---
title: "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -  Numbers 25"
description: "CHAPTER 25   :-. THE
ISRAELITES"
image: "/images/missing.jpg"
url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/numbers/25"
---

CHAPTER 25

. THE
ISRAELITES' WHOREDOM
AND IDOLATRY WITH
MOAB.

**1. Israel abode in Shittim**—a
verdant meadow, so called from a grove of acacia trees which lined
the eastern side of the Jordan. (See ).

**3. Israel joined himself unto
Baal-peor**—Baal was a general name for "lord," and
Peor for a "mount" in Moab. The real name of the idol was
Chemosh, and his rites of worship were celebrated by the grossest
obscenity. In participating in this festival, then, the Israelites
committed the double offense of idolatry and licentiousness.

**4. The Lord said unto Moses, Take
all the heads of the people, and hang them up**—Israelite
criminals, who were capitally punished, were first stoned or slain,
and *then* gibbeted. The persons ordered here for execution were
the principal delinquents in the Baal-peor outrage—the subordinate
officers, rulers of tens or hundreds.
**before the Lord**—for
vindicating the honor of the true God.
**against the sun**—that
is, as a mark of public ignominy; but they were to be removed towards
sunset ([Deuteronomy 21:23](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/21/23)).

**5. judges of Israel**—the
seventy elders, who were commanded not only to superintend the
execution within their respective jurisdictions, but to inflict the
punishment with their own hands. (See on ).

**6, 7. behold, one of the children of
Israel . . . brought . . . a Midianitish woman**—This flagitious
act most probably occurred about the time when the order was given
and before its execution.
**who were weeping before the
door of the tabernacle**—Some of the rulers and well-disposed
persons were deploring the dreadful wickedness of the people and
supplicating the mercy of God to avert impending judgments.

**8. the plague**—some sudden and
widespread mortality.

**9. those that died in the plague
were twenty and four thousand**—Only twenty-three thousand
perished ([1 Corinthians 10:8](../../../kjv/1-corinthians/10/8)) from
pestilence. Moses includes those who died by the execution of the
judges [[Numbers 25:5](../../../kjv/numbers/25/5)].

**11-13. Phinehas . . . hath turned my
wrath away**—This assurance was a signal mark of honor that the
stain of blood, instead of defiling, confirmed him in office and that
his posterity should continue as long as the national existence of
Israel.

**14. Zimri, . . . a prince . . .
among the Simeonites**—The slaughter of a man of such high rank
is mentioned as a proof of the undaunted zeal of Phinehas, for there
might be numerous avengers of his blood.

**17. Vex the Midianites, and smite
them**—They seem to have been the most guilty parties. (Compare
[Numbers 22:4](../../../kjv/numbers/22/4); [Numbers 31:8](../../../kjv/numbers/31/8)).

**18. they vex you with their
wiles**—Instead of open war, they plot insidious ways of
accomplishing your ruin by idolatry and corruption.
**their sister**—their
countrywoman.

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com","name":"Real Bible Believers","description":"RBB","publisher":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/search?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/numbers/25#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/images/missing.jpg","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/images/missing.jpg","width":640,"height":370,"caption":"Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -  Numbers 25"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/numbers/25#webpage","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/numbers/25","name":"Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -  Numbers 25","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/numbers/25#primaryimage"},"datePublished":null,"dateModified":null,"author":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"description":"CHAPTER 25   :-. THE\nISRAELITES' WHOREDOM\nAND IDOLATRY WITH\nMOAB. 1. Israel abode in Shittim—a\nverdant meadow, so called from a grove of acacia trees whic","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/numbers/25#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/numbers/25"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/numbers/25#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries","name":"Commentaries"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible","name":"Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/numbers","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/numbers","name":"Numbers"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/numbers/25","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/numbers/25","name":"25"}}]},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","width":512,"height":512},"logo":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo"},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/RBiblebeliever","https://www.facebook.com/RBibleBelievers"]}]}
```