Numbers 25:4

Num 25:4 And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel.

Ver. 4. Take all the heads.] The chieftains: their greatness might not bear them out. Potentes potenter torquebuntur. Hell is paved, said one of old, with the bald pates of shavellings, and with the crests of great commanders, who had ever opposed with crest and breast whatsoever stood in the way of their sins and lusts.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Num 25:4. Take — That is, apprehend; all the heads (or chief) of the people — Such as were chief in this transgression, and in place and power. These are singled out to this exemplary punishment for their concurrence with others in this wickedness, which was more odious, and of more pernicious tendency in them. Hang them up before the Lord — That is, either before the sanctuary, as men who had forsaken the worship of God, and were by his sentence adjudged to die; or, to the vindication of his honour and justice. Others interpret the words thus: Take unto thee, or to thine assistance, the heads, or judges of the people, and hang them up; that is, hang up such as have joined themselves to Baal-peor. This interpretation seems to be justified by the next verse, in which Moses directs the judges to do their duty by punishing the offenders. Against the sun — Publicly and openly, as their sin was public and scandalous, that all the people might see, and fear to sin; and speedily, before the sun went down. It was provided by the Jewish law, that the bodies of malefactors should hang no longer than till the evening of the day on which they suffered, Deu 21:22-23.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

THE IDOLATERS PUNISHED, Num_25:4-9.

4. Take all the heads of the people — This command is not only to put to death the guilty Israelites, but as a strong expression of loathing and a seeming aggravation of punishment, (note, Lev_20:14,) as well as a most impressive warning against future idolatry, their bodies were to be impaled and publicly exposed. Dr. Kennicott remarks that the Samaritan and the Hebrew texts united make the sense of this verse complete. Speak unto all the heads of the people; and let them slay the men that were joined to Baal-peor; and hang them up before the Lord, etc.

Before the Lord — Literally, for Jehovah, that is, to placate him.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

25:4 As he had at Sinai (Exod 32:27-28), the Lord required swift justice. • execute . . . in broad daylight: The guilty parties were perhaps impaled and left out in the sun (see 2 Sam 21:6, 9) so that everyone could see them and learn from their mistakes (cp. 2 Sam 12:12).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Or, to the Lord.

Openly in the sight of all.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

The Lord said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up--Israelite criminals, who were capitally punished, were first stoned or slain, and then gibbeted. The persons ordered here for execution were the principal delinquents in the Baal-peor outrage--the subordinate officers, rulers of tens or hundreds.

before the Lord--for vindicating the honor of the true God.

against the sun--that is, as a mark of public ignominy; but they were to be removed towards sunset (Deu 21:23).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 4. Take all the heads of the people, c.] Meaning the chiefs of those who had transgressed as if he had said, "Assemble the chiefs and judges, institute an inquiry concerning the transgressors, and hang them who shall be found guilty before the Lord, as a matter required by his justice." Against the sun - in the most public manner, and in daylight.

Dr. Kennicott has remarked that the Samaritan and Hebrew texts must be both taken together, to make the sense here complete: And the Lord said unto Moses, SPEAK unto all the heads of the people; AND LET THEM SLAY THE MEN THAT WERE JOINED TO BAAL-PEOR; and hang them up before the Lord against the sun, &c.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(4) Take all the heads of the people.—The “heads” or “chiefs” of the people seem to be identical with the “judges” of the following verse. Some understand by “all the heads” those only who had been the chief offenders, whilst others understand the word “take” as equivalent to “assemble,” or “bring before thee,” and refer the word “them” to the offenders.

Hang them up . . . —It is obvious from Num_25:5 that the punishment of impaling or crucifying was not to be inflicted until after death. The LXX. renders the Hebrew verb which is here used (and which is found also in 2Sa_21:6; 2Sa_21:9) by the same word which occurs in Heb_6:6, and is there translated “to put to an open shame.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4. hang them up] i.e. the offenders, not the chiefs. The form of execution denoted by the Heb. word is uncertain. It is the causative (Hiphil) form of the verb used of the dislocation of Jacob’s thigh (Gen_32:25). Aquila understood it to mean ‘impale,’ Targ. ‘crucify’; others, from the analogy of an Arabic word, explain it as ‘to throw down,’ as from a high rock. It occurs elsewhere only of the execution of Saul’s sons (2Sa_21:6).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the Lord said unto Moses,.... Being provoked with the sins of the people, he called to him out of the tabernacle, or out of the cloud:

take all the heads of the people, the princes of the tribes, not to hang them, but to judge those that worshipped Peor, as Jarchi interprets it; though some think that these having sinned, were ordered to be taken and hanged, and made public examples of; but it can hardly be thought, though there were some that might be guilty of the above sins, as Zimri, yet not all of them:

hang them up before the Lord against the sun; that is, those that were guilty of idolatry: the meaning is, and which all the Targums give into, that these heads of the people were to assemble at some proper place, the court of judicature, and order the delinquents to be brought before them, and try, judge, and condemn those they found guilty, and cause them to be hanged somewhere near the tabernacle, and before it, having neglected the worship of God there, and served an idol; and this was to be done openly in the daytime, that all might see and fear; and if it was the sun that was worshipped in this idol, as some think, they were hanged against the sun, to show that the idol they worshipped was not able to deliver them; but, in the face of it, and as it were in defiance of it, they were ordered to be hanged up; and this, according to the Targum of Jonathan, was in the morning against the rising sun, and where they hung all day, and were taken down at sun setting:

that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel; when justice had taken place, and proper punishment was inflicted upon the criminals, whereby a just resentment was made against sin, and God glorified.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Take - i. e., assemble the chiefs of the people to thee (compare the phrase “took men,” in Num 16:1). The offenders were to be first; slain by the hands of “the judges of Israel” Num 25:5, and afterward hung up “against the sun” (i. e., publicly, openly; compare 2Sa 12:12) as an aggravation of their punishment. This would be done by impaling the body or fastening it to a cross. Compare Deu 21:23 note, and 2Sa 21:9.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

