinations of Balaam could not
effect, came to pass by the rebellion of the Israelites. Here it was that the kings of
Moab and Midian put in practice the advice which Balaam gave them. He
counselled them to think of drawing the Israelites into some heinous offence against
their God; assured that there was no possible way of getting an advantage over
Israel, unless they could be first drawn into sin, that so a breach might be made
between God and them. This was a kind of Machiavelian policy, shrewd and deep
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9. laid, but cursed and diabolical. This project, in a great measure, succeeded: the
daughters of Moab, and of Midian (Numbers 25:6; Numbers 25:17.) entered into a
correspondence with the Israelites, and soon convinced them, that there were more
dangerous charms than those of magic: they possessed themselves of their hearts
and souls; they invited them to the sacrifices of their gods, and made this the price
of their infamous compliance. The Israelites fell into the snare; they offered their
homage, without scruple, to the gods of those women whom they themselves
idolized; they did eat, and bowed to their gods. See chap. Numbers 31:16.
TRAPP, "Numbers 25:1 And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to
commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.
Ver. 1. To commit whoredom.] By the wicked counsel of Balaam, who knew well,
that no one means hath more enriched hell than beautiful faces, and therefore
taught Balak to lay this stumblingblock before the children of Israel; and is therein
held by some to have sinned against the Holy Ghost. Howsoever he goes out in a
stench, as it is usually said of his master the devil.
POOLE, "The Israelites’ whoredom and idolatry: God commands the guilty to be
put to death, Numbers 25:1-5. A plague: Phinehas’s zeal; for which God promises
him the priesthood, Numbers 25:6-15. God commands the Midianites to be slain for
this their treachery in drawing the people to sin, Numbers 25:16-18.
Shittim; a place called more largely Abel-shittim, Numbers 33:49, it being usual
with the Hebrews to abbreviate long proper names, as Hermon is put for Baal-
hermon, Jude 3:3, Tholad for El-tholad, Joshua 19:4, Nimrim, Isaiah 15:6 for Beth-
nimrim, Numbers 32:36. And this was their last station, from whence they passed
immediately into Canaan. So this is here noted as a great aggravation of their sin,
that they committed it when God was going to put them into the possession of their
long-expected and much-desired land.
The people; not all, but many of them, as appears from Deuteronomy 4:3,4 1
Corinthians 10:8.
To commit whoredom, both corporally and spiritually, either because they
prostituted themselves to them upon condition of worshipping their god; or because
their filthy god was worshipped by such filthy acts, as Priapus and Venus were.
Of Moab, and of Midian too, as is evident from Numbers 25:6,17,18 Num 31:16; for
both these people being confederated in this wicked design, the one is put for the
other; and the daughters of Moab may be named, either because they began fine
transgression, or because they were the chief persons, possibly, the relations or
courtiers of Balak king of Moab.
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10. BENSON, "Numbers 25:1. Israel abode in Shittim — And this was their last station,
from whence they passed immediately into Canaan. This is noted as a great
aggravation of their sin, that they committed it when God was going to put them
into the possession of their long-expected land. The people — Many of them.
Whoredom — Either because these women prostituted themselves to them upon
condition of worshipping their god, or because their filthy god was worshipped by
such filthy acts as Priapus and Venus were. The daughters of Moab — And of
Midian too; for both these people being confederated in this wicked design, the one
is put for the other, and the daughters of Moab may be named, either because they
began the transgression, or because they were the chief persons, probably the
relations, or courtiers of Balak.
WHEDON, "Verse 1-2
ISRAEL SEDUCED INTO IDOLATRY, Numbers 25:1-3.
1, 2. Shittim — These plains are in the El-Ghor, sixty furlongs east of the Jordan.
Note, Joshua 2:1. The daughters of Moab were the chief agents in the execution of
this plot by forming friendly associations with the Israelites and then inviting them
to the sacrifices of their gods — a licentious festival. Thus all the animal appetites
are addressed at once.
Such a temptation required stronger moral principles and a loftier spirituality than
many Israelites possessed. The vices of the Canaan-ites, idolatry and whoredom, had
infected Midian, a branch of Abraham’s family, (Genesis 25:2,) through successive
intermarriages with these tribes. The prostitution of a king’s daughter, (Numbers
25:6, note,) doubtless given by her father as a token of hospitality, a custom still
found among some African nations, shows that the shocking depravity of Sodom
(Genesis 19:8) had corrupted the seed of Abraham.
EBC, "THE MATTER OF BAAL-PEOR
Numbers 24:10-25; Numbers 25:1-18
THE last oracle of Balaam, as we have it, ventures into far more explicit predictions
than the others, and passes beyond the range of Hebrew history. Its chief value for
the Israelites lay in what was taken to be a Messianic prophecy contained in it, and
various bold denunciations of their enemies. Whether the language can bear the
important meanings thus found in it is a matter of considerable doubt. On the
whole, it appears best not to make over-much of the prescience of this mashal,
especially as we cannot be sure that we have it in the original form. One fact may be
given to prove this. In Jeremiah 48:45, an oracle regarding Moab embodies various
fragments of the Book of Numbers, and one clause seems to be a quotation from
Numbers 24:17. In Numbers the reading is, "and break down, all the sons of
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11. tumult"; in Jeremiah it is, "and the crown of the head of the sons of tumult" The
resemblance leaves little doubt of the derivation of the one expression from the
other, and at the same time shows diversity in the text.
The earlier deliverances of Balaam had disappointed the king of Moab; the third
kindled his anger. It was intolerable that one called to curse his enemies should bless
them again and again. Balaam would do well to get him back to his own place. That
Jehovah of whom he spake had kept him from honour. If he delayed he might find
himself in peril. But the diviner did not retire. The word that had come to him
should be spoken. He reminded Balak of the terms on which he had begun his
auguries, and, perhaps to embitter Moab against Israel, persisted in advertising
Balak "what this people should do to his people in the latter days."
The opening was again a vaunt of his high authority as a seer, one who knew the
knowledge of Shaddai. Then, with ambiguous forms of speech covering the
indistinctness of his outlook, he spoke of one whom he saw far away, in imagination,
not reality, a personage bright and powerful, who should rise star-like out of Jacob,
bearing the sceptre of Israel, who should smite through the corners of Moab and
break down the sons of tumult. Over Edom and Seir he should triumph, and his
dominion should extend to the city which had become the last refuge of a hostile
people. Of spiritual power and right there is not a trace in this prediction. It is
unquestionably the military vigour of Israel gathered up into the headship of some
powerful king Balaam sees on the horizon of his field of view. But he anticipates
with no uncertainty that Moab shall be attacked and broken, and that the victorious
leader shall even penetrate to the fastnesses of Edom and reduce them. A people like
Israel, with so great vitality, would not be content to have jealous enemies upon its
very borders, and Balak is urged to regard them with more hatred and fear than he
has yet shown.
The view that this prophecy "finds its preliminary fulfilment in David, in whom the
kingdom was established, and by whose victories the power of Moab and Edom was
broken, but its final and complete fulfilment only in Christ," is supported by the
unanimous belief of the Jews, and has been adopted by the Christian Church. Yet it
must be allowed that the victories of David did not break the power of Moab and
Edom, for these peoples are found again and again, after his time, in hostile attitude
to Israel. And it is not to the purpose to say that in Christ the kingdom reaches
perfection, that He destroys the enemies of Israel. Nor is there an argument for the
Messianic reference worth considering in the fact that the pseudo-Messiah in the
reign of Hadrian styled himself Bar-cochba, son of the star. A pretender to Messiah-
ship might snatch at any title likely to secure for him popular support; his choice of
a name proves only the common belief of the Jews, and that was very ignorant, very
far from spiritual. There is indeed more force in the notion that the star by which
the wise men of the East were guided to Bethlehem is somehow related to this
prophecy. Yet that also is too imaginative. The oracle of Balaam refers to the virility
and prospective dominance of Israel, as a nation favoured by the Almighty and
destined to be strong in battle. The range of the prediction is not nearly wide enough
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12. for any true anticipation of a Messiah gaining universal sway by virtue of redeeming
love. It is becoming more and more necessary to set aside those interpretations
which identify the Saviour of the world with one who smites and breaks down and
destroys, who wields a sceptre after the manner of Oriental despots.
