Moses heard from God in chapter 31 to mercilessly avenge the Midianites, an event that would precede
his death. Leaving aside the question regarding the seeming link between both events, Abravanel asks
about the Midianites. What precipitated the bitter animosity? And hadn’t disaster been caused by the
Moabites, as written in the previous Torah portion (Phinehas)?
“And God said to Moses saying. The Children of Israel shall rigorously
avenge the Midianites. Afterward, you shall be gathered unto your
people.”
Here is the correct, plain understanding of the events, according to Abravanel. Recall, earlier in the
Torah, God decorated Phinehas. “God pinned upon Phinehas the covenant of peace.” Moses heard God
convey that a peace treaty should be arranged with the tribe of Simon. This initiative came as a result of
Phinehas having killed that tribe’s chief, Zimri son of Salu. Consequently, patching relations with Simon
became paramount. Peace within the Jewish nation was deemed necessary in order to stem ill-will,
internecine hostilities. Midian was a whole different story.
“The Children of Israel shall rigorously avenge the Midianites.” Readers cannot help but be struck by our
verse’s seemingly disparate goals or war instructions. “The Children of Israel shall rigorously avenge”
suggests something quite different than the ensuing verse, “God shall avenge.” The verse’s changing
emphases (initially the Children of Israel, afterward God) reflect two wrongs that Midian’s women folk
had perpetrated. One, they caused twenty-four thousand Hebrews to perish. Two, besides illicit sex with
the Jews, the ladies induced their Jewish partners to serve idols (the Midianite god, Beor).
The Torah called for double-edged sword retaliation. Insofar as the Jewish people needed redress, the
earlier verse demands “The Children of Israel shall vigorously avenge.” This satisfied the wrongs
perpetrated by Midian against Israel. The Maker, however, had another score to settle with Midian.
“God shall avenge” Midian for having instigated trouble, for having precipitated a pagan pandemic.
Interestingly, we have been discussing the designated target for revenge as Midian and not Moab. Why
the confusion in identities? A prior verse states, “And the people began to whore with Moabite
women.” Not so fast. In fact, Abravanel brings numerous proofs to show that the true culprits hailed
from Midian and not Moab.
Here’s what happened, Abravanel writes. King Balak of Moab, upon hearing Balaam’s repeated
assurances that peace will reign in his day, went home. Balaam didn’t.
No sooner had Balaam approached his native land of Midian than he took a detour. He convened his
fellow citizens and counseled them to execute an ignoble plot. Realizing the futility of trying to budge
the Jews from their religious principles and decouple God’s love for them, he hit upon a weak chink in
their moral armor.
Setting Midianite women loose amidst the Hebrew’s desert haunt, and encouraging them to throw
themselves at the camp’s men, would prove fatal. The girls felled the Jewish men, precisely as Balaam
had schemed. Now, words cannot adequately describe how the God of Israel detests sexual impropriety.
Midianites were only too willing to undermine Heaven’s ethos – where it hurts.
Not wanting to miss the fireworks, per se, Balaam dallied in Midian. And he waited. Owing to Moab’s
and Midian’s proximity to the Hebrew camp, Midian encouraged their women folk to enter the Hebrew
enclave for the express purpose of sex. Disguised as Moabites, a people with open access and entrée to
the encampment to trade and barter, confusion set in. The Hebrews welcomed their guests, seeing that
peaceful relations existed between both peoples.
But then, things got steamy. “And the people began to whore with Moabite women.” Mistaken identity,
a confusion deliberately orchestrated by Midian, wrought disaster. The “Moabite” troupe of doxies
were, indeed, Midianites. The result: a plague that claimed the lives of twenty-four thousand Jews.
Matters worsened. Midianite women conditioned sex on idolatry. Jews needed to pledge allegiance to
Beor, their god. The Hebrew camp became a moral cesspool. Sex and idolatry, courtesy of Balaam’s
initiative and Midian’s execution.
In time, Phinehas saved the day. Notwithstanding, God had marked Midian (and Balaam). Their end
would come soon enough. “The Children of Israel shall rigorously avenge the Midianites.”