Seder 121: Numbers 25---Was Phinehas a Vigilante?

 At the end of their 40 years in the wilderness, the Israelites camped just east of the Jordan River "from Beth-jeshimoth as far as Abel-Shittim in the plains of Moab" (Num 33:49).  During their stay there, the nearby Moabites and Midianites, at the instigation of Balaam (Num 31:15-16), induced some Israelites to commit adultery and idolatry with "the daughters of Moab" (Num 25:2).  A deadly plague ensued in which many Israelites died before Phinehas took decisive action, executing two of the offenders with a spear (verses 7-8).  

Phineas is strongly praised in the Bible for his actions (Num 25:10-13; Ps 106:28-31).  Still, some readers have accused him of being a vigilante, taking the law into his own hands.  A closer look at the biblical text refutes any such claim.  

First, we should remember that Phinehas was the son of Eleazar (Num 25:7), the current high priest after the death of Aaron (Num 20:22-29).  When Aaron was high priest, Eleazar had been a sort of chief of security.  According to Numbers 3:32, Eleazar "was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary."  Verse 38 adds that "any outsider who came near was to be put to death."  One reason that Eleazar had this job, rather than Aaron himself, was that the high priest was shielded from contact with death and corpse impurity as much as possible (Lev 21:11-12).  It was presumably for similar reasons that Eleazar supervised the preparation of the ashes of the red heifer (Num 19:3-4).  

When Eleazar became high priest, his previous responsibilities, including the position of security chief would have been passed on to Phinehas.  Phinehas was the one in charge of keeping inappropriate visitors away from the tabernacle area, so dealing with Zimri and Cozbi was part of his job.  

Second, Phinehas acted in accordance with God's instructions for dealing with the idolaters.  God had directed Moses to organize some "chiefs" or "judges" to execute the idolaters (Num 25:4-5).  They were to hung or impaled. As chief of security, Phinehas would have been one of those chiefs, and he dealt with the offenders in the manner in which God had specified.  

Phinehas, then, provides no justification for the actions of would-be vigilantes.  He is, however, an example of carrying out one's responsibilities faithfully.