1And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 2Avenge the children of Israel upon the Midianites; afterwards shalt thou be gathered unto thy peoples. 3And Moses spoke to the people, saying, Arm from amongst you men for military service, that they go against Midian to execute Jehovah’s vengeance upon Midian. 4Of every tribe a thousand, of all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war. 5And there were levied out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand by tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand by the tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, and the holy instruments, even the alarm-trumpets in his hand. 7And they warred against Midian, as Jehovah had commanded Moses, and slew all the males. 8And they slew the kings of Midian, besides the others slain, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian; and Balaam the son of Beor they slew with the sword. 9And the children of Israel took the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took for a spoil all their cattle and all their flocks and all their goods; 10and all their cities in their settlements and all their encampments they burned with fire. 11And they took all the booty, and all the prey, of man and of cattle; 12and they brought to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to the assembly of the children of Israel, the captives and the prey and the booty, to the camp in the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan of Jericho. 13And Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the princes of the assembly went forth to meet them outside the camp. 14And Moses was wroth with the officers of the army, with the captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, who came from the service of the war; 15and Moses said to them, Have ye saved all the women alive? 16Lo, these, through the counsel of Balaam, caused the children of Israel to commit sin against Jehovah in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague on the assembly of Jehovah. 17And now slay every male among the little ones, and slay every woman that hath known man by lying with him, 18but all the children among the women that have not known lying with a man, keep alive for yourselves. 19And encamp outside the camp seven days; whoever hath killed a person, and whoever hath touched any slain; ye shall purify yourselves on the third day, and on the seventh day, you and your captives. 20And every garment, and every vessel of skin, and all work of goat’s hair, and every utensil of wood shall ye purify. 21And Eleazar the priest said to the men of war that had gone to the battle, This is the statute of the law which Jehovah hath commanded Moses. 22Only the gold, and the silver, the copper, the iron, the tin, and the lead, 23everything that passeth through the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean; only it shall be purified with the water of separation; and everything that cannot pass through the fire ye shall make go through the water. 24And ye shall wash your garments on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean; and afterwards ye may come into the camp. 25And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 26Take the sum of the prey that was taken, of man and of cattle, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the chief fathers of the assembly; 27and divide the prey into halves, between them that conducted the war, who went out to the battle, and the whole assembly. 28And thou shalt levy a tribute for Jehovah of the men of war who went out to the army, one soul of five hundred of the persons, and of the oxen, and of the asses, and of the small cattle. 29Of their half shall ye take it, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, for a heave-offering of Jehovah. 30And of the children of Israel’s half, thou shalt take one portion of fifty, of the persons, of the oxen, of the asses, and of the small cattle, of every kind of beasts, and thou shalt give them unto the Levites, who keep the charge of the tabernacle of Jehovah. 31And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as Jehovah had commanded Moses. 32And the prey, the rest of the spoil, which the men of war had taken, was six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep, 33and seventy-two thousand oxen, 34and sixty-one thousand asses, 35and of human persons, of the women that had not known lying with a man, all the persons were thirty-two thousand. 36And the half, the portion of them that had gone out to the war, was in number three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, 37and the tribute for Jehovah of the sheep was six hundred and seventy-five; 38and the oxen were thirty-six thousand, and the tribute thereof for Jehovah, seventy-two; 39and the asses were thirty thousand five hundred, and the tribute thereof for Jehovah, sixty-one; 40and the human persons were sixteen thousand, of whom the tribute for Jehovah was thirty-two persons. 