During the life of Phinehas he appears to have been the chief of the great family of the Korahites or Kor- hites who guarded the entrances to the sacred tent and the whole of the sacred camp (1 Chron. ix, 20). After Eleazar's death he became high-priest — the third of the series. B.C. cir. 1580-1523. In this capacity he is introduced as giving the oracle to the nation during the struggle with the Benjamites in the matter of Gibeah (Judg. xx, 28). Where the ark and tabernacle were stationed at that time is not clear. From ver. 1 we should infer that they were at Mizpeh, while from ver. 18, 20 it seems equally probable that they were at Bethel (which is also the statement of Josephus, Ant. v, 2, 11). Or the Hebrew words in these latter verses may mean, not Bethel the town, but, as they are ren- dered in the A. V., " house of God," and refer to the tabernacle at Shiloh. But wherever the ark may have been, there was the aged priest "standing before it," and the oracle which he delivered was one which must have been fully in accordance with his own vehement temper, "Shall we go out to battle ... or shall we cease?" The answer was, "Go up: for to-morrow I will deliver them into your hand."
The memory of this champion of Jehovah was very dear to the Jews. The narrative of the Pentateuch presents him as the type of an ardent and devoted priest. The numerous references to him in the later literature all adopt the same tone. He is commemo- rated in one of the Psalms (cvi, 30, 31) in the identical phrase which is consecrated forever by its use in refer- ence to the great act of faith of Abraham ; a phrase which perhaps more than any other in the Bible binds together the old and new dispensations — "that was counted to him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore" (comp. Gen. xv, 6 ; Rom. iv, 3). The " cov- enant" made with him is put into the same rank for dignity and certainty with that by which the throne was assured to king David (Ecclus. xlv, 25). The zeal of Mattathias the Maccabee is sufficiently praised by a comparison with that of " Phinees against Zambri, the son of Salom" (1 Mace, ii, 26). The priests who re- turned from the captivity are enrolled in the official lists as the 'sons of Phinehas (Ezra viii, 2 ; 1 Esdr. v, 5). In the Seder Olam. (ch. xx) he is identified with " the prophet" of Judg. vi, 8.
Josephus (Ant. iv, 6, 12), out of the traditions which he frequently introduces, adds to the narrative of the Pentateuch a statement that " so great was his courage and so remarkable his bodily strength that he would never relinquish any undertaking, however difficult and dangerous, without gaining a complete victory." The later Jews are fond of comparing him to Elijah, if in- deed they do not regard them as one and the same in- dividual (see the quotations in Meyer, Chron. Hebr. p. 845; Fabricius, Codex Pseudepir/. p. 894, note). In the Targum Pseudojonathan of Numb, xxv the slaughter of Zimri and Cozbi is accompanied by twelve miracles, and the covenant made with Phinehas is expanded into a promise that he shall be " the angel of the covenant, shall live forever, and shall proclaim redemption at the end of the world." His Midianitish origin (alrcadv no- VIII.— K
ticed) is brought forward as adding greater lustre to his zeal against Midian, and enhancing his glorious destiny. The verse which closes the book of Joshua is ascribed to Phinehas, as the description of the death of Moses at the end of Deuteronomy is to Joshua (Baba Bathra, in Fabricius, p. 893). He is also reported to be the author of a work on sacred names (ibid.), which, however, is so rare that Fabricius had never seen it.
The succession of the posterity of Phinehas in the high-priesthood was interrupted when Eli, of the race of Ithamar, was priest ; but it was resumed in the per- son of Zadok. and continued in the same line to the de- struction of Jerusalem. See High-priest. One of the members of the family— Manasseh, son of Johanan, and brother of Jaddua — went over to the Samaritans, and they still boast, that they preserve the succession (see their letter to Scaliger, in Eichhorn's Repertorium, xiii, 262).
The tomb of Phinehas, i place of great resort to both Jews and Samaritans, is shown at Awertah, four miles south-east of Nablus. It stands in the centre of the village, enclosed within a little area or compound, which is overshadowed by the thickly trellised foliage of an ancient vine. A small mosque joins the wall of the compound. Outside the village, on the next hill, is a larger enclosure, containing the tomb of Eleazar, and a cave ascribed to Elijah, overshadowed by two venerable terebinth-trees, surrounded by arcades, and forming a retired and truly charming spot. The local tradition asserts that Awertah and its neighborhood are the "Hill of Phinehas." — Smith.
2. Second son of Eli (1 Sam. i,3; ii, 34; iv, 4, 11,17, 19; xiv, 3). He was not of the same line as his illus- trious and devoted namesake, but of the family of Itha- mar. See Eli. Phinehas was killed with his brother by the Philistines when the ark was captured. B.C. 1 125. He had two sons, Ahitub, the eldest — whose sons Ahijah and Ahimelech were high-priests at Shiloh and Nob in the time of Saul (xiv, 3) — and Ichabod. He is introduced, apparently by mistake, in the genealogy of Ezra in 2 Esdr. i, 2 a.