In Balaam’s vision small nations with which he happens to be acquainted bulk
largely-the Kenites, Amalek, Moab, and Edom. To him the Amalekites appear as
having once been "the first of the nations." We may explain, as before, that he had
been impressed on some occasion by what he had seen of their force and the royal
state of their king. The Kenites, dwelling either among the cliffs of Engedi or the
mountains of Galilee, were a very small tribe; and the Amalekites, as well as the
people of Moab and Edom, were of little account in the development of human
history. At the same time the prophecy looks in one direction to a power destined to
become very great, when it speaks of the ships of Chittim. The course of empire is
seen to be westward. Asshur, or Assyria, and Eber-the whole Abrahamic race,
perhaps, including Israel-are threatened by this rising power, the nearest point of
which is Cyprus in the Great Sea. Balaam is, we may say, a political prophet: to
class him among those who testified of Christ is to exalt far too much his inspiration
and read more into his oracles than they naturally contain. There is no deep
problem in the narrative regarding him-as, for instance, how a man false at heart
could in any sense enter into those gracious purposes of God for the human race
which were fulfilled by Christ.
Balaam, we are told, "rose up and returned to his own place"; and from this it
would seem that with bitterness in his heart he betook himself to Pethor. If he did
so, vainly hoping still that Israel would appeal to him, he soon returned to give
Balak and the Midianites advice of the most nefarious kind. We learn from
Numbers 31:16, that through his counsel the Midianite women caused the children
of Israel to commit trespass against Jehovah in the matter of Peor. The statement is
a link between chapters 24 and 25. Vainly had Balaam as a diviner matched himself
against the God of Israel. Resenting his defeat, he sought and found another way
which the customs of his own people in their obscure idolatrous rites too readily
suggested. The moral law of Jehovah and the comparative purity of the Israelites as
His people kept them separate from the other nations, gave them dignity and vigour.
To break down this defence would make them like the rest, would withdraw them
from the favour of their God and even defeat His purposes. The scheme was one
which only the vilest craft could have conceived; and it shows us too plainly the real
character of Balaam. He must have known the power of the allurements which he
now advised as the means of attack on those he could not touch with his
maledictions nor gain by his soothsaying. In the shadow of this scheme of his we see
the diviner and all his tribe, and indeed the whole morality of the region, at their
very worst.
The tribes were still in the plain of Jordan; and we may suppose that the victorious
troops had returned from the campaign against Bashan, when a band of Midianites,
professing the utmost friendliness, gradually introduced themselves into the camp.
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13. Then began the temptation to which the Midianitish women, some of them of high
rank, willingly devoted themselves. It was to impurity and idolatry, to degradation
of manhood in body and soul, to abjuration at once of faith and of all that makes
individual and social life. The orgies with which the Midianites were familiar
belonged to the dark side of a nature-cultus which carried the distinction between
male and female into religious symbolism, and made abject prostration of life before
the Divinity a crowning act of worship. Surviving still, the same practices are in
India and elsewhere the most dreadful and inveterate barriers which the Gospel and
Christian civilisation encounter. The Israelites were assailed unexpectedly, it would
appear, and in a time of comparative inaction. Possibly, also, the camp was
composed to some extent of men whose families were still in Kadesh waiting the
conquest of the land of Canaan to cross the border. But the fact need not be
concealed that the polygamy which prevailed among the Hebrews was an element in
their danger. That had not been forbidden by the law; it was even countenanced by
the example of Moses. The custom, indeed, was one which at the stage of
development Israel had reached implied some progress; for there are conditions
even worse than polygamy against which it was a protest and safeguard. But like
every other custom falling short of the ideal of the family, it was one of great peril;
and now disaster came. The Midianites brought their sacrifices and slew them; the
festival of Baalpeor was proclaimed. "The people did eat and bowed down to their
gods." It was a transgression which demanded swift and terrible judgment. The
chief men of the tribes who had joined in the abominable rites were taken and
"hanged up before the Lord against the sun"; the "judges of Israel" were
commanded to slay "every one his men that were joined unto Baalpeor."
The narrative of the "Priests’ Code," beginning at Numbers 25:6, and going on to
the close of the chapter, adds details of the sin and its punishment. Assuming that
the row of stakes with their ghastly burden is in full view, and the dead bodies of
those slain by the executioners are lying about the camp, this narrative shows the
people gathered at the tent of meeting, many of them in tears. There is a plague, too,
which is rapidly spreading and carrying off the transgressors. In the midst of the
sorrow and wailing, when the chief men should have been bowed down in
repentance, one of the princes of Simeon is seen leading by the hand his Midianitish
paramour, herself a chief’s daughter. In the very sight of Moses and the people the
guilty persons enter a tent. Then Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest, following them,
inflicts with a javelin the punishment of death. It is a daring but a true deed; and for
it Phinehas and his seed after him are promised the "covenant of peace," even the
"covenant of an everlasting priesthood." His swift stroke has vindicated the honour
of God, and "made an atonement for the children of Israel." An act like this, when
the elemental laws of morality are imperilled and a whole people needs a swift and
impressive lesson, is a tribute to God which He will reward and remember. True,
one of the priestly house should keep aloof from death. But the emergency demands
immediate action, and he who is bold enough to strike at once is the true friend of
men and of God.
The question may be put, whether this is not justice of too rude and ready a kind to
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14. be praised in the name of religion. To some it may seem that the honour of God
could not be served by the deed attributed to Phinehas; that he acted in passion
rather than in the calm deliberation without which justice cannot be dealt out by
man to man. Would not this excuse the passionate action of a crowd, impatient of
the forms of law, that hurries an offender to the nearest tree or lamp-post? And the
answer cannot be that Israel was so peculiarly under covenant to God that its
necessity would exonerate a deed otherwise illegal. We must face the whole problem
alike of personal and of united action for the vindication of righteousness in times of
widespread license.
It is not necessary now to slay an offender in order clearly and emphatically to
condemn his crime. In that respect modern circumstances differ from those we are
discussing. Upon Israel, as it was at the time of this tragedy, no impression could
have been made deep and swift enough for the occasion otherwise than by the act of
Phinehas. But for an offender of the same rank now, there is a punishment as stern
as death, and on the popular mind it produces a far greater effect-publicity, and the
reprobation of all who love their fellowmen and God. The act of Phinehas was not
assassination; a similar act now would be, and it would have to be dealt with as a
crime. The stroke now is inflicted by public accusation, which results in public trial
and public condemnation. From the time to which the narrative refers, on to our
own day, social conditions have been passing through many phases. Occasionally
there have been circumstances in which the swift judgment of righteous indignation
was justifiable, though it did seem like assassination. And in no case has such action
been more excusable than when the purity of family life has been invaded, while the
law of the land would not interfere. We do not greatly wonder that in France the
avenging of infidelity is condoned when the sufferer snatches a justice otherwise
unattainable. That is not indeed to be praised, but the imperfection of law is a
partial apology. The higher the standard of public morality the less needful is this
venture on the Divine right to kill. And certainly it is not private revenge that is ever
to be sought, but the vindication of the elemental righteousness on which the well-
being, of humanity depends. Phinehas had no private revenge to seek. It was the
public good.
It is confidently affirmed by Wellhausen that the "Priestly Code" makes the cultus
the principal thing, and this, he says, implies retrogression from the earlier idea.
