N25-4: Were The Chiefs Really ‘HANGED’ For Committing Idolatry In Numbers 25?

Adonai said to Moshe, “Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them facing the sun before Adonai, so that the raging fury of Adonai will turn away from Israel.” Moshe said to the judges of Isra’el, “Each of you is to put to death those in his tribe who have joined themselves to Ba‘al-P‘or.”-Numbers 25:4-5

We’re now in the midst of studying how the Moabite female population enticed the Israelite men into full-blown idolatry.

As a result, we’re told HASHEM commanded “Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them facing the sun before Adonai, so that the raging fury of Adonai will turn away from Israel.”

The King James Version says, “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“.

Okay, there’s a lot of misunderstanding and theological meat crammed into this verse that we need to unpack.

First, let’s deal with the “misunderstanding” parts of the verse.

Note the part where it says “the chiefs of the people” or the “heads of the people“.

The original Hebrew being used here is ROSH for “chief” or “head“.

So yes, HASHEM is literally calling for the execution of the upper echelon or top leaders of Israel.

But specifically what does this mean?

Well, this is referring to the top man over each of the 12 tribes, in other words, the “tribal princes“.

The second misleading part of verse 4 that I want to deal with is where it says to take all the heads of the people and “hang them up before the Lord”.

Most translations will say the chiefs were “hanged” but actually the Hebrew is quite ambiguous.

For instance check out this commentary from the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges:

4. hang them up] i.e. the offenders, not the chiefs. The form of execution denoted by the Hebrew word is uncertain. It is the causative (Hiphil) form of the verb used of the dislocation of Jacob’s thigh (Genesis 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 (2 Samuel 21:6).

Note it says “The form of execution denoted by the Hebrew word is uncertain” and then goes on to say that it could have the meaning of to “impale”.  

Honestly, this makes more sense.

Here’s the thing.

In Hebrew culture, any form of strangulation was seen as quite inhumane and wasn’t even permitted as a way to kill animals for food.

Therefore, hanging was not ordered for men no matter how terrible their sin.

Instead as punishment, men were usually impaled on a pole.

Now honestly, I don’t see how that is really less inhumane than strangulation, but we actually have a cross reference to this in Deuteronomy.

“….If a man is guilty of a capital offense and is put to death, and you impale him on a pole, you must not let his corpse remain on that pole overnight, but must bury him in the same day.”-Deuteronomy 21:22

Other expressions used are “hang him on a tree” (King James Version) or “their body is exposed on a pole” (NIV).

So after that long-winded explanation, yes, I’m saying that men were most likely impaled on poles and NOT hanged.

Let’s move on.

The next question I want to deal with is did the Lord actually order the deaths of ALL the tribal chiefs of Israel?

Most of the volumes of rabbinic commentary will indeed say that yes HASHEM did.

Based on the plain reading of the text, that interpretation seems to fit the best.

The general principle at work here is that in the case of national or corporate sin, it is the leadership who must take full responsibility and bear the consequences.

However, the Torah here takes it even further and sheds light on one of the most important theological principles of all.

Take a good look at verse 4 again.

Note it says the chiefs are being punished “so that the raging fury of Adonai will turn away from Israel“.

Not only are the chiefs being punished for national idolatry, but also as means to ATONE for all of Israel.

I mean what else would it mean?

I’m not saying the leaders who were executed became human sacrifices but there definitely seems to be a “I’m-punishing-these-men-so-I-will-not-have-to-punish-all-of-Israel” atonement type of thing going on here.

I would love to get your thoughts on this, especially those who were brought up in Orthodox Judaism.

One final point before I close.

This incident also brings to light a principle that the modern church has done everything it can to do away with.

I’m talking about the idea that now with the “advent of Christ” we can no longer be subjected to punishment from the Lord.

HOGWASH!!!

You will NOT find that idea anywhere in the Scriptures or the New Testament.

The Scripture makes it clear that if we sin, we will be disciplined, sometimes very severely or possibly even to the point where it might cost us our lives.

What the believer doesn’t have to worry about is ETERNAL damnation or separation from HASHEM forever.

But experiencing severe discipline and punishments?

Heck yeah, you can expect that to happen if you sin repeatedly without repentance.

What we have encountered here in Numbers 25 is the intentional or high-handed sin for which only the blood of a person who committed that sin can atone for it.

There are some sins where the blood of an animal will suffice and there are those kinds of sins where no substitution but the life of the transgressor himself will suffice.

Incidentally, that’s what the expression “blood on his own head” means.

It is referring to a situation where there is no suitable sacrifice BUT THE TRANSGRESSOR HIMSELF to pay for the sin he has committed.