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In Numbers, God gives Phinehas a covenant of peace and a lasting priesthood for his zeal and atonement. Sirach draws on that gift, calling it a covenant of friendship and ranking the priesthood of Aaron’s line above the covenant with David.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Numbers 25:13
Hebrew Bible
11 “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites, when he manifested such zeal for my sake among them, so that I did not consume the Israelites in my zeal. 12 Therefore, announce: ‘I am going to give to him my covenant of peace. 13 So it will be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of a permanent priesthood, because he has been zealous for his God, and has made atonement for the Israelites.’” 14 Now the name of the Israelite who was stabbed—the one who was stabbed with the Midianite woman—was Zimri son of Salu, a leader of a clan of the Simeonites.
Sirach 45:24
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
22 However, in the land of the people, he has no inheritance, and he has no portion among the people, for the Lord himself is your portion and inheritance. 23 Phinehas the son of Eleazar is the third in glory, in that he was zealous in the fear of the Lord, and stood fast when the people turned away, and he made atonement for Israel. 24 Therefore, a covenant of peace was established for him, that he should be leader of the sanctuary and of his people, that he and his offspring should have the dignity of the priesthood forever. 25 Also he made a covenant with David the son of Jesse, of the tribe of Judah. The inheritance of the king is his alone from son to son. So the inheritance of Aaron is also to his seed.
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Notes and References
... Thus, in Sirach 45:24–25 Ben Sira once again grounds contemporary practice in history; according to Ben Sira, the responsibility of ruling Israel was initially given to Aaron, Phinehas and their descendants before it was given to David, and furthermore, it reverted to their descendants after the fall of the monarchy. Thus, Ben Sira provides a theological-historical account of why the high priesthood of his day has legitimately (re-)assumed the privilege of ruling Israel, an account upon which he will build in Sirach 50:1–4 in his praise of Simon. ...
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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