The passage we are considering, like many others ascribed to the "Priests’ Code,"
makes something else than the cultus the principal thing. We are told that in the
teaching of this code "the bond between cultus and sensuality is severed; no danger
can arise of an admixture of impure, immoral elements, a danger which was always
present in Hebrew antiquity." But here the danger is admitted, the cultus is entirely
out of sight, and the sin of sensuality is conspicuous. When Phinehas intervenes,
moreover, it is not in harmony with any statute or principle laid down in the
"Priests’ Code"-rather, indeed, against its general spirit, which would prohibit an
Aaronite from a deed of blood. According to the whole tenor of the law the
priesthood had its duties, carefully prescribed, by doing which faithfulness was to
be shown. Here an act of spontaneous zeal, done not "on the positive command of a
14

15. will outside," but on the impulse arising out of a fresh occasion, receives the
approval of Jehovah, and. the "covenant of an everlasting priesthood" is confirmed
for the sake of it. Was Phinehas in any sense carrying out statutory instructions for
atonement on behalf of Israel when he inflicted the punishment of death on Zimri
and his paramour? To identify the "Priestly Code" with "cultus legislation," and
that with theocracy, and then declare the cultus to have become a "pedagogic
instrument of discipline," "estranged from the heart," is to make large demands on
our inattention.
In the closing verses of the chapter another question of a moral nature is involved. It
is recorded that after the events we have considered Jehovah spake unto Moses,
saying, "Vex the Midianites, and smite them; for they vex you with their wiles,
wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi,
the daughter of the prince of Midian, their sister, which was slain on the day of the
plague in the matter of Peor." Now is it for the sake of themselves and their own
safety the Israelites are to smite Midian? Is retaliation commanded? Does God set
enmity between the one people and the other, and so doing make confession that
Israel has no duty of forgiveness, no mission to convert and save?
There is difficulty in pronouncing judgment as to the point of view taken by the
narrator. Some will maintain that the historian here, whoever he was, had no higher
conception of the command than that it was one which sanctioned revenge. And
there is nothing on the face of the narrative which can be brought forward to
disprove the charge. Yet it must be remembered that the history proceeds on the
theocratic conception of Israel’s place and destiny. To the writer Israel is of less
account in itself than as a people rescued from Egypt and called to nationality in
order to serve Jehovah. The whole tenor of the "Priests’ Code" narrative, as well as
of the other, bears this out. There is no patriotic zeal in the narrow sense, -"My
country right or wrong." Scarcely a passage can be pointed to implying such a
sentiment, such a drift of thought. The underlying idea in the whole story is the
sacredness of morality, not of Israel; and the suppression or extinction of this tribe
of Midianites with their obscene idolatry is God’s will, not Israel’s. Too plain,
indeed, is it that the Israelites would have preferred to leave Midian and other tribes
of the same low moral best unmolested, free to pursue their own ends.
And Jehovah is not revengeful, but just. The vindication of morality at the time the
Book of Numbers deals with, and long afterwards, could only be through the
suppression of those who were identified with dangerous forms of vice. The forces at
command in Israel were not equal to the task of converting; and what could be
achieved was commanded-opposition, enmity; if need were, exterminating war. The
better people has a certain spiritual capacity, but not enough to make it fit for what
may be called moral missionary work. It would suffer more than it would gain if it
entered on any kind of intercourse with Midian with the view of raising the
standard of thought and life. All that can be expected meanwhile is that the
Israelites shall be at issue with a people so degraded; they are to be against the
Midianites, keep them from power in the world, subject them by the sword.
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16. Our judgment, then, is that the narrative sustains a true theocracy in this sense,
exhibits Israel as a unique phenomenon in human history, not impossible, -there lies
the clear veracity of the Bible accounts, -but playing a part such as the times
allowed, such as the world required. From a passage like that now before us, and
the sequel, the war with Midian, which some have regarded as a blot on the pages of
Scripture, an argument for its inspiration may be drawn. We find here no ethical
anachronisms, no impracticable ideas of charity and pardon. There is a sane and
strenuous moral aim, not out of keeping with the state of things in the world of that
time, yet showing the rule and presenting the will of a God who makes Israel a
protesting people. The Hebrews are men, not angels; men of the old world, not
Christians-true! Who could have received this history if it had represented them as
Christians, and shown us God giving them commands fit for the Church of today?
They are called to a higher morality than that of Egypt, for theirs is to be spiritual;
higher than that of Chaldea or of Canaan, for Chaldea is shrouded in superstition,
Canaan in obscene idolatry. They can do something; and what they can do Jehovah
commands them to do. And He is not an imperfect God because His prophet does
not give from the first a perfect Christian law, a redeeming gospel. He is the "I
Am." Let the whole course of Old Testament development be traced, and the sanity
and coherency of the theocratic idea as it is presented in law and prophecy, psalm
and parable, cannot fail to convince any just and frank inquirer.
The end of Balaam’s life may be glanced at before the pages close that refer to his
career. In Numbers 31:8, it is stated that in the battle which went against the
Midianites Balaam was slain. We do not know whether he was so maddened by his
disappointment as to take the sword against Jehovah and Israel, or whether he only
joined the army of Midian in his capacity of augur. F. W. Robertson imagines "the
insane frenzy with which he would rush into the field, and finding all go against
him, and that lost for which he had bartered heaven, after having died a thousand
worse than deaths, find death at last upon the spears of the Israelites." It is of
course possible to imagine that he became the victim of his own insane passion. But
Balaam never had a profound nature, was never more than within sight of the
spiritual world. He appears as the calculating, ambitious man, who would reckon
his chances to the last, and with coolness, and what he believed to be sagacity, decide
on the next thing to attempt. But his penetration failed him, as at a certain point it
fails all men of his kind. He ventured too far, and could not draw back to safety.
The death he died was almost too honourable for this false prophet, unless, indeed,
he fell fleeing like a coward from the battle. One who had recognised the power of a
higher faith than his country professed, and saw a nation on the way to the vigour
that faith inspired, who in personal spleen and envy set in operation a scheme of the
very worst sort to ruin Israel, was not an enemy worth the edge of the sword. Let us
suppose that a Hebrew soldier found him in flight, and with a passing stroke
brought him to the ground. There is no tragedy in such a death; it is too
ignominious. Whatever Balaam was in his boyhood, whatever he might have been
when the cry escaped him, "Let me die the death of the righteous," selfish craft had
16

17. brought him below the level of the manhood of the time. Balak with his pathetic
faith in cursing and incantation now seems a prince beside the augur. For Balaam,
though he knew Jehovah after a manner, had no religion, had only the envy of the
religion of others. He came on the stage with an air that almost deceived Balak and
has deceived many. He leaves it without one to lament him. Or shall we rather
suppose that even for him, in Pethor beyond the Euphrates, a wife or child waited
and prayed to Sutekh and, when the tidings of his death were brought, fell into
inconsolable weeping? Over the worst they think and do men draw the veil to hide it
from some eyes. And Balaam, a poor, mean tool of the basest cravings, may have
had one to believe in him, one to love him. He reminds us of Absalom in his
character and actions-Absalom, a man void of religion and morals; and for him the
father he had dethroned and dishonoured wept bitterly in the chamber over the gate
of Mahanaim, "My son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my
son, my son!" So may some woman in Pethor have wailed for Balaam fallen under
the spear of a Hebrew warrior.
PETT, "Verses 1-5
Chapter 25 Israel Are Lured Into Sin By The Moabites and Midianites.
4). The Defeat of the Evil Influence of Moab (Numbers 25:1-18).
It is noteworthy that just as the glorious revelation on Mount Sinai was followed by
the lapse into idolatry with the molten calf, so here the glorious repetition and
expansion of the promises by Balaam is followed by gross idolatry. In each case the
one contrasts with the other, the proclamation of the grace of God with the
disobedience of man.
For having settled down in the Moabite plain Israel now demonstrated their
propensity for sin at Shittim by enjoying close relations with the daughters of Moab,
and ‘joining themselves’ to Baal-peor. In spite of all Yahweh’s warnings they
engaged in idolatry. This would finally result in the death of a Simeonite chieftain
and a plague on the people.
Analysis of the chapter.
a Israel sin at Shittim in regard to Baal-peor (Numbers 25:1-3 a).
b Yahweh is angry with Israel and demands their punishment. Moses calls on the
judges to slay those who worshipped Baal-peor (Numbers 25:3-5)
c A Midianitish woman brought into the camp by a Simeonite chief for evil purposes
(Numbers 25:6).
d Phinehas, son of Eleazar slays the chieftain and the woman (Numbers 25:7-8 a).
