Parashat Pinchas begins with God's promise to reward Pinchas for his heroic act of killing Zimri, the tribal leader of Shimon, and Kozbi, the Midyanite princess, as they publicly engaged in forbidden relations. The reward promised to Pinchas is spread over two verses, and appears to consist of two parts. In the first verse, God grants him "beriti shalom" – "My covenant of peace." Then, in the second verse, Pinchas receives "berit kehunat olam" – the covenant of eternal priesthood." The second of these promises is relatively clear. As Rashi explains, based on the Gemara in Masekhet Zevachim (101b), if not for Pinchas' heroism, neither he nor his descendants would have earned the status of kohanim, despite his being the grandson of the first kohen gadol, Aharon, and the son of the current kohen gadol, Elazar. The status of kehuna was granted only to Aharon and his four sons, and to their descendants born after the initial anointing of Aharon and his sons. Since Pinchas had been born to Elazar prior to his having been anointed kohen, Pinchas did not earn kehuna. He earned this privilege only through his zealous defense of God's honor as exhibited through his killing of Zimri and Kozbi.
The first part of his reward, however, seems unclear. What does God mean by "My covenant of peace"?
Several different explanations are suggested by the commentators. Many, such as Ibn Ezra, Bekhor Shor, Chizkuni (in his first approach), the Ba'alei Ha-Tosefot, and Abarbanel, explain this as a promise of protection from vengeance on the part of the victims' relatives and supporters. God assured Pinchas that he had nothing to fear from those who vowed to avenge the blood he spilt.
Targum Yonatan Ben Uziel adopts a Midrashic interpretation of this verse, claiming that "My covenant of peace" means that Pinchas will live forever so that he will ultimately announce the final redemption. Targum Yonatan here refers to the famous comment of Chazal (Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer 47) identifying the prophet Eliyahu as Pinchas. According to tradition, as mentioned in the final verses of Sefer Malakhi, Eliyahu will come before "the great, awesome day of God" to announce the arrival of the long-awaited redemption. The Targum Yonatan claims that it is to this that "My covenant of peace" refers.
This approach appears in "peshat" form in the commentary of Seforno to this verse. He claims that "beriti shalom" refers simply to long life. Pinchas lived during the story of "pilegesh be-giv'a" told in Sefer Shoftim (see Shoftim 20:28), which occurred at least after the death of Yehoshua and his contemporaries – many decades after the incident recorded in Sefer Bamidbar. Undoubtedly, then, Pinchas enjoyed a particularly long life, all the more so, Seforno adds, if we accept the tradition that Eliyahu was Pinchas.
But how does the term "covenant of peace" mean longevity? The Seforno briefly explains, "Because demise occurs only as a result of the contrast between opposites." The Seforno likely refers to the explanation presented at greater length later, by the Malbim. The human body operates only through the harmonious cooperation between its various different components. Death results from the disunity of the body's organs and systems, when they lose the ability to communicate and interact with one another. For this reason, then, God refers to long life as "the covenant of peace" – referring to a state of peace of harmony among the various parts of the body.
The Ketav Sofer suggests a different explanation to this blessing, viewing it as an introduction of sorts to the second promise to Pinchas, the kehuna. God here guarantees Pinchas that unlike Aharon, whose right to the kehuna gedola was challenged by Korach and his following, Pinchas will face no such confrontation. Realizing that his heroism saved Am Yisrael from annihilation, the entire nation will respect his right to the position, and no challenge will thus ever be posed to his priesthood.
The Ketav Sofer proceeds to suggest a different approach, as well, one which appears (with slight variation) also in the Netziv's "Ha'amek Davar." Pinchas required a special blessing of peace because of the "violence" in his personality as reflected – or perhaps engendered – by this act. Pinchas received God's promise that because he acted purely for the sake of God's honor, his killing of Zimri and Kozbi will leave no scar on his character, and that he will always exercise patience when dealing with other people and treat them benevolently.
Courtesy of Yeshivat Har Etzion - www.etzion.org.il