Jeremias van Winghe - Phinehas slaying Zimri and Kozbi the Midianite

Cozbi or Kozbi (, tr. ''Kozbī'') is mentioned in in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' hedaughter of Zur", a prominent Midianite, and a wife or

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarde ...

of the Israelite Zimri, son of Salu. The Lord objected to the mixing of the Israelite people with the local Midianites, and the resultant worshiping of

Baal Baal (), or Baʻal, was a title and honorific meaning 'owner' or 'lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The ...

, and instructed

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

to slay all the Israelites who had worshiped Baal.

"And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Mid'ianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were weeping at the door of the tent of meeting. When Phin'ehas the son of Elea'zar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation, and took a spear in his hand and went after the man of Israel into the inner room, and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman, through her body. Thus the plague was stayed from the people of Israel. Nevertheless those that died by the plague were twenty-four thousand." (
Revised Standard Version The Revised Standard Version (RSV) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1952 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. This translation is a revision of the American St ...
)

Phinehas According to the Hebrew Bible, Phinehas (also spelled Phineas, ; , ''Phinees'', ) was a priest during the Exodus. The grandson of Aaron and son of Eleazar, the High Priests (), he distinguished himself as a youth at Shittim with his zeal again ...

son of

Eleazar Eleazar (; ) or Elazar was a priest in the Hebrew Bible, the second High Priest, succeeding his father Aaron after he died. He was a nephew of Moses. Biblical narrative Eleazar played a number of roles during the course of the Exodus, from ...

(son of

Aaron According to the Old Testament of the Bible, Aaron ( or ) was an Israelite prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament ...

) picked up a spear and killed Zimri and Cozbi with one thrust. According to

rabbinic Rabbinic Judaism (), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, Rabbanite Judaism, or Talmudic Judaism, is rooted in the many forms of Judaism that coexisted and together formed Second Temple Judaism in the land of Israel, giving birth to classical rabb ...

tradition, Zimri and Cozbi fornicated in 424 acts of coitus at that juncture before Phinehas killed them. The meaning of that precise number of coituses and whether it is meant to be taken literally has been debated by scholars. The incident was then taken as a pretext for the War against the Midianites in Numbers 31.

Popular culture

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

song, ''I Murder Hate'', alludes to Cozbi in its final line.

References

{{Authority control Ancient slaves Book of Numbers people Deaths by stabbing Female murder victims Interfaith marriage Midian Slave concubines Women in the Hebrew Bible

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See also

References