17

18. e As a result of his action judgment by plague is stayed (Numbers 25:8 b).
e Those who died in the plague are enumerated (Numbers 25:9)
d Phinehas is confirmed in the priesthood for his action (Numbers 25:10-13).
c The chieftain and the woman are identified (Numbers 25:14-15).
b Yahweh demands the punishment of Midian (Numbers 25:16-17)
a The punishment is in respect of the sin regarding Baal-peor (Numbers 25:18)
Israel Sin at Shittim in Regard to Baal-peor (Numbers 25:1-3 a)
Numbers 25:1-2
‘And Israel abode in Shittim; and the people began to play the harlot with the
daughters of Moab, for they called the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the
people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.’
Settling down at Shittim after a period of continual travel, Israelite males began to
take a fancy to certain young women who lived in Moab, and who seemingly made
themselves available. (Note that the Midianitish woman is seen as ‘a daughter of
Moab’, that is a woman who lived in Moabite territory. There was clearly a very
close relationship between these Midianites and Moab). Not being constantly on the
move themselves their women were able to make themselves up more attractively,
and the men of Israel clearly enjoyed the novelty. These were worshippers of Baal-
peor, and we note that the sin is not said to have been sexual, although that no doubt
occurred, but a turning to their idols, although in view of what follows sexual
relations might well be seen as implied. And in view of the nature of the religion of
Baal with its fertility rites there may well have been ritual sex acts between them.
Outwardly, however, the sin is said to be that of being present at the sacrifices to
their gods, eating sacred meals with them and bowing down to their gods. Among
others they were disobeying the first two commandments.
Yahweh Was Angry with Israel and Demanded The Punishment Of Those Who
Had Sinned (Numbers 25:3-4).
PULPIT, "THE SIN OF ISRAEL AND ATONEMENT OF PHINEHAS (Numbers
25:1-18).
Numbers 25:1
Abode in Shittim. For a considerable time; from their first arrival in the Arboth
Moab until the crossing of the Jordan. Shittim is the shortened form of Abel-
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19. Shittim, "Field of Acacias" (Numbers 33:49). It seems to have been the
northernmost part of the last encampment of Israel on that side Jordan, and the
head-quarters of the host (Joshua 2:1; Joshua 3:1). Began to commit whoredom
with the daughters of Moab. This commencement of sin seems to have been made by
Israel without special provocation. The very victories won, and the comparative ease
and affluence now enjoyed, after long marches and hardships, may well have
predisposed them to this sin, for which they now for the first time found abundant
opportunity.
BI 1-9, "The people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of
Moab.
The sin of Israel at Shittim, and the judgment of God
I. The sin of the Israelites at Shittim.
1. The sin itself.
(1) Spiritual fornication, or idolatry (Hos_2:1-23.).
(2) Physical fornication.
2. The origin of their sin (Num_31:16; Rev_2:14).
3. The instruments of their sin: Moab and Midian.
4. The occasion of their sin.
(1) Their abode at Shittim. They were in the neighbourhood of sinful
associations and corrupting influences. “Near a fire, a serpent, and a
wicked woman, no man can long be in safety.”
(2) Their lack of occupation. Idleness leads to vice and mischief.
II. The judgment of God upon the Israelites on account of their sin.
1. The judgment inflicted immediately by God. In some form or other
punishment ever follows closely upon the heels of sin.
2. The judgment inflicted by Moses and the judges by the command of
God.
(1) Its nature : Death.
(2) Its publicity.
(3) Its executioners.
Lessons:
1. The secret of the security of the people of God: faithfulness.
2. The danger of those temptations which appeal to our self-indulgence
or love of pleasure.
3. The terribleness of the Divine anger.
4. The solicitude with which we should guard against arousing this anger
towards us. Sin calls it forth, therefore shun sin.
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20. 5. Tile earnestness with which we should seek the mercy and the
protection of God. (W. Jones.)
Evil men proceed by degrees from worse to worse
In these words is offered unto us an example, expressing the nature of sin
where once it is entertained. For behold here how they grow in sin. At the
first, they departed out of the host of Israel and went to the people of Moab
and Midian, with whom they coupled themselves; so that albeit they sinned,
yet they had some shame of sin, and made some conscience of committing it
openly amongst their brethren. But they proceed by little and little, from
step to step, till they are ashamed of nothing. Therefore in the example of
one man, here set before our eyes, Moses declares to what shamelessness
they were come. For this man (who is afterward named), as if he had been
absolute in power, as he was indeed resolute in will and dissolute in his
whole life, brought his whorish woman in the sight of God, in the sight of
Moses, in the sight of the congregation, and in the sight of the tabernacle, to
show that he had filled up the measure of his sin.
1. The nature of sin is to draw all such as delight in it from one evil to
another, until in the end they become most corrupt and abominable.
2. The wrath of Goal falleth upon such as make no conscience to fall into
lesser sins, He giveth them over to a reprobate sense, and to hardness of
heart.
3. Sin is fitly resembled to the fretting of a canker, and to the
uncleanness of a leprosy, both which go forward until the whole body be
infected and every member endangered.
Now let us handle the uses.
1. Consider from hence how dangerous it is to give entertainment unto
sin at the beginning, which groweth to more perfection every day; we
cannot stop this stream when we will, it goeth beyond the strength of our
nature.
2. Seeing evil men wax worse and worse, we may conclude that their
judgment sleepeth not, but is increased as their sin; yea, so it is not far
off, but lieth at the doors.
3. Seeing men giving themselves over to sin, it is our duty to resist the
beginnings, to prevent the breach, and stop the first course of it. It is as a
serpent that must be trod on in the egg. Let us take heed that sin grow
not into a custom and get an habit. (W. Attersoll.)
Sin deprives us of God’s protection
We have beard before that albeit that Balak and Balaam intended by their
sorceries to curse the people of God, yet they could by no means do them
hurt; they were guarded by the protection of God as with a sure watch. Rut
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21. so soon as they forsook the living God, and fell a whoring with the daughters
of Moab and Midian, by and by God departeth from them, and His heavy
judgments break in upon them. The force of sorcery could not hurt them,
but the strength of sin doth weaken them. Hereby we learn that sin
depriveth us of God’s protection, and layeth us open to the fierceness of His
wrath, and to the fury of our enemies. The reasons being considered will
make the doctrine more evident.
1. Sin maketh us execrable to the Lord and abominable in His sight. If,
then, sin makes us to be had in execration it is no marvel if we be left
destitute of God’s protection.
2. God departeth from them that fall from Him; they forsake Him, and
therefore He forsaketh them. So, then, our lying in sin doth drive the
Lord from us, that He will have no more fellowship with us to do us any
good.
We are now to set down the uses of this doctrine.
1. This teacheth us to acknowledge that all judgments which fall upon us
are righteous. God chastiseth us often, but always justly, never unjustly.
2. Seeing sin layeth us open to reproaches of enemies and to the
judgments of God, as appeareth in this great plague upon the people, this
showeth that we must not go about to hide our sin from God through
hypocrisy. For all things are naked and open to His eyes, with whom we
have to do; so that we must learn to confess them before His presence.
3. This serveth as a notable advantage for the servants of God when they
have any dealings against wicked men; we have encouragement from
hence that we shall assuredly prevail against them, because we have to
do with weak men that are out of God’s protection. (W. Attersoll.)
God’s abhorrence of impurity
The Lord must have regard to two things in His own people—personal
purity; and uncorrupted worship. In the very nature Of things it would be
quite impossible to preserve purity of principle, clearness of understanding,
and spirituality of affection, with corruption of life. It is a delusion of the
worst kind, a master-device of Satan, the perfection of sin’s deceitfulness,
and a perversion of all truth, justice, and grace, when men, in the retired
indulgence of lusts within, or in open commission of crime, sit down
tranquil under the defence of mercy, and fancy themselves with such
interest in the robe of Christ’s perfection and beauty, that no spot or fault is
in them. A sinner may come to Christ under every sense of imperfection,
pollution, and vileness, and through faith in His mediation, may participate
with appropriating joy and a well-founded confidence in all the interests of
His atoning blood and justifying righteousness; nevertheless, he can never
find anything in the nature and influence of evangelical truth but what has
the most direct tendency and design to deliver from the power as well as to
save from the desert of sin. To a gracious heart sin proves a plague and
constant grief, and the cause, while it exists, of a never-ending strife. (W.