41And Moses gave the tribute of Jehovah’s heave-offering to Eleazar the priest, as Jehovah had commanded Moses. 42And of the children of Israel’s half, which Moses had divided, taking it from the men that served in the war, 43(now the half belonging to the assembly was of the sheep, three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred, 44and thirty-six thousand oxen, 45and thirty thousand five hundred asses, 46and sixteen thousand human persons,) 47…of the children of Israel’s half, Moses took one portion of fifty, of man and of cattle, and gave them to the Levites who kept the charge of the tabernacle of Jehovah; as Jehovah had commanded Moses. 48And the officers who were over the thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, came near to Moses, 49and they said to Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war who were under our hand, and there is not one man of us lacking. 50So we present the offering of Jehovah, that which each one hath found, jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make atonement for our souls before Jehovah. 51And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, all manner of wrought jewels. 52And all the gold of the heave-offering that they offered to Jehovah was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels, from the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds. 53(The men of war had taken spoil each one for himself.) 54And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tent of meeting, as a memorial for the children of Israel before Jehovah.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 THE MIDIANITES SPOILED AND BALAAM SLAIN. (Num. 31:1-54)
the Lord spake unto Moses, Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites--a semi-nomad people, descended from Abraham and Keturah, occupying a tract of country east and southeast of Moab, which lay on the eastern coast of the Dead Sea. They seem to have been the principal instigators of the infamous scheme of seduction, planned to entrap the Israelites into the double crime of idolatry and licentiousness [
Num 25:1-
Num 25:3,
Num 25:17-
Num 25:18] by which, it was hoped, the Lord would withdraw from that people the benefit of His protection and favor. Moreover, the Midianites had rendered themselves particularly obnoxious by entering into a hostile league with the Amorites (
Josh 13:21). The Moabites were at this time spared in consideration of Lot (
Deut 2:9) and because the measure of their iniquities was not yet full. God spoke of avenging "the children of Israel" [
Num 31:2]; Moses spoke of avenging the Lord [
Num 31:3], as dishonor had been done to God and an injury inflicted on His people. The interests were identical. God and His people have the same cause, the same friends, and the same assailants. This, in fact, was a religious war, undertaken by the express command of God against idolaters, who had seduced the Israelites to practise their abominations.
3 Arm some of yourselves--This order was issued but a short time before the death of Moses. The announcement to him of that approaching event [
Num 31:2] seems to have accelerated, rather than retarded, his warlike preparations.
5 there were delivered--that is, drafted, chosen, an equal amount from each tribe, to prevent the outbreak of mutual jealousy or strife. Considering the numerical force of the enemy, this was a small quota to furnish. But the design was to exercise their faith and animate them to the approaching invasion of Canaan.
6 Moses sent . . . Eleazar the priest, to the war--Although it is not expressly mentioned, it is highly probable that Joshua was the general who conducted this war. The presence of the priest, who was always with the army (
Deut 20:2), was necessary to preside over the Levites, who accompanied the expedition, and to inflame the courage of the combatants by his sacred services and counsels.
holy instruments--As neither the ark nor the Urim and Thummim were carried to the battlefield till a later period in the history of Israel, the "holy instruments" must mean the "trumpets" (
Num 10:9). And this view is agreeable to the text, by simply changing "and" into "even," as the Hebrew particle is frequently rendered.
7 they slew all the males--This was in accordance with a divine order in all such cases (
Deut 20:13). But the destruction appears to have been only partial--limited to those who were in the neighborhood of the Hebrew camp and who had been accomplices in the villainous plot of Baal-peor (
Num 25:1-
Num 25:3), while a large portion of the Midianites were absent on their pastoral wanderings or had saved themselves by flight. (Compare
Judg 6:1).
8 the kings of Midian--so called, because each was possessed of absolute power within his own city or district; called also dukes or princes of Sihon (
Josh 13:21), having been probably subject to that Amorite ruler, as it is not uncommon in the East to find a number of governors or pachas tributary to one great king.
Zur--father of Cozbi (
Num 25:15).
