Phinehas uses this rhetorical question to rebuke by evoking shared traumatic memory. He forces the eastern tribes to recall Peor’s devastating consequences, 24,000 dead, thereby framing their altar-building as potential repetition of catastrophic unfaithfulness rather than stating an accusation directly.

The eastern tribes responded with an oath invoking God as witness, declaring they had not built the altar for rebellion but as a memorial witness to prevent future generations from being excluded from worship. They invited destruction if their intent was treasonous (Joshua 22:21-29).

Phinehas’s question employs the rhetorical device of erotema, where the answer is assumed and the question itself performs the accusation. The Hebrew construction uses the negative particle lo with the interrogative ha, creating emphatic force: ‘Is it not the case that…?’ This form appears frequently in prophetic rebukes. By choosing a question rather than direct accusation, Phinehas allows room for the accused to recognize their error themselves, consistent with his role as mediator rather than executioner. The reference to Peor carries theological weight beyond mere memory; it establishes precedent that mixture with Canaanite practices brings covenant curse. The phrase ‘too little’ (m’at) implies sufficiency of warning: one such judgment should forever inoculate Israel against repeating the sin.