21

22. Seaton.)
The valley of sensuality
In Java is a valley which is called the Valley of Poison. It is an object of
veritable terror to the natives. In this renowned valley the soil is said to be
covered with skeletons and carcases of tigers, of goats, and of stags, of birds,
and even with human bones; for asphyxia or suffocation, it seems, strikes
all living things which venture into this desolate place. It illustrates the
valley of sensuality, the most horrible creation of social life. Few men who
enter into its depths survive long; for it is strewn with dead reputations and
the mangled remains of creatures who were once happy. (W. Seaton.)
2 who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods.
The people ate the sacrificial meal and bowed
down before these gods.
BARNES, "And they called - i. e., “the daughters of Moab called.”
CLARKE, "And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods,....
That is, the daughters of Moab and Midian, with whom the children of Israel
carried on an unlawful correspondence, invited them, their gallants, to
come and partake of the feasts which attended the sacrifices of their idols;
for part of what was offered to idols a feast was kept with, to which great
numbers were invited, and which was observed with all the circumstances
of joy and pleasure imaginable, and which was very ensnaring, especially to
young people; and the children of Israel being so much enamoured with the
beauty of the Moabitish women, and so strong were their lusts and passions,
that they could not refuse the invitation:
and the people did eat: of the things sacrificed to idols, and so became guilty
of idolatry, even by so doing, and then when they had eaten and drank, and
were merry, they were led on to other acts of idolatry:
and bowed down to their gods: which was a plain and open act of idolatry,
whereby they testified their faith in their divinity, their reverence of them,
22

23. and their homage and obedience to them: Jarchi says, when the evil
concupiscence or lust was strong in them, and they solicited the daughters
of Moab to hearken to them, and comply with them, they used to take the
image of Peor out of their bosom, and said, worship this, signifying that on
that condition they would gratify them; and thus whoredom led them on to
idolatry, and they committed the one for the sake of being indulged in the
other.
GILL, "And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods,.... That
is, the daughters of Moab and Midian, with whom the children of Israel
carried on an unlawful correspondence, invited them, their gallants, to
come and partake of the feasts which attended the sacrifices of their idols;
for part of what was offered to idols a feast was kept with, to which great
numbers were invited, and which was observed with all the circumstances
of joy and pleasure imaginable, and which was very ensnaring, especially to
young people; and the children of Israel being so much enamoured with the
beauty of the Moabitish women, and so strong were their lusts and passions,
that they could not refuse the invitation:
and the people did eat: of the things sacrificed to idols, and so became guilty
of idolatry, even by so doing, and then when they had eaten and drank, and
were merry, they were led on to other acts of idolatry:
and bowed down to their gods: which was a plain and open act of idolatry,
whereby they testified their faith in their divinity, their reverence of them,
and their homage and obedience to them: Jarchi says, when the evil
concupiscence or lust was strong in them, and they solicited the daughters
of Moab to hearken to them, and comply with them, they used to take the
image of Peor out of their bosom, and said, worship this, signifying that on
that condition they would gratify them; and thus whoredom led them on to
idolatry, and they committed the one for the sake of being indulged in the
other.
TRAPP, "Numbers 25:2 And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods:
and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.
Ver. 2. Unto the sacrifices of their gods.] Unto their idol feasts; for Sine cerere et
libero friget Venus. Gluttony is the gallery that lechery walketh through.
And bowed down to their gods.] Nemo repente fit turpissimus: by degrees they were
drawn to open idolatry. If a man’s foot slip into the mouth of hell, it is a miracle if
he stop ere he come to the bottom. Principiis obsta. Dally not with the devil; sin is
very insinuative; and the old serpent, if he once get in his head, will quickly wind in
his whole body.
POOLE, " They called the people: this may be noted, either,
1. As the consequent of their whoredom, an invitation to further society in their
23

24. sacred feasts; or rather,
2. As the cause or occasion of their whoredom, the Hebrew vau here signifying for,
as it oft doth. The Moabites being now neighbours to the Israelites, and finding
themselves unable to effect their design against Israel by war and witchcraft, they
now fell another way to work, by contracting familiarity with them; and perceiving
their evil and lustful inclinations, they, i.e. their daughters, last mentioned, invited
them to their feasts.
Unto the sacrifices, i.e. unto the feasts which were made of their parts of their
sacrifices, after the manner of the Jews and Gentiles too, the participation whereof
was reckoned a participation in the worship of that god to whom the sacrifices were
offered, 1 Corinthians 10:18, and therefore was forbidden to the Israelites when
such feasts and sacrifices belonged to a false god, Exodus 34:15. Yet this was a less
and more modest kind of idolatry, and therefore is fitly used to usher in what was
more gross and impious.
Of their gods, i.e. of their god, Baal-peor, the plural elohim being here used, as
commonly it is, for one god.
Bowed down; which properly notes the outward act of worship, which here
consisting in or being accompanied with filthy serious, may either signify or connote
them.
To their gods; before their gods, or, to the honour and worship of their gods.
BENSON, "Numbers 25:2. They called — The Moabites, being now neighbours to
the Israelites, and finding themselves unable to effect their design by war and
divination, fell another way to work, by contracting familiarity with them, and,
perceiving their evil inclinations, they, that is, their daughters, invited them unto the
sacrifices — Unto the feasts which were made of their parts of the sacrifices, after
the manner of the Jews and Gentiles too, the participation whereof was reckoned a
participation in the worship of that God to whom the sacrifices were offered. Of
their gods — Of their god Baal-peor, the plural Elohim being here used, as
commonly it is for one God.
PULPIT, "And they called, i.e; the women of Moab, encouraged to do so by the
licentious intercourse which had sprung up. Without such encouragement it is
difficult to suppose that they would have ventured on such a step. And the people
did eat. Gluttony added its seductions to lust. No doubt this generation were as
weary of the manna and as eager for other and heavier food as their fathers had
been (see on Numbers 11:4; Numbers 21:5).
24

25. 3 So Israel yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor.
And the Lord’s anger burned against them.
BARNES, "Joined himself - i. e., by taking part in the sacrificial meals as
described in the last verse. Compare Exo_34:15; 1Co_10:18. The worship of
Baal was attended with the grossest impurity, and indeed partly consisted
in it Hos_4:14; Hos_9:10.
Baal-peor - i. e., the Baal worshipped at Peer, the place mentioned in
Num_23:28 (compare Baal-meon, Num_32:38). (The identification of this
god with Chemosh in Num_21:29 is now given up.)
CLARKE, "Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor - The same as the Priapus
of the Romans, and worshipped with the same obscene rites as we have
frequently had occasion to remark.
The joining to Baal-peor, mentioned here, was probably what St. Paul had
in view when he said, 2Co_6:14 : Be ye not unequally yoked together with
unbelievers. And this joining, though done even in a matrimonial way, was
nevertheless fornication, (see Rev_2:14), as no marriage between an
Israelite and a Midianite could be legitimate, according to the law of God.
See the propositions at the close of the preceding chapter Num_24:25
(note).
GILL, "And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor,.... The name of an idol; one
of the Baals, Baal being a general name for an idol; and, to distinguish this
from other Baals or idols, it was called Peor, either from its opening its
mouth in prophecy, as Ainsworth; or from some obscene posture and action
used in the worship of it, being, as it is by many thought to be, the same with
Priapus; or rather from the mountain Peor, where it was worshipped, as
Jupiter is called Jupiter Olympius, Capitolinus, &c. from the mountains
where he had a temple, or was worshipped; or from the name of some great
personage, called Lord Peor, who was deified after his death; hence these
Israelites are said to "eat the sacrifices of the dead", Psa_106:28. Mr.
