Biblical Parallels Index – Bemidbar 25

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Overview

This index is meant to help the reader explore Biblical parallels, be they two accounts of the same event, stories with similar motifs and themes, or units of text which are linguistically similar and perhaps alluding one to the other. The page includes links to tools that aid in comparison, primary sources that touch upon the parallels, and summaries of and links to articles which analyze them in depth.

Pinechas and other "Zealots"

The figure and story of Pinechas has been compared to multiple narratives including Shimon and Levi's massacre in Shekhem, Moshe's actions in the wake of the sin of the calf, Nadav and Avihu's bringing of incense, and Eliyahu's prophetic tenure.  The comparisons help one better appreciate the unusual form of Pinechas' heroism and why Tanakh finds it commendable.

Tools

  • Use the concordance to see where the root קנא (to be zealous) appears in Tanakh, and with which characters this trait  is associated.

Primary Sources

Articles

  • Pinechas vs. Shimon and Levi
    • Listen to Shimon, Levi, and Pinchas: Can Zealotry Be Redeemed?, by R. Noach Goldstein, for analysis of the connections between the two narratives in the Biblical text and Rabbinic interpretation. R. Goldstein suggests that the zealous characteristics of Shimon and of Levi ultimately develop in different ways that reflect valid and invalid manifestations of religious zeal.  Ultimately, the true intentions behind zealous behavior are revealed through actions over the long term and determine whether such an approach is legitimate or self-serving. 
  • Pinechas vs. Moshe and Nadav and Avihu
    • See The Zeal of Moshe, Nadav and Avihu, and Pinchas (or the Hebrew version here), by Professor Yonatan Grossman, for analysis of the parallels and contrasts between these three stories and what the comparison teaches about the proper role and limits of zealousness. Prof. Grossman suggests that Pinechas’ defining quality is his lack of self-interest; this is what differentiates his zeal from that of others, making it laudatory.
  • Pinechas and Eliyahu
    • Listen to תורה הקנאות של פנחס ואליהו, by Naama Etzion, for analysis of these two paradigmatic stories of zealousness that demonstrates the sages' ambivalence about this character trait and the belief that zealotry must be judged not only by its immediate justification but by its long-term consequences.
    • In his article, The Zealot, R. Jonathan Sacks also explores the sages' concerns about zealotry in these two stories and the inherent moral limitations on this form of leadership. He suggests that both Pinechas and Eliyahu are gently rebuked for their actions in the text. Pinechas is given a "covenant of peace", Hashem's way of saying that he should never again have to act the part of the zealot, and Eliyahu is chastised at Mt. Chorev, when Hashem demonstrates that anger is not His preferred route. In the Oral law, too, there is moral ambivalence about these leaders' actions for the line between laudatory zeal and problematic vengeance is very thin.
    • Listen to פנחס ואליהו - קנאת ושלום, by R. Yitzhak Levi, for comparison and contrast of the two narratives that suggests that the zeal of Pinechas, unlike Eliyahu, was motivated by love.  Over the course of history, Eliyahu’s problematic zeal is meant to be repaired to ultimately become like that of Pinechas.  
      Listen to יהוא בן נמשי - קנאות ללא ברית שלום, by Dr. Yael Ziegler, which compares the narratives of Yehu and Eliyahu, with reference to the story of Pinechas, to evaluate the morality of different kinds of zealousness.   The key word “shalom”, which appears in these narratives in different contexts, plays a central role in distinguishing praiseworthy from problematic zeal.  [The last ten minutes of the lecture focus on the comparison to Pinechas.]

Pinechas Throughout Tanakh

Pinechas appears again in narratives in Yehoshua 22 and Shofetim 20. Comparing his actions in these narratives can lend insight into his life and personality.

Articles

  • Listen to דמותו של פנחס, by Dr. Yehoshua Reiss, for analysis of the different behaviors and characteristics of Pinechas in these three narratives, and a suggestion of how to interpret a lacuna in the Biblical text to support Rabbinic sources that are surprisingly critical of Pinechas.
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