Phinehas has turned away God's wrath by killing two sinners. So he has made atonement, and has received priesthood. But we notice the interpretation of Isa 53.12 in the sense of the atonement made by the Servant. J. Jeremias, New Testament Theology, pp. The general currency in the world of Jesus of ideas about the atoning power of death provides us with an answer to the question.
Any death has the power to atone if it is bound up with repentance.
Yet greater atoning power was attributed to the death of a witness to the faith. John S. Pobee, Persecution and Martyrdom in the Theology of Paul JSNT Supplement Series 6. K. Bornhauser, Das Wirken des Christus. E. Lohse, Martyrer und Gottesknecht Gottingen, l955, l963, pp. H. J. Schoeps, Paul.