Bedford (t) takes him to be Mizraim the son of Ham, the Osiris of the
Egyptians, and the Priapus of other Heathens: and Father Calmet (u) is of
opinion that he is the same with Orus, Osiris, and Adonis; and that Pe is
only a prepositive article, and that Or is the name, and no other than Orus;
but such a criticism the word will not bear: this idol, the chief god of the
Moabites, was, in all probability, the same with Chemosh, who is expressly
called the abomination of Moab, 1Ki_11:7 of whom See Gill on Jer_48:7 so
Chemosh and Peor are thought to be the same by our English poet (w): to
25

26. him the Israelites joined themselves, forsook the true God in a great
measure, and were initiated into the rites of this deity, and constantly
attended the worship of it, and cleaved unto it with their hearts and
directions, and joined with their harlots in all parts of service performed
unto it; See Gill on Hos_9:10,
and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel; for no sin is more
provoking to God than idolatry, that being so directly opposite to his nature,
honour, and glory, as well as to his will and worship; and hereby the end of
Balaam and Balak was, in a great measure, answered, and Balaam obtained
that by his evil counsel which he could not by all his conjuring; this was seen
by the plague sent among them; See Gill on Num_24:14.
JAMISON,"Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor — Baal was a general
name for “lord,” and Peor for a “mount” in Moab. The real name of the idol
was Chemosh, and his rites of worship were celebrated by the grossest
obscenity. In participating in this festival, then, the Israelites committed the
double offense of idolatry and licentiousness.
K&D 3-4, "And the anger of the Lord burned against the people, so that
Jehovah commanded Moses to fetch the heads of the people, i.e., to
assemble them together, and to “hang up” the men who had joined
themselves to Baal-Peor “before the Lord against the sun,” that the anger of
God might turn away from Israel. The burning of the wrath of God, which
was to be turned away from the people by the punishment of the guilty, as
enjoined upon Moses, consisted, as we may see from Num_25:8, Num_25:9,
in a plague inflicted upon the nation, which carried off a great number of
the people, a sudden death, as in Num_14:37; Num_17:11. ַ‫יע‬ ִ‫ק‬ ‫,ה‬ from ‫ע‬ ַ‫ָק‬‫י‬, to
be torn apart or torn away (Ges., Winer), refers to the punishment of
crucifixion, a mode of capital punishment which was adopted by most of the
nations of antiquity (see Winer, bibl. R. W. i. p. 680), and was carried out
sometimes by driving a stake into the body, and so impaling them
(ἀνασκολοπίζειν), the mode practised by the Assyrians and Persians (Herod.
iii. 159, and Layard's Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 374, and plate on p.
369), at other times by fastening them to a stake or nailing them to a cross
(ἀνασταυροῦν). In the instance before us, however, the idolaters were not
impaled or crucified alive, but, as we may see from the word ‫גּוּ‬ ְ‫ר‬ ִ‫ה‬ in Num_
25:5, and in accordance with the custom frequently adopted by other
nations (see Herzog's Encyclopaedia), they were first of all put to death, and
then impaled upon a stake or fastened upon a cross, so that the impaling or
crucifixion was only an aggravation of the capital punishment, like the
burning in Lev_20:14, and the hanging (‫ה‬ ָ‫ל‬ ָ‫)תּ‬ in Deu_21:22. The rendering
adopted by the lxx and Vulgate is παραδειγματίζειν, suspendere, in this
passage, and in 2Sa_21:6, 2Sa_21:9, ἐξηλιάζειν (to expose to the sun), and
crucifigere. ‫ָה‬ ‫יה‬ ַ‫,ל‬ for Jehovah, as satisfaction for Him, i.e., to appease His
wrath. ‫ם‬ ָ‫ת‬ ‫א‬ (them) does not refer to the heads of the nation, but to the guilty
26

27. persons, upon whom the heads of the nation were to pronounce sentence.
CALVIN, "3.AndIsrael joined himself to Baal-peor. Moses amplifies their crime by
this expression, that they bound themselves to the idol in an impious alliance; and
thus he alludes to that holy union whereby God had connected Himself with the
people, and accuses them of broken faith and wicked rebellion. Nevertheless, it is
probable that the people were not impelled by superstition, but enticed by the wiles
of the women to offer worship to idols which they despised. Yet we are told how
God declared that they were “joined” to the idol, which they merely pretended to
worship, in order to comply with the ungodly wishes of the women. Hence,
therefore, this general instruction may be gathered, that when we turn aside from
pure religion, we in a manner connect ourselves with idols, so as to coalesce in one
body with them, and conspire to renounce the true God.
Baal was then the general name of almost all idols; but all epithet is added to the
idol of the Moabites, taken from Mount Peor; nor does it appear that we need go in
quest of any other etymology, since the name of this mountain has recently been
mentioned. It was on the same principle as in Popery, when they name their Marys
after particular places, (183) where the most famous statues are worshipped.
COKE, "Numbers 25:3. Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor— See the note on ch.
Numbers 21:29. St. Jerome informs us, that Baal-peor was the same as the Greek
and Roman Priapus; that this idol was like that of Priapus. That his worship
consisted of gross obscenity and impurity there can be no question. See Hosea 10:15
and Revelation 2:14. Those who are inclined to know more respecting this idol,
(who, with his ceremonies, was of too gross a sort to engage our further attention,)
may consult Calmet's Dissertation upon the subject. When it is said, Psalms 106:28
that they joined themselves unto Baal-peor, and ate the offerings of the dead, it
cannot be concluded from thence that Baal-peor was some dead prince idolized; for
the dead, in this place, means no more than those dead idols, whom St. Paul calls,
nothing in the world, 1 Corinthians 8:4 and who may be denominated dead, in
opposition to the living God. See Vossius, de Idol. lib. 2: cap. 7.
TRAPP, "Numbers 25:3 And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of
the LORD was kindled against Israel.
Ver. 3. Joined himself to Baalpeor.] Separated himself to that shame, [Hosea 9:10]
that abominable and shameless service of Priapus, as Jerome and Isidore
understand it, as Maachah the mother of Asa seems to have done, [1 Kings 15:13]
and other filthy persons, whose fashion was, as soon as their sacrifice was ended, to
step aside into the grove of their god, and there, like brute beasts, promiscuously to
satisfy their lusts, &c. Vah scelus infandum!
27

28. POOLE, " Joined himself; the word implies a forsaking of God, to whom they were
and should have been joined, and a turning to, embracing of, strict conjunction
with, and fervent affection after, this false god. Compare Hosea 9:10 2 Corinthians
6:14. Baal-peor, called Baal, by the name common to many false gods, and especially
to those that represented any of the heavenly bodies; and Peor, either from the hill
Peor, where he was worshipped, Numbers 23:28, or rather from a verb signifying to
open and uncover, either because of the obscene posture in which possibly the idol
was set, as Priapus was, or because of the filthiness which was exercised in his
worship.
Was kindled, i.e. discovered itself in a dreadful plague, Psalms 106:29.
BENSON, "Numbers 25:3. Joined himself — The word implies a forsaking God, to
whom they were joined, and a turning to, and strict conjunction with, this false god.
Baal-peor — Called Baal, by the name common to many false gods, and especially to
those that represented any of the heavenly bodies; and Peor, either from the hill
Peor, where he was worshipped, Numbers 23:28; or rather from a verb signifying to
open and uncover, because of the obscene posture in which the idol was set, as
Priapus was; or because of the filthiness which was exercised in his worship.
WHEDON, " 3. Baal-peor, to whom Israel (that is, multitudes of them) joined
himself, literally, bound himself, was a Moabitish Priapus, whose image, shocking to
modesty, was worshipped by women and virgins who prostituted themselves in his
service.
Anger… kindled — Holiness must necessarily antagonize sin, and justice must
punish the sinner in every case except where the ends of moral government are
attained by the intervention of an atonement. Note, Judges 2:14.
PETT, "Numbers 25:3
‘And Israel joined himself to Baal-peor: and the anger of Yahweh was kindled
against Israel.’
Thus Israel joined themselves to Baal-peor (the lord of Peor). That is they became
involved in idolatry and all the behaviour that went with it. The lord of Peor may
have been Chemosh, the Moabite god, or a local Baal favoured by the Midianites.
