Zimri (Simeonite)
Zimri ( Hebrew זִמְרִי, also Zimri ), son of Salu, was a leading man from the tribe of Simeon at the time of the migration of the Jewish people through the desert described in the Old Testament . In a time of plague, he openly opposed the instructions of Moses , especially regarding the treatment of Midianite women ( Numbers 25: 6-15 EU ).
A religious zealot, Pinchas , pierced Zimri and his lover Kosbi , daughter of a leading Midianite, with a skewer. The plague, in which the Israelites suspected a punishment for fornication and idolatry, ended after the bloody act. As a result, Zimri's relationship with Kosbi was usually viewed as reprehensible and death as a just punishment for Zimri's sexual provocation. However, it was doubted whether the murder could be related to a sexual offense at all if Zimri and Kosbi as soul mates, in spite of the recognized laws, carry out a divine will. Pincha's deed is taken up in 1 Makk 2.26 EU as an example of “righteous anger” and “passionate zeal”.
The murder of Zimri and Kosbi was followed by an extermination campaign against the Midianites. Captive women with sexual experience were declared by Moses to be death-worthy leaders, sexually inexperienced women to marriageable spoils of war.
Individual evidence
- ^ Mordechai Josef Leiner : Living Waters: The Mei HaShiloach , Part 1, Pinchas, 54a
- ↑ Susanne Gorges-Braunwarth: Frauenbilder - Weisheitsbilder - Gottesbilder , Münster 2002, p. 194