Zimri (prince)

Not to be confused with Zimri (king).
Zimri and Kozbi portrayed as having sex in a regular tent when Phinehas kills them (1700).[note 1]
Painting by Jeremias van Winghe of Phinehas slaying Zimri and Kozbi

Zimri (Hebrew: זִמְרִי, Zīmrī; lit. 'praiseworthy') son of Salu was the prince or leader of a family within the Tribe of Simeon during the time of the Israelites’ Exodus in the wilderness at the time when they were approaching the Promised Land. The Book of Numbers in the Hebrew Bible describes how, at Abila or Shittim, he took part in the Heresy of Peor, taking as a paramour a Midianite woman, Cozbi. For this sin, Phinehas, grandson of Aaron, killed them both by impaling them on a spear as they had sex (Numbers 25:6–15).[1]

The incident was then taken by the Israelites as a pretext for the War against the Midianites in Numbers 31.[2]


Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ "The Eleventh Plague footnote 12 "...'I am the Lord' implies: I am He who inflicted punishment upon Samson, Amnon, and Zimri, and who will inflict punishment upon any one who will act in accordance with their practices..."". 24 June 2009.
  2. ^ Shectman, Sarah (2009). Women in the Pentateuch: A Feminist and Source-critical Analysis. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press. p. 165. ISBN 9781906055721. Retrieved 14 March 2021.