This resulted in Yahweh’s anger being aroused, His righteous aversion to such evil
behaviour. They had deserted Him and what He stood for and had chosen to follow
idols and what they stood for.
PULPIT, "Israel joined himself unto Baal-Peor. This is a technical phrase, repeated
in Numbers 25:5, and quoted in Psalms 106:28, expressing the quasi-sacramental
28

29. union into which they entered with the heathen deity by partaking of his sacrificial
meats and by sharing in his impure rites (cf. Hosea 9:10 and the argument of St.
Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:1-33). There can be little doubt that Peor ( ‫עוֹר‬ ְ‫,פּ‬ from ‫ר‬ַ‫ﬠ‬ָ‫,פ‬
to open) has the sense of aperiens, in usu obsceno, and that it was the distinguishing
name of Baal or Chemosh when worshipped as the god of reproduction with the
abominable rites proper to this cultus. For a notice of the same thing in the last days
of Israel see Hosea 4:14, and for the practice of Babylonian and (to some degree)
Egyptian women, see Herodotus, 1.199; 2.60). The Septuagint has here ἐτελέσθη τῷ
βεελφεγώρ , "was consecrated," or "initiated," unto Baal-Peor, which admirably
expressed the sense.
4 The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of
these people, kill them and expose them in broad
daylight before the Lord, so that the
Lord’s fierce anger may turn away from Israel.”
BARNES, "Take - i. e., assemble the chiefs of the people to thee (compare
the phrase “took men,” in Num_16:1). The offenders were to be first; slain
by the hands of “the judges of Israel” Num_25:5, and afterward hung up
“against the sun” (i. e., publicly, openly; compare 2Sa_12:12) as an
aggravation of their punishment. This would be done by impaling the body
or fastening it to a cross. Compare Deu_21:23 note, and 2Sa_21:9.
CLARKE, "Take all the heads of the people, etc. - Meaning the chiefs of
those who had transgressed; as if he had said, “Assemble the chiefs and
judges, institute an inquiry concerning the transgressors, and hang them
who shall be found guilty before the Lord, as a matter required by his
justice.” Against the sun - in the most public manner, and in daylight. Dr.
Kennicott has remarked that the Samaritan and Hebrew texts must be both
taken together, to make the sense here complete: And the Lord said unto
Moses, Speak unto all the heads of the people; And Let Them Slay The Men
That Were Joined To Baal-Peor; and hang them up before the Lord against
the sun, etc.
GILL, "And the Lord said unto Moses,.... Being provoked with the sins of the
people, he called to him out of the tabernacle, or out of the cloud:
29

30. take all the heads of the people, the princes of the tribes, not to hang them,
but to judge those that worshipped Peor, as Jarchi interprets it; though
some think that these having sinned, were ordered to be taken and hanged,
and made public examples of; but it can hardly be thought, though there
were some that might be guilty of the above sins, as Zimri, yet not all of
them:
hang them up before the Lord against the sun; that is, those that were guilty
of idolatry: the meaning is, and which all the Targums give into, that these
heads of the people were to assemble at some proper place, the court of
judicature, and order the delinquents to be brought before them, and try,
judge, and condemn those they found guilty, and cause them to be hanged
somewhere near the tabernacle, and before it, having neglected the worship
of God there, and served an idol; and this was to be done openly in the
daytime, that all might see and fear; and if it was the sun that was
worshipped in this idol, as some think, they were hanged against the sun, to
show that the idol they worshipped was not able to deliver them; but, in the
face of it, and as it were in defiance of it, they were ordered to be hanged up;
and this, according to the Targum of Jonathan, was in the morning against
the rising sun, and where they hung all day, and were taken down at sun
setting:
that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel; when
justice had taken place, and proper punishment was inflicted upon the
criminals, whereby a just resentment was made against sin, and God
glorified.
JAMISON,"The Lord said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people,
and hang them up — Israelite criminals, who were capitally punished, were
first stoned or slain, and then gibbeted. The persons ordered here for
execution were the principal delinquents in the Baal-peor outrage - the
subordinate officers, rulers of tens or hundreds.
before the Lord — for vindicating the honor of the true God.
against the sun — that is, as a mark of public ignominy; but they were to be
removed towards sunset (Deu_21:23).
CALVIN, "4.And the Lord said unto Moses. We have often seen before how God
executed His judgments by His own hand, as if He put it forth from heaven; He now
imposes this office on Moses, although it is evident from the context that he was not
appointed to execute it alone, but that the other judges were associated with him;
for it immediately follows that Moses intrusted the same charge to them, and thus,
what was obscure, on account of the brevity with which it is recorded, is more
clearly expressed. At any rate, it was a notable judgment of God Himself, though He
employed men as its ministers. Nor does Paul in vain exhort (184) us by this example
to beware of fornication.
The mode of the punishment, however, was diverse, for the lower orders were slain
30

31. (by pestilence,) but the leaders were hanged upon the gallows, that the sight might
awaken more terror; for by “the heads of the people” he means those of the highest
repute, whose ignominy must have been most notable, because the eyes of all men
are generally upon the great and noble. Hence, also, they deservedly incur the
heavier punishment, because obscure persons do less harm by their example, nor
are their acts so generally the objects of imitation. Let, therefore, those who are held
in esteem beware lest they provoke others to sin by their evil deeds, for, in
proportion to each man’s pre-eminence, the less excuse he deserves. Others interpret
it differently, as if Moses were commanded to fetch the princes to give their sentence
against the criminals; thus by the pronoun “them” they understood whosoever
should be convictcd; but it is hardly probable that so great a multitude were
hanged, and therefore I do not doubt but that reference is made to their peculiar
punishment:.
COKE, "Numbers 25:4. Take all the heads of the people, &c.— The next verse very
fully explains what is meant by this expression; namely, all those who had joined
themselves unto Baal-peor: others, however, would interpret it, take unto thee, that
is, unto thy assistance, all the heads of the people; that is, all the judges: but the
word them in the next clause will, under this interpretation, be very harsh. It is
probable, for the reason we shall suggest by and by, that a thousand of the Israelites
underwent this punishment.
REFLECTIONS.—Balaam's counsel, before he left Moab, produced a worse effect
than his intended curse could have done. The alluring arts of lascivious beauty are
the strongest witchcraft of the devil. Observe,
1. The crying sins that Israel committed; whoredom and idolatry. The daughters of
Moab, armed with more offensive weapons than Balak's mighty warriors, with eyes
full of adultery, which cannot cease from sin, and tongues smoother than oil, yet
sharper than drawn swords, beset them, and (shameful to tell!) prevail. Bound in
these silken cords of pleasure's lure, they run to those sacrifices which they before
abhorred; for the gratification of bestial appetites they deny their God, and sacrifice
to the abomination of the Moabites. Blind to the happy land before them, even at
Shittim, in full view of it, they prefer a present lust to all the promises of a covenant
God. Dreadful and aggravated crime! Note; (1.) They who tempt others to sin, are
the most guilty instruments of the devil. (2.) The lures of women are the most
dangerous of temptations. (3.) Flight is the only conquest. (4.) If once the heart be
ensnared, there are no lengths into which the miserable slave of lust and beauty may
not be led. (5.) Nothing more strongly tends to effect the soul's final apostacy from
God, than yielding to the solicitation of the flesh.
2. The judgment of God upon them. They will buy pleasure dear, who purchase it at
the price of God's displeasure and eternal damnation. Execution is immediately
done upon them. They are hung up before the Lord, and a plague consumes the
people. Note; (1.) The fire of lust and the flames of hell are inseparable. (2.) The
plagues of God will quickly turn the sweets of forbidden pleasure into the gall of
31

32. asps, and the gnawings of the worm which never dies.
ELLICOTT, " (4) Take all the heads of the people.—The “heads” or “chiefs” of the
people seem to be identical with the “judges” of the following verse. Some
understand by “all the heads” those only who had been the chief offenders, whilst
others understand the word “take” as equivalent to “assemble,” or “bring before
thee,” and refer the word “them” to the offenders.
