Of Prince and Princess (Parshas Pinchas 5775)

Who was Zimri, prince of the tribe of Simeon?

The Torah writes (Numbers 25:14):

And the name of the Jewish man who was killed together with the Midianite woman, was Zimri son of Salu, prince of a tribal house in the tribe of Simeon

The Talmud (Sanhedrin 82b) tell us that Zimri had several other names:

Rabbi Jochanan says: Zimri had five names - Zimri, son of Salu, Saul (see Genesis 46:10), son of Canaanite woman, and Shelumiel son of Zurishadai (see Numbers 1:6 and 7:36), ...and his real name was Shelumiel son of Zuri-Shadai

[See Sefer Lemekasei Atik and notes there for discussion about how Zimri lived so long if he was Saul. See also Midrash Rabbah (Genesis 80) that writes that Saul was the son of Dinah, and the Radak (Genesis 46:10) that writes that this Saul was a son of the second wife of Simeon]

The Baal HaTurim (Numbers 25:15) connects the names Zimri and Shelumiel:

The numerical value (gematria) of Shelumiel is the same as "Zimri son of Salu"

Who was Cozbi, daughter of Zur?

The Torah writes (Numbers 25:15):

And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed, was Cozbi daughter of Zur, the head of a house in Midian

The Torah refers to Zur later on (Numbers 31:8) as a king of Midian, making Cozbi a princess of Midian.

Midrash Aggada (Numbers 25:2) writes that Cozbi was the daughter of Balak (who was a king of Moab - see Numbers 22:4), also making her a princess of Moab instead of Midian:

And Cozbi was the daughter of Balak

The Talmud (Sanhedrin 82b) tells us that her real name was Shelonai:

Rav Sheshes says: Her name was not Cozbi but Shelonai daughter of Zur. Why was she called Cozbi? Because she falsified against her father. Another explanation: She told her father "let this nation be slaughtered through me".

Rashi (ibid) explains that she rebelled by going with Zimri:

Her father commanded her to listen only to the greatest among them [but she went with Zimri instead]

How many people in Tanach are named Zimri? 

Five, possibly six.

1. Prince of Simeon in our parsha (Numbers 25:14):

And the name of the Jewish man who was killed together with the Midianite woman, was Zimri son of Salu, prince of a tribal house in the tribe of Simeon

2. Zimri, king of Israel who reigned for seven days (Kings I 16:9-20):

During the twenty-seventh year of Asa, the king of Judah, Zimri reigned for seven days in Tirzah while the people were encamped around Gibbethon, of the Philistines.

[see also Kings II 9:31 where Jezebel addresses Jehu as "Zimri", see Rashi there. Incidentally the name Cozbi means "traitor" according to the Talmud Sanhedrin 82b (see above)]  

3. Grandson of Judah, son of Jacob (Chronicles I 2:6): 

And the sons of Zerah: Zimri, and Ethan, and Heman, and Calcol, and Dara; all of them five.

4. Descendent of King Saul (Chronicles I 8:33-36, see also Chronicles I 8:39-42):

And Ner begot Kish, and Kish begot Saul, and Saul begot Jonathan, and Malcishua, and Abinadab, and Eshbaal. And Jonathan's son was Merib-Baal, and Merib-baal begot Micah. And the sons of Micah: Pithon, and Melech, and Tarea, and Ahaz. And Ahaz begot Jehoaddah, and Jehoaddah begot Alemeth, and Azmaveth, and Zimri, and Zimri begot Moza.

5. Achan, who took spoils from the ruins of Jericho (see Joshua 7:1) as per Talmud (Sanhedrin 44b) that identifies Achan as having the name Zimri:

Here he is called "Zimri", but elsewhere, "Achan". Rav and Samuel disagreed about this: one maintains his real name was Achan; and why was he called Zimri? - Because he acted like Zimri. The other maintains, His real name was Zimri; and why was he called Achan? - Because he wound the sins of Israel about them like a serpent.

(see also another place in Jeremiah 25:25 regarding a country, and Radak there that it refers to Zimran, son of Keturah)

It is interesting to note that many of these are related to either a rebellion or kingship, or both. Zimri in our parsha (#1), Zimri, king of Israel (#2) and Achan (#5), were rebels. Zimri in our parsha was a prince (#1), Zimri, king of Israel was a king (#2), the grandson of Judah (#3) was of a kingly tribe, the descendent of Saul, was from a king (#4), and the possible #6 refers to kings. I have not found an explanation for this.

Bonus #1 - How many people in Tanach are named Saul?

1. Saul, son of Simeon, grandson of Jacob (Genesis 46:10):

And the sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, and Zohar, and Saul the son of the Canaanitess.

2. Saul, a king of Edom (Genesis 36:37-38):

Samlah died, and Saul of Rehoboth by the river became king in his place. Saul died, and Baal Hanan, son of Achbor, became king in his place.

3. King Saul (Samuel I 9:1-2):

Now there was a man of Benjamin, and his name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite man, a mighty man of power. And he had a son whose name was Saul. He was young and handsome, there was no one among the Jews better looking than him; from his shoulders and up he was taller than anyone else.

4. Zimri in this week's parsha, as per the Talmud (Sanhedrin 82b):

 Rabbi Yochanan says: Zimri had five names - Zimri, son of Salu, Saul, son of Canaanite woman (see Genesis 46:10), and Shelumiel son of Zurishadai, ...and his real name was Shelumiel son of Zuri-Shadai

Incidentally,  #2, #3, and #4 are all related to kingship. There is also a tradition, that #1 was a son of Schechem, son of Hamor, who was a prince. However, I have not found any source tying these together.

Bonus #2: The Rule of Fives

There are five chieftains of Midian (one is Zur, is Cozbi's father) (Numbers 31:8):

And they killed the kings of Midian upon their corpses: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian, and Balaam the son of Beor they killed through the sword

There are five houses in the tribe of Simeon (one is headed by Zimri) (Numbers 26:12-13):

The descendants of Simeon according to their families: the family of the Nemuelites from Nemuel, the family of the Jaminites from Jamin, the family of the Jachinites from Jachin, the family of the Zerahites from Zerah, the family of the Shaulites from Shaul.

There are five daughters of Zelophehad (Numbers 27:1):

The daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph, came forward, and his daughters' names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

 (I was not able to find any sources that explain the connection)

[parshapeople.blogspot.com]