How Ancient Scribes Tried to Make Sense of the Composite Story of Baal Peor

For more on this, see Michael Fishbane, Biblical Interpretation in Ancient Israel (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988); Benjamin Sommer, “Inner-Biblical Interpretation,” in The Jewish Study Bible, ed. Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), 1829-1835.

NJPS translates “ring-leaders” which is incorrect and harmonistic. See later on for details.

In Biblical Hebrew, the word hoqa‘ refers to leading people to execution. It is unclear exactly what type of execution it means; however, the fact that it is to be in the presence of the sun, that is, in public, suggests that it might be a type of impalement or hanging. See the Assyrian reliefs reflecting the conquest of Lachish in 701.

.אמר ויהרגו את האנשים הנצמדים לבעל פעור

A typical source-critical explanation is that 25:1-5 is JE while 25:6-26:1a is P; see e.g. Baruch A. Levine, Numbers 21-36 (Anchor Bible: NY: Doubleday, 2000), 279-280.

Verse 4 originally spoke only of Moab: “And Moab said: ‘Now this horde shall lick up…’”.This is a smooth continuation from the previous verse, which spoke of the Moabites’ concerns: “Moab was alarmed… Moab dreaded…” The continuation of this anxiety is their statement. This “statement” is a thought, or an internal discussion among the Moabites. Similarly, Balak’s delegation to Balaam originally did not contain the elders of Midian; it was made up exclusively of the elders of Moab, as can be seen from the continuation of the story, which mentions only “the Moabite dignitaries.”

See a similar suggestion in Yair Zakovitch, An Introduction to Inner-Biblical Interpretation, 36-37 (Hebrew).

That the goal of successfully establishing Phineas’ legacy was attained can be seen from the way that the book 1 Maccabees, where Phineas’ act of zeal serves as a model for Mattathias. Chapter 2, after Mattathias refuses to offer a sacrifice on the idolatrous altar that had been set up in Modi‘in, notes:

Now when he (=Mattathias) had left speaking these words, there came one of the Jews in the sight of all to sacrifice on the altar which was at Modin, according to the king’s commandment. Which thing when Mattathias saw, he was inflamed with zeal, and his reins trembled, neither could he forbear to shew his anger according to judgment: wherefore he ran, and slew him upon the altar. Also the king’s commissioner, who compelled men to sacrifice, he killed at that time, and the altar he pulled down. Thus dealt he zealously for the law of God like as Phineas did unto Zambri the son of Salom [=Zimri son of Salu].