Numbers 25:17-18
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
God’s command here is not simply about revenge, but about a targeted judgment. The phrasing "vex the Midianites and strike them down" highlights that the Midianites were the primary instigators behind the Israelites’ sin and subsequent plague, making them the rightful target of this divine retribution. This action served as a necessary consequence for their malicious plot that nearly destroyed God's people.
“Harass the Midianites and strike them down, for they have harassed you with their wiles, with which they beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the chief of Midian, their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague on account of Peor.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
Following a devastating plague that killed 24,000 Israelites for their involvement in idolatry and sexual immorality with Moabite women, God instructs Moses and the people to retaliate against the Midianites. The Midianites, along with the Moabites, had plotted to corrupt Israel through seduction, and this command is a direct consequence of their treacherous actions, particularly their role in the seduction that led to the sin at Peor.
Why did God command Israel to attack the Midianites and not the Moabites, even though both nations were involved in Israel's downfall?
This passage reveals a critical distinction in God's judgment. While the Moabites were implicated, the Midianites bore a greater responsibility for orchestrating Israel's sin.
A Deeper Treachery
A Measure of Sin
Ask a follow-up
Phinehas's bold action halted a plague and preserved Israel. What can we learn from his zealous act?
The story of Phinehas is a powerful testament to the importance of zeal for God's honor, especially when His people are being led astray.
A Priest's Holy Anger
Atonement Through Action
Understand the original words
tsarar · Hebrew Verb
To cause distress, trouble, or to treat as an enemy. In a military or judicial context, it signifies executing judgment or active opposition against an adversary.
nakah · Hebrew Verb
To hit, strike, or smite, often used in a military context to denote a decisive defeat, execution of judgment, or destruction of an enemy.
nekilah · Hebrew Noun
Craftiness, cunning, or treacherous schemes intended to deceive or entrap others. It implies a malicious intent to cause moral or spiritual ruin.
nakal · Hebrew Verb
To deceive, seduce, or trick someone, often through falsehood or flattery, leading them away from the truth or into moral compromise.
Peor · Hebrew Proper Noun
A place name associated with the worship of Baal, representing a location of apostasy and idolatry where Israel fell into spiritual and sexual sin.
maggephah · Hebrew Noun
A term used for a sudden, divine judgment or stroke of affliction upon a people, often as a direct consequence of sin or rebellion against God.
This command to attack the Midianites directly follows their complicity in seducing Israel into idolatry and sexual sin, highlighting God's judgment on those who intentionally lead His people astray.
c. 1446 BC
Israelites arrive at Shittim
The Israelites encamp in the plains of Shittim, on the eastern side of the Jordan River, poised to enter the Promised Land.
c. 1446 BC— this verse
Seduction and Idolatry at Peor
Israelite men engage in sexual immorality with Moabite and Midianite women, leading them to worship the local deity Baal-peor. A plague erupts among the people.
c. 1446 BC
Phinehas' Zeal
Phinehas, a priest, takes decisive action by executing an Israelite man and a Midianite woman caught in the act of illicit relations, halting the plague.
c. 1446 BC
Divine Judgment and Covenant
God declares Phinehas' actions righteous and establishes a covenant of peace with him and his descendants, ensuring an everlasting priesthood.
c. 1446 BC
Command to attack Midian
God commands Moses and the Israelites to harass and strike down the Midianites for their role in seducing Israel into sin.
c. 1406 BC
War Against Midian
Several years later, the Israelites, led by Moses and Phinehas, wage war against the Midianites, destroying their cities and killing their kings.
This passage echoes the sin of Balaam mentioned in relation to the Midianites' actions, highlighting a consistent pattern of leading God's people astray through immoral and idolatrous means.
1 Corinthians 10:8This New Testament passage directly references the event in Numbers 25, reminding believers of the severe consequences of sexual immorality and idolatry that led to the plague upon Israel.
Numbers 31:1-20This narrative details the fulfillment of the command given in Numbers 25:17, showing God's judgment enacted upon the Midianites for their treacherous actions against Israel.
Deuteronomy 2:9This passage provides context for why the Moabites were not immediately smitten, as God had commanded Israel not to attack them, distinguishing their immediate punishment from that of the Midianites.
Psalm 106:30-31This psalm recounts the zealous act of Phinehas in stopping the plague and highlights God's subsequent affirmation of his actions, underscoring the seriousness of the sin that prompted this judgment.
ellicottNumbers 25:17: "Vex the Midianites, and smite them:"
(17) Vex the Midianites, and smite them.— The Midianites appear to have been joint actors with the Moabites throughout the whole of the opposition which was offered to Israel, and the chief actors in the wiles by which the Israelites were seduced. As the descendants of Abraham, the father of the faithful, the Midianites ought to have feared and obeyed Abraham’s God, and to have shown brotherly kindness to His people, who were their own kindre…
calvinNumbers 25:1-18: "And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab."
And, behold, one of the children of Israel came, and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman, in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Et ecce, quidam de filiis Israel venit, et adduxit fratribus suis Madianitidem in oculis Mosis atque in oculis te…
God’s command here is not simply about revenge, but about a targeted judgment. The phrasing "vex the Midianites and strike them down" highlights that the Midianites were the primary instigators behind the Israelites’ sin and subsequent plague, making them the rightful target of this divine retribution. This action served as a necessary consequence for their malicious plot that nearly destroyed God's people.
Following a devastating plague that killed 24,000 Israelites for their involvement in idolatry and sexual immorality with Moabite women, God instructs Moses and the people to retaliate against the Midianites. The Midianites, along with the Moabites, had plotted to corrupt Israel through seduction, and this command is a direct consequence of their treacherous actions, particularly their role in the seduction that led to the sin at Peor.
Following a devastating plague that killed 24,000 Israelites for their involvement in idolatry and sexual immorality with Moabite women, God instructs Moses and the people to retaliate against the Midianites. The Midianites, along with the Moabites, had plotted to corrupt Israel through seduction, and this command is a direct consequence of their treacherous actions, particularly their role in the seduction that led to the sin at Peor.
"“Harass the Midianites and strike them down, for they have harassed you with their wiles, with which they beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the chief of Midian, their sister, who was killed on…" — God’s command here is not simply about revenge, but about a targeted judgment. The phrasing "vex the Midianites and strike them down" highlights that the Midianites were the primary instigators behin…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026
