Phinehas now, prepared at the risk of his own life to punish Zimri for
his sin, left the house of teaching where he had until now debated the
case of Zimri with Moses and all other pious men, and had himself
provided with a lance, having none with him because no armed man may
enter a house of teaching. That his weapon might not betray him, he
detached the upper iron part of the lance and hid it in his bosom, and
leaned upon the wooden shaft as if it were a staff. [796] When he
reached the house where Zimri and Cozbi were giving extravagant play to
their passions, the people said to him, "Whence, Phinehas, and
whither?" He replied, "Do ye not know that the tribe of Levi is always
to be found where the tribe of Simeon is?" Then they permitted him to
enter the house, but said, "It seems that even the Pharisees now permit
intercourse with the heathen women." When Phinehas had entered, he drew
his lance, "and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the
woman through her belly." [797]
Phinehas's fear that these two might attack him was not realized, for
God performed no less than twelve miracles for Phinehas, which not only
made it impossible for the sinners to attack him, but also showed the
people that his action found favor in the sight of the Lord. The first
miracle was that an angel would not allow the sinful couple to separate
when Phinehas surprised them; the second miracle was that the angel
stopped their mouths so that they could not cry out for help; the third
miracle was that Phinehas's lance struck the man's and the woman's
pudenda; the fourth miracle was that the upper, iron part of the lance
extended, so that Phinehas could at one thrust pierce the man as well
as the woman; the fifth miracle was that Phinehas's arm was
sufficiently strong to lift both upon the point of his lance; the sixth
miracle was that the wooden shaft of the lance sustained the weight of
two persons; the seventh miracle was that the two bodies remained
poised upon the lance and did not fall off; the eighth miracle was that
the angel turned the shameless pair around, so that all might see that
Phinehas had surprised them in flagranti; the ninth miracle was that no
blood flowed from them although they had been thrust through, or else
Phinehas would have been polluted; the tenth miracle was that the
shameless couple did not give up the ghost so long as Phinehas bore
them upon the point of his lance, as he would otherwise have been
polluted by their corpses; the eleventh miracle was that the angel
raised the doorposts of the room so that Phinehas might pass through
with the sinners upon the point of his lance, and the twelfth miracle
was that when the tribe of Simeon prepared to avenge Prince Zimri's
death upon Phinehas, the angel sent a plague upon them, so that they
were impotent against him. [798]
Phinehas was not, however, content with having punished the sinners,
but tried also to reconcile God with Israel. He threw the two dead
bodies upon the ground, saying to God, "Why, alas! Hast Thou on account
of the sins of these two slain twenty-four thousand Israelites!" For
this was the number that had been snatched away by the plague that God
had sent upon Israel for their sins. The angels now wanted to plunge
Phinehas into death for his bold words, but God bade them desist,
saying, "Leave him in peace, he is a zealot, the son of a zealot, and
an appeaser of wrath, the son of an appeaser of wrath." [799]