The Portrayal of Phinehas by Philo, Pseudo-Philo, and Josephus

Philo deals with Phinehas in eight of his essays and Pseudo-Philo refers to him in seven passages, but his role is much reduced in Josephus. Although Phinehas did not work through the judicial system when he slew Zimri and Cozbi, Philo is not at all critical of him. Indeed, Philo claims that Moses sought to reward Phinehas, but he was forestalled by God.

In Pseudo-Philo Phinehas' activities span the time from the Exodus to the period of the judges, and even to the end of time itself. Pseudo-Philo identifies Phinehas with Elijah. He focuses on the role of God, who sent an angel to save Phinehas when the other Israelites sought to kill him. Phinehas is the agent through whom God explains why he told the Israelites to go to war with the Benjaminites, only to let them fail. Phinehas reveals to Kenaz, the most charismatic personality in all of Pseudo-Philo's work, a prophecy of the end of days.

Josephus was confronted with a dilemma, namely whether he, who advocated conciliating Rome, could admire Phinehas when Phinehas, in by-passing the law, had committed the kind of action typical of the Zealots during the war against the Romans. Josephus significantly omits mention of the twofold reward bestowed by God upon Phinehas for his action against Zimri and Cozbi. Phinehas' act is not solitary, but rather one that inspires others to imitate him and to kill those accused of crimes similar to that of Zimri. Josephus never mentions Phinehas as the forerunner of the revolutionaries, nor does he identify him with Elijah. When the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh set up an altar beyond the Jordan, Phinehas speaks to them in a more conciliatory tone than he does in the accounts of Philo or Pseudo-Philo.