Internal Corruption

The Sin of Peor

25 While Israel remained at Shittim, the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab. ² For they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. ³ So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor, and the Lord was angry against Israel. ⁴ The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the Lord, so that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” ⁵ So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you slay his men who have joined themselves to Baal of Peor.”

⁶ Then behold, one of the sons of Israel came and brought to his relatives a Midianite woman, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, while they were weeping at the doorway of the tent of meeting.⁷ When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he arose from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand, ⁸ and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and pierced both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman, through the body. So the plague on the sons of Israel was checked. ⁹ Those who died by the plague were 24,000.

The Zeal of Phinehas

¹⁰ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹¹ “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned away My wrath from the sons of Israel in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the sons of Israel in My jealousy. ¹² Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give him My covenant of peace;¹³ and it shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel.’”

¹⁴ Now the name of the slain man of Israel who was slain with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father’s household among the Simeonites. ¹⁵ The name of the Midianite woman who was slain was Cozbi the daughter of Zur, who was head of the people of a father’s household in Midian.

¹⁶ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁷ “Be hostile to the Midianites and strike them; ¹⁸ for they have been hostile to you with their tricks, with which they have deceived you in the affair of Peor and in the affair of Cozbi, the daughter of the leader of Midian, their sister who was slain on the day of the plague because of Peor.”

Census of a New Generation

26 Then it came about after the plague, that the Lord spoke to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying, ² “Take a census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers’ households, whoever is able to go out to war in Israel.” ³ So Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, ⁴ “Take a census of the people from twenty years old and upward, as the Lord has commanded Moses.”

Now the sons of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt were:

⁵ Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, the sons of Reuben: of Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the family of the Palluites; ⁶ of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the family of the Carmites. ⁷ These are the families of the Reubenites, and those who were numbered of them were 43,730. ⁸ The son of Pallu: Eliab. ⁹ The sons of Eliab: Nemuel and Dathan and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram who were called by the congregation, who contended against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against the Lord, ¹⁰ and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up along with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured 250 men, so that they became a warning. ¹¹ The sons of Korah, however, did not die.

¹² The sons of Simeon according to their families: of Nemuel, the family of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the family of the Jaminites; of Jachin, the family of the Jachinites; ¹³ of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites; of Shaul, the family of the Shaulites. ¹⁴ These are the families of the Simeonites, 22,200.

¹⁵ The sons of Gad according to their families: of Zephon, the family of the Zephonites; of Haggi, the family of the Haggites; of Shuni, the family of the Shunites; ¹⁶ of Ozni, the family of the Oznites; of Eri, the family of the Erites; ¹⁷ of Arod, the family of the Arodites; of Areli, the family of the Arelites. ¹⁸ These are the families of the sons of Gad according to those who were numbered of them, 40,500.

¹⁹ The sons of Judah were Er and Onan, but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. ²⁰ The sons of Judah according to their families were: of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites; of Perez, the family of the Perezites; of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites. ²¹ The sons of Perez were: of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Hamul, the family of the Hamulites. ²² These are the families of Judah according to those who were numbered of them, 76,500.

²³ The sons of Issachar according to their families: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites; of Puvah, the family of the Punites; ²⁴ of Jashub, the family of the Jashubites; of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites. ²⁵ These are the families of Issachar according to those who were numbered of them, 64,300.

²⁶ The sons of Zebulun according to their families: of Sered, the family of the Seredites; of Elon, the family of the Elonites; of Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites. ²⁷ These are the families of the Zebulunites according to those who were numbered of them, 60,500.

²⁸ The sons of Joseph according to their families: Manasseh and Ephraim. ²⁹ The sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites; and Machir became the father of Gilead: of Gilead, the family of the Gileadites. ³⁰ These are the sons of Gilead: of Iezer, the family of the Iezerites; of Helek, the family of the Helekites;³¹ and of Asriel, the family of the Asrielites; and of Shechem, the family of the Shechemites; ³² and of Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites; and of Hepher, the family of the Hepherites. ³³ Now Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but only daughters; and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. ³⁴ These are the families of Manasseh; and those who were numbered of them were 52,700.

³⁵ These are the sons of Ephraim according to their families: of Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthelahites; of Becher, the family of the Becherites; of Tahan, the family of the Tahanites. ³⁶ These are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the family of the Eranites. ³⁷ These are the families of the sons of Ephraim according to those who were numbered of them, 32,500. These are the sons of Joseph according to their families.

³⁸ The sons of Benjamin according to their families: of Bela, the family of the Belaites; of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites; of Ahiram, the family of the Ahiramites; ³⁹ of Shephupham, the family of the Shuphamites; of Hupham, the family of the Huphamites. ⁴⁰ The sons of Bela were Ard and Naaman: of Ard, the family of the Ardites; of Naaman, the family of the Naamites. ⁴¹ These are the sons of Benjamin according to their families; and those who were numbered of them were 45,600.

⁴² These are the sons of Dan according to their families: of Shuham, the family of the Shuhamites. These are the families of Dan according to their families. ⁴³ All the families of the Shuhamites, according to those who were numbered of them, were 64,400.

⁴⁴ The sons of Asher according to their families: of Imnah, the family of the Imnites; of Ishvi, the family of the Ishvites; of Beriah, the family of the Beriites. ⁴⁵ Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites; of Malchiel, the family of the Malchielites. ⁴⁶ The name of the daughter of Asher was Serah. ⁴⁷ These are the families of the sons of Asher according to those who were numbered of them, 53,400.

⁴⁸ The sons of Naphtali according to their families: of Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites; of Guni, the family of the Gunites; ⁴⁹ of Jezer, the family of the Jezerites; of Shillem, the family of the Shillemites. ⁵⁰ These are the families of Naphtali according to their families; and those who were numbered of them were 45,400.

⁵¹ These are those who were numbered of the sons of Israel, 601,730.

⁵² Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁵³ “Among these the land shall be divided for an inheritance according to the number of names. ⁵⁴ To the larger group you shall increase their inheritance, and to the smaller group you shall diminish their inheritance; each shall be given their inheritance according to those who were numbered of them. ⁵⁵ But the land shall be divided by lot. They shall receive their inheritance according to the names of the tribes of their fathers.⁵⁶ According to the selection by lot, their inheritance shall be divided between the larger and the smaller groups.”

⁵⁷ These are those who were numbered of the Levites according to their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites; of Merari, the family of the Merarites. ⁵⁸ These are the families of Levi: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korahites. Kohath became the father of Amram.⁵⁹ The name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and she bore to Amram: Aaron and Moses and their sister Miriam.⁶⁰ To Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ⁶¹ But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered strange fire before the Lord. ⁶² Those who were numbered of them were 23,000, every male from a month old and upward, for they were not numbered among the sons of Israel since no inheritance was given to them among the sons of Israel.

⁶³ These are those who were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. ⁶⁴ But among these there was not a man of those who were numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. ⁶⁵ For the Lord had said of them, “They shall surely die in the wilderness.” And not a man was left of them, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.