Balaam also . . . they slew with the sword--This unprincipled man, on his dismissal from Balak, set out for his home in Mesopotamia (
Num 24:25). But, either diverging from his way to tamper with the Midianites, he remained among them without proceeding farther, to incite them against Israel and to watch the effects of his wicked counsel; or, learning in his own country that the Israelites had fallen into the snare which he had laid and which he doubted not would lead to their ruin, he had, under the impulse of insatiable greed, returned to demand his reward from the Midianites. He was an object of merited vengeance. In the immense slaughter of the Midianitish people--in the capture of their women, children, and property and in the destruction of all their places of refuge--the severity of a righteous God fell heavily on that base and corrupt race. But, more than all others, Balaam deserved and got the just reward of his deeds. His conduct had been atrociously sinful, considering the knowledge he possessed, and the revelations he had received, of the will of God. For any one in his circumstances to attempt defeating the prophecies he had himself been the organ of uttering, and plotting to deprive the chosen people of the divine favor and protection, was an act of desperate wickedness, which no language can adequately characterize.
13 Moses, and Eleazar the priest, . . . went forth to meet them without the camp--partly as a token of respect and congratulation on their victory, partly to see how they had executed the Lord's commands, and partly to prevent the defilement of the camp by the entrance of warriors stained with blood.
14 And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host--The displeasure of the great leader, though it appears the ebullition of a fierce and sanguinary temper, arose in reality from a pious and enlightened regard to the best interests of Israel. No order had been given for the slaughter of the women, and in ancient war they were commonly reserved for slaves. By their antecedent conduct, however, the Midianitish women had forfeited all claims to mild or merciful treatment; and the sacred character, the avowed object of the war (
Num 31:2-
Num 31:3), made their slaughter necessary without any special order. But why "kill every male among the little ones"? It was designed to be a war of extermination, such as God Himself had ordered against the people of Canaan, whom the Midianites equalled in the enormity of their wickedness.
19 abide without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed any person . . . purify both yourselves and your captives--Though the Israelites had taken the field in obedience to the command of God, they had become defiled by contact with the dead. A process of purification was to be undergone, as the law required (
Lev 15:13;
Num 19:9-
Num 19:12), and this purifying ceremony was extended to dress, houses, tents, to everything on which a dead body had lain, which had been touched by the blood-stained hands of the Israelitish warriors, or which had been the property of idolaters. This became a standing ordinance in all time coming (
Lev 6:28;
Lev 11:33;
Lev 15:12).
25 Take the sum of the prey that was taken--that is, of the captives and cattle, which, having been first lumped together according to ancient usage (
Exod 15:9;
Judg 5:30), were divided into two equal parts: the one to the people at large, who had sustained a common injury from the Midianites and who were all liable to serve: and the other portion to the combatants, who, having encountered the labors and perils of war, justly received the largest share. From both parts, however, a certain deduction was taken for the sanctuary, as a thank offering to God for preservation and for victory. The soldiers had greatly the advantage in the distribution; for a five-hundredth part only of their half went to the priest, while a fiftieth part of the congregation's half was given to the Levites.
32 the booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had caught--Some of the captives having been killed (
Num 31:17) and part of the cattle taken for the support of the army, the total amount of the booty remaining was in the following proportions:
Prey Total Amount Half to Soldiers Deducted to God Half to Congregation Deducted to Levites
Sheep 675,000 337,500 675 337,500 6,750
Beeves 72,000 36,000 72 36,000 720
Asses 61,000 30,500 61 30,500 610
Persons 32,000 16,000 32 16,000 320
48 officers . . . said . . . there lacketh not one man of us--A victory so signal, and the glory of which was untarnished by the loss of a single Israelitish soldier, was an astonishing miracle. So clearly betokening the direct interposition of Heaven, it might well awaken the liveliest feelings of grateful acknowledgment to God (
Ps 44:2-
Ps 44:3). The oblation they brought for the Lord "was partly an atonement" or reparation for their error (
Num 31:14-
Num 31:16), for it could not possess any expiatory virtue, and partly a tribute of gratitude for the stupendous service rendered them. It consisted of the "spoil," which, being the acquisition of individual valor, was not divided like the "prey," or livestock, each soldier retaining it in lieu of pay; it was offered by the "captains" alone, whose pious feelings were evinced by the dedication of the spoil which fell to their share. There were jewels to the amount of 16,750 shekels, equal to Ł87,869 16s. 5d. sterling.