People. Assemble the judges, and by their sentence, hang them who have been most guilty. (Onkelos) --- If any of the judges, or princes themselves, have gone astray, let them not be spared. (Haydock) --- The Jews assert, that the malefactor was always killed before his body was hung on a gibbet; and that crucifixion was not known among them. But the contrary is asserted by many. It is not clear whether these criminals were hung by the neck, or crucified, after they had been first stoned, as guilty of idolatry, or whether they were fastened to the gibbet alive, for greater torment and disgrace. (Calmet) --- Sun; publicly. See 2 Kings xii. 11. (Menochius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The sense is, either,

1. Take, to wit. to thyself and thy assistance,

all the heads, i.e. the judges, as they are called Num 25:5, or rulers,

of the people; and in their presence, and by their help,

hang them, i.e. the people, now mentioned, to wit, such of them as were guilty, as was said Num 25:1. And this sense seems to be favoured by the next verse, where the execution of this command is mentioned, Moses said unto the judges of Israel, whom he had taken to himself and called together, Slay ye every one his man, i.e. each. of you execute this command of God, and hang up the delinquents under your several jurisdictions. Or,

2. Take, i.e. apprehend,

all the heads, i.e. the chief, of the people, such as were chief, either in this transgression, or rather in place and power, who are singled out to this exemplary punishment either for their neglect in not preventing, restraining, or punishing the offenders according to their power and duty, or for their concurrence with others in this wickedness, which was more odious and mischievous in them than in others. And then this must be necessarily limited to such heads as were guilty, which is evident from the nature of the thing, and from the words of the verse. And so these

heads of the people differ, as in name and title, so in place and dignity, from the judges of the people, Num 25:5, which may seem to note the superior magistrates, even the seventy elders, which, being persons of great worth and piety, chosen by God, and endowed with his Spirit, most probably kept themselves from this contagion, and therefore were fitter to punish others; and the heads of the people seem to be the inferior magistrates, the rulers of tens or hundreds, or the like, who as they did many of them partake with the people in other rebellions, so probably were involved in this guilt. Now these are to be hanged up as other malefactors and condemned persons were, Deu 21:23; 2Sa 21:6.

Before the Lord; to the vindication of God’s honour and justice.

Against the sun, i.e. publicly, as their sin was public and scandalous; and speedily, before the sun go down. But withal this phrase may signify, that these also must be taken down about sun-setting, as other malefactors were, Deu 21:23.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Lord said unto Moses. It seems strange that so fearful an apostasy had gone so far without interference on the part of Moses. He may have been absent from the camp on account of the wars with the Amorite kings; or he may have trusted to the chiefs to see that due order and discipline was maintained in the camps. Take all the heads of the people, i.e., the chiefs, who ought to have prevented, and might have prevented, this monstrous irregularity, but who seem, if we may judge from the case of Zimri, to have countenanced it. The mere neglect of duty in so gross a case was reason enough for summary execution. Hang them up before the Lord. Either by way of impalement or by way of crucifixion, both of which were familiar modes of punishment. In this case the guilty persons were probably slain first, and exposed afterwards. The hanging up was not ordered on account of its cruelty, nor merely for the sake of publicity ("against the sun), but in order to show that the victims were devoted to the wrath of God against sin. (cf. Deu_21:23 2Sa_21:2-6) The Septuagint has here paradeigmatison autouv . Cf. Heb_6:6, where this word is coupled with "crucify." Them is no authority for referring the "them" ( to the guilty persons instead of to the heads of the people, as is done by the Targums and by many commentators.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Take all the heads - Take, that is, apprehend, all the heads, that is, the chief, of the people, such as were chief in this transgression, and in place and power, who are singled out to this exemplary punishment for their concurrence with others in this wickedness, which was more odious and mischievous in them. Hang them up before the Lord - To the vindication of God's honour and justice. Against the sun - Publickly, as their sin was publick and scandalous, and speedily, before the sun go down.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

all the leaders of the people

It is implied that this refers to the leaders who were guilty of idolatry. The full meaning of this statement can be made clear. AT: "all the leaders of the people who are guilty of idolatry" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

to expose them in the daylight

This means that the leaders of Israel will kill these people and leave their dead bodies out where all the people can see them.

to Israel's leaders

"to Israel's leaders who were not guilty of idolatry"

Peor

Peor was the name of a mountain. See how you translated this in Numbers 23:28.

translationWords

Moses

people group

hang

turn

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

קח את כל ראשי העם TAKE ALL THE HEADS OF THE PEOPLE, to judge those who worshipped Peor (Sanhedrin 35a),

והוקע אותם AND HANG THEM — those who worshipped it (not the heads of the people).

והוקע — This is “hanging”, just as we find in the case of Saul’s sons, (II Samuel XXL 6) “And we will kill them by הוקעה unto the Lord”, and there (II Samuel vv. 12—13) hanging is distinctly mentioned (Sanhedrin 34b). It is true that idolatry (the sin committed here) is punishable by stoning, but all who were stoned were also hanged (Sanhedrin 45b).

נגד השמש AGAINST THE SUN — i.e., in the sight of everyone. A Midrashic statement is: the sun made known who were the sinners, for the cloud rolled itself up from in front of him (the sinner) so that the sun shone upon him (Midrash Tanchuma, Balak 19).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

The people shall witness this without protesting. This shall atone for them for not having protested when the leaders sinned.

Sforno on the Tanakh — English translation: “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.