The parashah and haftarah both address protagonists who showed zeal on behalf of God against apostasy by the Israelites. and 13 report that God laud's Phinehas's zeal for God ( and , "be-kan'o 'et kin'ati" and "kinnei' le-'lohav"), while in and 13 Elijah tells God of Elijah's zeal for God (, "kanno' kinnei'ti la-YHVH"). Immediately before the parashah, Phinehas killed Zimri and Cozbi to stem the Israelites' following of Baal-Peor in the Heresy of Peor, while immediately before the haftarah, Elijah killed the prophets of Baal to stem the Israelites' following of Baal. Targum Jonathan to Exodus 6:18 thus identified Phinehas with Elijah.