וַיֹּ֣אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֶל־שֹׁפְטֵ֖י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל הִרְגוּ֙ אִ֣ישׁ אֲנָשָׁ֔יו הַנִּצְמָדִ֖ים לְבַ֥עַל פְּעֽוֹר׃
Lalu Musa berkata kepada para hakim Israel, “Masing-masing kamu, bunuhlah orang-orangmu yang telah mengikatkan diri kepada Baal-Peor.”
Rashi
הרגו איש אנשיו KILL EVERYONE HIS MEN — Each one of the judges of Israel killed two men (אנשיו is plural), and the judges of Israel were eighty-eight thousand in number, as it is related in Sanhedrin (cf. Sanhedrin 18a).
Midrash Lekach Tov
"And Moses said to the judges of Israel, 'Each of you slay his men who were joined to Baal Peor.'" His own tribe, the tribe of Shimon, approached Zimri son of Salu and said to him, "They are passing judgment on us for capital punishment, and you are sitting silently!" He immediately arose and gathered one thousand members of the tribe of Shimon and went to Kozbi daughter of Zur. He said to her, "Listen to me." She replied, "I will only listen to a distinguished person who is like Abba." He said to her, "Even I am the prince of a tribe, and not only that, but my tribe is greater than the tribe of Moses, for it is the second in birthright." Moses's tribe is third in birthright. Immediately, she consented, as it is stated, "And behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought to his brothers a Midianite woman, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel." Zimri came to Moses and asked him, "Son of Amram, is this permitted or forbidden?" And if you say it is forbidden, who permitted you to marry the daughter of Jethro, who is a daughter of a Midianite priest? At that moment, the halacha (Jewish law) was concealed from Moses our teacher, as it is stated, "And they were weeping at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting." Everyone began to weep in mourning.
Ramban
[AND MOSES SAID UNTO THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL]: ‘SLAY YE EVERY ONE HIS MEN [THAT HAVE JOINED THEMSELVES UNTO BAAL-PEOR].’ “Each one of the judges of Israel killed two [men, as the word anashav — his ‘men,’ in the plural, indicates], and the judges of Israel were seventy-eight thousand,315Our texts of Rashi have the figure 88,000, but 78,000 [the number found in a Ramban manuscript] is correct [to the nearest thousand] — and this is also the figure quoted in Tractate Sanhedrin. The exact figure for the 600,000 Israelites is 78,600 judges, as follows: Captains of thousands, 600; captains of hundreds, 6,000; captains of fifties, 12,000; captains of tens, 60,000 — which total 78,600. It should be noted that in the first edition of Rashi (Reggio 1475) this whole text is missing. as is stated in Tractate Sanhedrin.”316Sanhedrin 18a. This is Rashi’s language. But I cannot understand this, that [we should say that] those who joined themselves [to Baal-peor] who were judged [liable to death] were more than a hundred and fifty thousand — a quarter [of the total population] of Israel!317For if the judges of Israel who numbered 78,600, each killed two men, a total of 157,200 men is reached! This is more than a quarter of the total population of the people! Heaven forbid! [Moreover], cases punishable by death [cannot be decided] by [only] one judge, but [require] a court of twenty-three judges. And [even if we were to say that two people were killed by each court of twenty-three judges], they would still be very many people! And the difference between the [two] censuses is not so great,318In the census taken in the second year after the exodus, the people totalled 603,550 (above 1:46) and now after the incident of Baal-peor, they totalled 601,730 (further 26:51), the decrease being only 1,820! That figure is nowhere near the total number of people killed according to Rashi, for even if two people were killed by each court of twenty-three judges, over 7,000 people were killed. Ramban further on, explains that in actual fact none of the people were put to death. although all those who joined themselves to Baal-peor died, as it is written, for all the men that followed Baal-peor, the Eternal thy G-d hath destroyed them from the midst of thee.319Deuteronomy 4:3.
But the meaning of every one his men is that the judges should kill all those who joined themselves [to Baal-peor], that is to say, each court should judge [the men of] its own tribe and its [groups of] thousands, as it is written, So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men, and full of knowledge, and made them heads over you, captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds … and officers, ‘tribe by tribe’.320Ibid., 1:15. The phrase tribe by tribe indicates that each tribe had its own judges who dealt with offenses committed by men of this tribe. And afterwards I found in the Gemara Yerushalmi [the following statement] in the Chapter Cheilek:321Yerushalmi Sanhedrin X, 2. For the term Cheilek, see above, Note 228. “And how many were the judges of Israel? Seventy-eight thousand and six hundred. Moses said to them: ‘Each one of you should kill two.’ Thus you find that those killed were one hundred and fifty-seven thousand and two hundred.”317For if the judges of Israel who numbered 78,600, each killed two men, a total of 157,200 men is reached! This is more than a quarter of the total population of the people! If so, we must say that according to their opinion [that of these Rabbis] the Israelites increased very remarkably between the [time of the first] census and the [second] census [in order to make up the loss of the many people killed because of this sin of Baal-peor]!
