לָכֵן אֱמֹר הִנְנִי נֹתֵן לוֹ אֶת בְּרִיתִי שָׁלוֹם.
Therefore say, 'Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace.'
This is a continuation of the previous possuk: פִּינְחָס בֶּן אֶּלְעָזָר בֶּן אַהֲרֹן הַכֹהֵן הֵשִּיב אֶּת חֲמָתִּי מֵעַל בְנֵי יִּשְרָאֵל בְקַנְאוֹ אֶּת קִּנְאָתִּי בְתוֹכָם וְלֹא כִּלִּיתִּי אֶּת בְנֵי יִּשְרָאֵל בְקִּנְאָתִּי - Pinchas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from the Children of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I didn't consume the Children of Israel in my jealousy. Because of this, Hashem gave him his covenant of peace.
The Ohr Hachaim asks, the next possuk says תַחַת אֲשֶּר קִּנֵא לֵאלוֹקיו וַיְכַפֵר עַל בְנֵי יִּשְרָאֵל - because he was jealous for his God, and caused an atonement for the Children of Israel. The reason for the covenant of peace was both because of his act of jealousy and due to that which he did for Klal Yisroel. This makes it obvious that this covenant of peace was a reward for Pinchas’ jealousy for Hashem’s sake and his saving of Klal Yisroel. Why did the Torah find it necessary to tell us the word לָכֵן - therefore? Would we not know this on our own?
The Ohr Hachaim deduces that the possuk must be telling us that Hashem swore an oath to this covenant. The possuk never meant this as a reason for the covenant of peace. The word לָכֵן - therefore - alludes to an oath, as the possuk (Shmuel I 3:14) says, וְלָכֵן נִּשְבַעְתִּי לְבֵית עֵלִּי אִּם יִּתְכַפֵר עֲוֹן בֵית עֵלִּי בְזֶּבַח וּבְמִנְחָה עַד עוֹלָם - And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be expiated with sacrifice or offering forever. Hashem swore an oath to Pinchas that he would keep his bond of peace with him.
The Ohr Hachaim continues with the next question. Why, indeed, was an oath necessary? Why is Hashem’s word not sufficient? The Ohr Hachaim answers that Hashem’s gift can be retracted if the recipient is deemed unworthy. If Hashem would merely have granted a gift of priesthood to Pinchas, if his descendants strayed from their lofty level, this gift may have been retracted. When Hashem granted this gift with an oath, they could be sure of this gift under all circumstances. Even if they do not act as they should, and they were not worthy of their gift, Hashem would keep it up and the covenant of peace is theirs.
The Ohr Hachaim continues with another explanation. Chazal (Zevachim 101b) teach us that until the story of Zimri, Pinchas wasn’t considered a cohen. Aaron and his children were chosen as cohanim, as well as their future children. However, any children who had been born by then, were not included in the sanctification of the cohanim. He was not salved with the holy oil when the rest of the family of Aharon were chosen, and the lack of this sanctification prevented him from serving as a priest. Only after he performed his brave act of jealousy on Hashem’s behalf, did he become a Cohen.
This could be in one of two methods; either it could be done as a removal of an impediment to the priesthood, or as a novel gift of priesthood from Hashem. When the cohanim were chosen, something prevented Pinchas from being among them. Now that Pinchas was made into a cohen, that prevention was removed. Alternatively, he could have received a brand-new gift from Hashem called priesthood, where he can act as a cohen, irrespective of his previous status. Halachically, there is a difference between a relinquishment, known as ‘mechila’, and a gift, known as a ‘matana.’ A relinquishment or forgiveness does not require an action, a ‘kinyan’ to make it take effect. If the person relinquishes his rights, all he needs to do is decide in his mind to relinquish that right, and it is done. However, when granting a gift, a ‘kinyan’ is necessary. Without it, a person can change his mind whenever he wants.
There are other benefits to using the ‘mechila’ method as opposed to ‘matana’. If Hashem had merely released the preclusion of Pinchas becoming a cohen, transforming Pinchas into a cohen in the form of Aaron and his sons, the cancelation and eradication of complainants against the choice of cohanim applied to him, too, and he was in no danger of future Korachs. However, if he received this as a gift from Hashem, he did not have the benefit of the punishment of Korach to solidify his position. If anyone were to bring up any objections to his position, he would be on his own.
Another benefit of the ‘mechila’ method is that it grants him all of the benefits of being a cohen. If he received this priesthood as a gift, one might think that he only received a limited version of this priesthood; he was not necessarily a full cohen. Now that he is a cohen like all others, he can pass this priesthood to his descendants too; nobody can claim that his kehuna is somewhat lacking.
In summary, there are three benefits to granting Pinchas the priesthood through the release of the impediment to his original salving as a Cohen: 1. This method does not require a positive action to take effect, 2. No objection is possible anymore, and 3. The priesthood is now his forever, with no limitations.
However, Hashem wished to show Pinchas how beloved his action was, and wished to give him the priesthood as a gift. In order to do so, He made sure to give him this gift with all three issues taken care of.
First, to compensate for the need for a kinyan, Hashem swore to give him the priesthood. An oath compensates for the lack of a kinyan.
Second, to ensure that no objection would disturb him, Hashem promised him a covenant of peace. Nobody would hate him because he exudes peace.
Third, there was no way that the priesthood could be taken away from his children, because Hashem promised וְהָיְתָה לוֹ וּלְזַרְ עוֹ אַחֲרָיו בְרִּ ית כְהֻנַת עוֹלָם - And it shall be to him and to his seed after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood.
