Pinchas is portrayed as a hero in the Torah and Second Temple sources for killing Zimri and his Midianite lover, Cozbi. Rabbinic sources struggle with the absence of any juridical process or deliberative body, which contravenes their own judicial norms, and therefore recast or minimize his act in subtle ways.And there's a similarly awkward story about Moses too.
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.