Hang them up . . . —It is obvious from Numbers 25:5 that the punishment of
impaling or crucifying was not to be inflicted until after death. The LXX. renders
the Hebrew verb which is here used (and which is found also in 2 Samuel 21:6; 2
Samuel 21:9) by the same word which occurs in Hebrews 6:6, and is there translated
“to put to an open shame.”
TRAPP, "Numbers 25:4 And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the
people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of
the LORD may be turned away from Israel.
Ver. 4. Take all the heads.] The chieftains: their greatness might not bear them out.
Potentes potenter torquebuntur. Hell is paved, said one of old, with the bald pates of
shavellings, and with the crests of great commanders, who had ever opposed with
crest and breast whatsoever stood in the way of their sins and lusts.
POOLE, " The sense is, either,
1. Take, to wit. to thyself and thy assistance,
all the heads, i.e. the judges, as they are called Numbers 25:5, or rulers,
of the people; and in their presence, and by their help,
hang them, i.e. the people, now mentioned, to wit, such of them as were guilty, as
was said Numbers 25:1. And this sense seems to be favoured by the next verse,
where the execution of this command is mentioned, Moses said unto the judges of
Israel, whom he had taken to himself and called together, Slay ye every one his man,
i.e. each. of you execute this command of God, and hang up the delinquents under
your several jurisdictions. Or,
2. Take, i.e. apprehend,
all the heads, i.e. the chief, of the people, such as were chief, either in this
transgression, or rather in place and power, who are singled out to this exemplary
punishment either for their neglect in not preventing, restraining, or punishing the
offenders according to their power and duty, or for their concurrence with others in
this wickedness, which was more odious and mischievous in them than in others.
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33. And then this must be necessarily limited to such heads as were guilty, which is
evident from the nature of the thing, and from the words of the verse. And so these
heads of the people differ, as in name and title, so in place and dignity, from the
judges of the people, Numbers 25:5, which may seem to note the superior
magistrates, even the seventy elders, which, being persons of great worth and piety,
chosen by God, and endowed with his Spirit, most probably kept themselves from
this contagion, and therefore were fitter to punish others; and the heads of the
people seem to be the inferior magistrates, the rulers of tens or hundreds, or the
like, who as they did many of them partake with the people in other rebellions, so
probably were involved in this guilt. Now these are to be hanged up as other
malefactors and condemned persons were, Deuteronomy 21:23 2 Samuel 21:6.
Before the Lord; to the vindication of God’s honour and justice.
Against the sun, i.e. publicly, as their sin was public and scandalous; and speedily,
before the sun go down. But withal this phrase may signify, that these also must be
taken down about sun-setting, as other malefactors were, Deuteronomy 21:23.
BENSON, "Numbers 25:4. Take — That is, apprehend; all the heads (or chief) of
the people — Such as were chief in this transgression, and in place and power.
These are singled out to this exemplary punishment for their concurrence with
others in this wickedness, which was more odious, and of more pernicious tendency
in them. Hang them up before the Lord — That is, either before the sanctuary, as
men who had forsaken the worship of God, and were by his sentence adjudged to
die; or, to the vindication of his honour and justice. Others interpret the words thus:
Take unto thee, or to thine assistance, the heads, or judges of the people, and hang
them up; that is, hang up such as have joined themselves to Baal-peor. This
interpretation seems to be justified by the next verse, in which Moses directs the
judges to do their duty by punishing the offenders. Against the sun — Publicly and
openly, as their sin was public and scandalous, that all the people might see, and
fear to sin; and speedily, before the sun went down. It was provided by the Jewish
law, that the bodies of malefactors should hang no longer than till the evening of the
day on which they suffered, Deuteronomy 21:22-23.
WHEDON, " THE IDOLATERS PUNISHED, Numbers 25:4-9.
4. Take all the heads of the people — This command is not only to put to death the
guilty Israelites, but as a strong expression of loathing and a seeming aggravation of
punishment, (note, Leviticus 20:14,) as well as a most impressive warning against
future idolatry, their bodies were to be impaled and publicly exposed. Dr. Kennicott
remarks that the Samaritan and the Hebrew texts united make the sense of this
verse complete. Speak unto all the heads of the people; and let them slay the men
that were joined to Baal-peor; and hang them up before the Lord, etc.
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34. Before the Lord — Literally, for Jehovah, that is, to placate him.
PETT, "Numbers 25:4
‘And Yahweh said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them up to
Yahweh before the sun, that the fierce anger of Yahweh may turn away from
Israel.’
That the failure took in a large number of Israelites is made apparent by the fact
that only the chieftains among them were to be executed. Yahweh told Moses to
hang up before Yahweh, in the sun, all the chieftains of the people who had been
misbehaving. This suggests that a good number of chieftains were involved, which
made the position even worse. Only then would His anger be turned away. (‘Them’
cannot mean all the chiefs in Israel, for Moses now turned to some of them for
assistance. It refers to those who were among those who had sinned - see
Deuteronomy 24:16).
PULPIT, "The Lord said unto Moses. It seems strange that so fearful an apostasy
had gone so far without interference on the part of Moses. He may have been absent
from the camp on account of the wars with the Amorite kings; or he may have
trusted to the chiefs to see that due order and discipline was maintained in the
camps. Take all the heads of the people, i.e; the chiefs, who ought to have prevented,
and might have prevented, this monstrous irregularity, but who seem, if we may
judge from the case of Zimri, to have countenanced it. The mere neglect of duty in
so gross a case was reason enough for summary execution. Hang them up before the
Lord. Either by way of impalement or by way of crucifixion, both of which were
familiar modes of punishment. In this case the guilty persons were probably slain
first, and exposed afterwards. The hanging up was not ordered on account of its
cruelty, nor merely for the sake of publicity ("against the sun ), but in order to show
that the victims were devoted to the wrath of God against sin (cf. Deuteronomy
21:23; 2 Samuel 21:2-6). The Septuagint has here παραδειγμάτισον αὐτούς. Cf.
Hebrews 6:6, where this word is coupled with "crucify." Them is no authority for
referring the "them" ( ‫ם‬ ָ‫אוֹת‬ ) to the guilty persons instead of to the heads of the
people, as is done by the Targums and by many commentators.
5 So Moses said to Israel’s judges, “Each of you
must put to death those of your people who have
yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor.”
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35. CLARKE, "Slay ye every one his men - In the different departments where
you preside over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, slay all the culprits
that shall be found.
GILL, "And Moses said unto the judges of Israel,.... Either the same with the
heads of the people, or the rulers of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens,
according to the distribution by the advice of Jethro:
slay ye everyone his men, that were joined unto Baalpeor; all that were
under their several districts and jurisdictions, that were found guilty of that
crime; these they are ordered to slay, either with their own hands, or rather
cause to be slain by proper persons they should appoint to be executioners.
JAMISON,"judges of Israel — the seventy elders, who were commanded
not only to superintend the execution within their respective jurisdictions,
but to inflict the punishment with their own hands. (See on 1Sa_15:33).
K&D, "The judges were to put to death every one his men, i.e., such of the
evil-doers as belonged to his forum, according to the judicial arrangements
instituted in Ex 18. This command of Moses to the judges was not carried
out, however, because the matter took a different turn.
TRAPP, "Numbers 25:5 And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one
his men that were joined unto Baalpeor.
Ver. 5. Unto the judges of Israel.]. Those of them that had not defiled themselves;
else with what face could they punish others? or look upon those, that before their
faces had been hanged up against the sun, whose destruction was for ever to be
remembered? [Micah 6:5]
POOLE, "Every one his men, i.e. those under his charge; for as these seventy were
chosen to assist Moses in the government, so doubtless the care and management of
the people was distributed among them by just and equal proportions.
BENSON, "Numbers 25:5. Slay ye every one his men — Moses having, in
conjunction with the judges, searched out such as had been guilty of this lewdness
and idolatry, allots to each magistrate his number of malefactors for execution, that
they might either put them to death with their own hands, as Phinehas did,
(Numbers 25:7,) or by proper officers. It seems probable that the judges were
dilatory in executing this order, since God himself thought fit to visit the heads of
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