Pinechas – Action and Reward

Points of Dispute

These are some of the central points of dispute (נקודות המחלוקת) between the various exegetes:

What was the nature of Zimri's sin?
- Sexual and idolatrous (Philo, Josephus, Abarbanel)
- Sexual only (Maasei Hashem, possibly others)
Why did Pinechas take up arms?
- His own initiative (Bavli Sanhedrin, Netziv)
- He was one of the judges commanded by Moshe (Targum Yerushalmi (Yonatan), Sifre)
- He was not a judge, but heard Moshe's command (Abarbanel)
How exactly did Pinechas's action allay Hashem's anger and halt the plague?
- Led the people to repent (Sforno)
- Killed the ringleader of the sinners - since Zimri was from Shimon and the tribe of Shimon decreased in numbers (Abarbanel)
- Once Israel was punishing its own sinners, God no longer had to intervene to punish (Hoil Moshe)
- It did not; the plague continued until all sinners had died (Philo, Josephus)
What did these Divine promises add that Pinechas did not already possess by virtue of his priestly lineage?
- Nothing new - just a repetition, like the blessings to the Patriarchs (Hoil Moshe)
- Reassurance that he had not lost his priestly role due to killing (Hizkuni, Abarbanel)
- High priesthood (Sifrei, Hizkuni, Abarbanel)
- Protection from retribution from the families of Zimri and Kozbi (Hizkuni, Abarbanel)