כֹּזְבִי
Cozbi, a Midianitess
Definition
Cozbi is the name of a Midianite woman mentioned in Numbers 25. She was the daughter of Zur, a Midianite tribal chief, and was killed by Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, along with an Israelite man named Zimri. Her name, derived from the Hebrew root for 'false' or 'lie,' is significant to the narrative. Her actions, part of the incident at Baal-peor, directly contributed to a plague that struck Israel for engaging in idolatry and sexual immorality with the Moabites and Midianites (Numbers 25:1-9). The biblical text presents her not merely as an individual but as a representative figure of the seductive falsehood that led Israel away from covenant faithfulness.
Biblical Usage
The name Cozbi appears only twice in the Old Testament, both in Numbers 25. In Numbers 25:15, she is introduced as the daughter of a Midianite chief. In Numbers 25:18, Moses commands Israel to treat the Midianites as enemies, explicitly citing the incident involving Cozbi as the reason. Her usage is entirely within the context of the Baal-peor apostasy, marking her as a catalyst for divine judgment and a symbol of foreign corruption.
Etymology
The name כֹּזְבִי (Kozbi) is a proper noun derived from the root כָּזַב (kazav, H3576), meaning 'to lie, to be false, to fail.' It is related to the common noun כָּזָב (kazav), meaning 'a lie' or 'deception.' The name likely means 'my lie' or 'deceptive one,' which the biblical narrative thematically connects to the idolatrous deception she represented.
Semantic Range
Cozbi's story is theologically significant as it illustrates the severe consequences of covenant unfaithfulness and syncretism. Her role in the Baal-peor incident (Numbers 25) shows how relational and spiritual compromise with pagan nations provoked God's wrath. Phinehas's zealous action against her and Zimri halted a plague, highlighting themes of atonement, zeal for God's holiness, and the deadly seriousness of idolatry. Understanding her name's meaning ('false') enriches the reading by framing her as a personification of the deceptive allure of sin that leads to death.
As a Midianite chieftain's daughter, Cozbi came from a nomadic tribal people often in conflict with Israel. Her involvement with an Israelite leader (Zimri was a Simeonite prince) would have been seen as a high-level political or marital alliance, making the transgression and its public nature especially grievous in a tribal honor-shame society. Her killing was not just a punishment but a decisive, public act to purge evil from the community and re-establish covenant boundaries.
There are no direct synonyms for this proper name. Thematically, it connects to concepts of falsehood: כָּזָב (kazav, H3577) — a lie or deception, the common noun from the same root.
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
Full methodology & sources →