The correct interpretation of the meaning of this section [of the Torah] appears to me to be that at first it says, And Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor; and the anger of the Eternal was kindled against Israel,322Verse 3. [meaning] that there is wrath gone out from the Eternal; the plague is begun;323Above, 17:11. and G-d in His mercy told Moses that the judges should [first] try and then hang those who joined themselves [to Baal-peor], so that the wrath will not indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked.324See Genesis 18:23. And Moses gave this command to the judges; and when all the congregation was assembled at the door of the Tent of Meeting325Verse 6. to do as Moses commanded, and the plague was still raging amongst them, this Simeonite [Zimri the son of Salu]326Further, Verse 14. brazenly brought unto his brethren a Midianite woman325Verse 6. to rebel against Moses and the judges, and to do so publicly, because he was a prince326Further, Verse 14. and a great man and [knew that] many would come to his help. Or it may be [that he dared to do this publicly] because, as our Rabbis have said,327Sanhedrin 82a. [the people of] his tribe complained to him: “We are being sentenced to death, and you keep quiet!” Then [when Zimri came forth] Moses and the judges began weeping,325Verse 6. and Phinehas stood up, and wrought judgment, and so the plague was stayed.328Psalms 106:30. Thus none of the people was [actually] sentenced by the judges, for G-d had said, and hang them up unto the Eternal in face of the sun, that the fierce anger of the Eternal may turn away from Israel,329Verse 4. and His anger had already turned away [by the action of Phinehas, so that the judges no longer had to proceed with the execution of the judgment]. It is for this reason that Scripture does not say: “and the judges of Israel did so [as they had been commanded].”
It is possible that the intention of the text mentioned [above as to the number of men slain in this episode is not that they were actually killed, but means, as explained above], that according to [the strict] command [of G-d] there ought to have been more than one hundred and fifty thousand killed, meaning to say that there were many sinners, but the act of Phinehas protected them. Thus there remained [many of those] who had joined themselves [to Baal-peor], and the Holy One, blessed be He, destroyed them later on before they crossed over the [river] Jordan. This is [the meaning of] the verse which says, for all the men that followed after Baal-peor, the Eternal thy G-d hath destroyed them from the midst of thee. But ye that did cleave unto the Eternal your G-d are alive every one of you this day.330Deuteronomy 4:3-4.
Pinchas
But the meaning of every one his men is that the judges should kill all those who joined themselves [to Baal-peor], that is to say, each court should judge [the men of] its own tribe and its [groups of] thousands, as it is written, So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men, and full of knowledge, and made them heads over you, captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds … and officers, ‘tribe by tribe’.320Ibid., 1:15. The phrase tribe by tribe indicates that each tribe had its own judges who dealt with offenses committed by men of this tribe. And afterwards I found in the Gemara Yerushalmi [the following statement] in the Chapter Cheilek:321Yerushalmi Sanhedrin X, 2. For the term Cheilek, see above, Note 228. “And how many were the judges of Israel? Seventy-eight thousand and six hundred. Moses said to them: ‘Each one of you should kill two.’ Thus you find that those killed were one hundred and fifty-seven thousand and two hundred.”317For if the judges of Israel who numbered 78,600, each killed two men, a total of 157,200 men is reached! This is more than a quarter of the total population of the people! If so, we must say that according to their opinion [that of these Rabbis] the Israelites increased very remarkably between the [time of the first] census and the [second] census [in order to make up the loss of the many people killed because of this sin of Baal-peor]!
The correct interpretation of the meaning of this section [of the Torah] appears to me to be that at first it says, And Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor; and the anger of the Eternal was kindled against Israel,322Verse 3. [meaning] that there is wrath gone out from the Eternal; the plague is begun;323Above, 17:11. and G-d in His mercy told Moses that the judges should [first] try and then hang those who joined themselves [to Baal-peor], so that the wrath will not indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked.324See Genesis 18:23. And Moses gave this command to the judges; and when all the congregation was assembled at the door of the Tent of Meeting325Verse 6. to do as Moses commanded, and the plague was still raging amongst them, this Simeonite [Zimri the son of Salu]326Further, Verse 14. brazenly brought unto his brethren a Midianite woman325Verse 6. to rebel against Moses and the judges, and to do so publicly, because he was a prince326Further, Verse 14. and a great man and [knew that] many would come to his help. Or it may be [that he dared to do this publicly] because, as our Rabbis have said,327Sanhedrin 82a. [the people of] his tribe complained to him: “We are being sentenced to death, and you keep quiet!” Then [when Zimri came forth] Moses and the judges began weeping,325Verse 6. and Phinehas stood up, and wrought judgment, and so the plague was stayed.328Psalms 106:30. Thus none of the people was [actually] sentenced by the judges, for G-d had said, and hang them up unto the Eternal in face of the sun, that the fierce anger of the Eternal may turn away from Israel,329Verse 4. and His anger had already turned away [by the action of Phinehas, so that the judges no longer had to proceed with the execution of the judgment]. It is for this reason that Scripture does not say: “and the judges of Israel did so [as they had been commanded].”
It is possible that the intention of the text mentioned [above as to the number of men slain in this episode is not that they were actually killed, but means, as explained above], that according to [the strict] command [of G-d] there ought to have been more than one hundred and fifty thousand killed, meaning to say that there were many sinners, but the act of Phinehas protected them. Thus there remained [many of those] who had joined themselves [to Baal-peor], and the Holy One, blessed be He, destroyed them later on before they crossed over the [river] Jordan. This is [the meaning of] the verse which says, for all the men that followed after Baal-peor, the Eternal thy G-d hath destroyed them from the midst of thee. But ye that did cleave unto the Eternal your G-d are alive every one of you this day.330Deuteronomy 4:3-4.
Pinchas