Bible Strands
Numbers 25:5
So Moses told the judges of Israel, “Each of you must kill all of his men who have joined in worshiping Baal of Peor.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the judges of Israel, ordering them to execute the males under their authority who participated in the Baal of Peor cult. This command follows God's directive to execute the people's leaders and precedes the public arrival of an Israelite man with a Midianite woman at the Tent of Meeting.
The words — הִרְגוּ (hir.Gu) translates to "kill," and אֲנָשָׁיו ('a.na.Sha/v) means "his men." The phrasing places the burden of execution on each judge to purge the specific males within his jurisdiction.
The thread — The delegation of judicial authority echoes Moses' earlier appointment of capable, God-fearing leaders in Exodus 18:21 and Exodus 18:25. The uncompromising purge of idolaters parallels Elijah's command to seize the prophets of Baal without exception in 1 Kings 18:40.
Why it lands — The text requires leaders to enforce corporate accountability by removing idolatry from their own households and jurisdictions. It frames covenant loyalty as a matter of enforced boundary-keeping rather than personal conviction.
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 Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baal–peor.
Cross-references
- Exodus 18:21 Furthermore, select capable men from among the people—God-fearing, trustworthy men who are averse to dishonest gain. Appoint them over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
- 1 Kings 18:40 Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a single one escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered them there.
- Exodus 18:25 So Moses chose capable men from all Israel and made them heads over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
- Exodus 22:20 If anyone sacrifices to any god other than the LORD alone, he must be set apart for destruction.
- Exodus 32:27 He told them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each of you men is to fasten his sword to his side, go back and forth through the camp from gate to gate, and slay his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’”
- Deuteronomy 13:6 If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (which neither you nor your fathers have known,
- Deuteronomy 13:9 Instead, you must surely kill him. Your hand must be the first against him to put him to death, and then the hands of all the people.
- Deuteronomy 13:13 that wicked men have arisen from among you and have led the people of their city astray, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods” (which you have not known),
- Deuteronomy 13:15 you must surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword. Devote to destruction all its people and livestock.
- Deuteronomy 17:3 and going to worship other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven—which I have forbidden—