Bible Strands
Numbers 25:15
And the name of the slain Midianite woman was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator identifies Cozbi immediately after recording the deaths of Zimri and herself. This statement occurs between the execution of the apostate pair and the Lord’s direct address to Moses in Numbers 25:16.
The words — The text employs שֵׁם (Shem, “name”) and רֹאשׁ (rosh, “leader” or “head”) to formally record her identity and social rank. These terms establish her as a figure of tribal authority rather than an anonymous participant.
The thread — Her father Zur reappears among the slain Midianite leaders in Numbers 31:8. The narrative later references her role in the seduction at Peor in Numbers 25:18.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to recognize that the Peor incident involved established tribal leadership, not merely peripheral individuals. It sets the factual groundwork for the subsequent divine judgment and the military campaign detailed in Numbers 31.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was head over a people, and of a chief house in Midian.
Cross-references
- Numbers 31:8 Among the slain were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba—the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.
- Joshua 13:21 all the cities of the plateau and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon until Moses killed him and the chiefs of Midian (Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba), the princes of Sihon who lived in the land.
- Numbers 25:18 For they assailed you deceitfully when they seduced you in the matter of Peor and their sister Cozbi, the daughter of the Midianite leader, the woman who was killed on the day the plague came because of Peor.”