UTN uW Translation Notes:

Numbers 25 Introduction

Structure and Formatting

4. At the plains of Moab (22:1–36:13) * The Israelites are unfaithful to God (25:1–18)In this chapter, the Israelites worship Baal of Peor with the Moabites, and God punishes them. Then Phinehas kills an Israelite man and a Midianite woman who are involved in the worship, and this atones for the Israelites. God then blesses Phinehas. He also tells the Israelites to attack the Midianites.

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

What were the Israelites doing wrong?

Scholars debate what the Israelites were doing with the Midianite and Moabite women in this chapter. Some think that the Israelites were participating in cultic sexual acts with the women as part of their worship of Baal. Others think that the Israelites were marrying the women and then participating with their wives in the worship of Baal. Either way, it is clear that Israelite men were interacting with the Moabite and Midianite women, and these interactions led to the Israelites worshiping Baal. It is recommended that your translation does not indicate explicitly whether cultic sexual activity or marriage was happening.

Midianites and Moabites

In [25:1](../25/01.md), the author indicates that the Moabites are the ones who convinced the Israelites to worship Baal. However, the woman whom Phinehas kills for doing this is a Midianite (see [25:6](../25/06.md)). Further, when Yahweh tells the Israelites to attack the people who convinced them to worship Baal, he identifies those people as the Midianites. Most likely, this area was populated by both Midianites and Moabites, and both groups of people were probably involved. So, you should leave references to both Moabites and Midianites in this chapter. (See: midian and moab)

Translation Issues in This Chapter

Events narrated out of sequence

When the Israelites worship Baal, God punishes them by sending a plague. However, the author does not mention the plague until the plague is stopped (see [25:8–9](../25/08.md)). The author implies that the plague was already happening when the Israelites were mourning near the sacred tent (see [25:6](../25/06.md)). The author may do this to keep the narration concise or to build suspense. Consider how you might indicate that the plague had already started before verses 8–9. (See: figs-events)