Who was Salu in the Bible?

Salu was a man from the tribe of Simeon, known primarily as the father of Zimri. His son was a tribal prince who was killed for bringing a Midianite woman into the Israelite camp (Numbers 25:14).

Why is Salu mentioned in the Bible?

Salu is mentioned to identify his son, Zimri, during a critical event. Zimri's sin of idolatry and immorality with the Midianite woman Cozbi led to a plague and a decisive act of judgment by Phinehas (Numbers 25:6-15).

What happened to Salu's son in the Bible?

Salu's son, Zimri, was killed by Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron. Phinehas drove a spear through both Zimri and the Midianite woman, Cozbi, to stop a plague sent by God for Israel's idolatry (Numbers 25:7-8).

Salu

Old TestamentEgypt & WildernessMaleFather

Salu was the father of Zimri, a Simeonite prince who was killed by Phinehas for his involvement with a Midianite woman.

Salu

Biography

Salu was a leader of the tribe of Simeon during Israel's wilderness sojourn whose name enters the biblical record primarily through the catastrophic actions of his son Zimri. In Numbers 25:14, in the aftermath of the Baal Peor apostasy, when Israelite men engaged in sexual immorality with Moabite and Midianite women and in idolatrous worship, Zimri son of Salu audaciously brought a Midianite woman, Cozbi, into the camp in full view of Moses and the weeping congregation. Phinehas, grandson of Aaron, intervened by executing both Zimri and Cozbi with a spear, halting the divine plague that had already claimed twenty-four thousand lives. Salu's identification as a "chief" (nasi) of Simeon underscores the tribal leadership status of the family involved.

Significance

Salu's significance in Scripture derives entirely from his son's brazenly defiant act during one of Israel's most grievous apostasies. The Baal Peor incident of Numbers 25 represents a critical theological crisis, Israel's covenant fidelity tested by sexual immorality and idolatry on the very threshold of the Promised Land. That Zimri was the son of a Simeonite tribal leader amplified the severity of the transgression, as covenant leaders bore heightened responsibility before God. Salu's legacy is thus cautionary: family prominence and tribal nobility provide no immunity from moral catastrophe. The episode also establishes Phinehas's zeal for God's honor as a paradigm of righteous intervention, later celebrated in Psalm 106:30-31 as credited to him as righteousness.

Authority Records

Wikidata

FatherZimri

Verse Appearances (1)

Numbers

Numbers 25:14

References

Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References (TIPNR). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]

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