1And Jehovah will speak to Moses, saying, 2Avenge the avenging of the sons of Israel of the Midianites: afterwards thou shalt be gathered to thy people. 3And Moses will speak to the people, saying, Arm from yourselves the men for war, and they shall be against Midian, to give the avenging of Jehovah upon Midian. 4A thousand to a tribe, a thousand to a tribe, for all the tribes of Israel, ye shall send to war. 5And there shall be separated from the thousands of Israel a thousand for a tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6And Moses will send them a thousand for a tribe, to war, them and Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest, to war, and the holy vessels, and the trumpets of the signal in his hand. 7And they will go forth against Midian as Jehovah commanded Moses; and they killed every male. 8And they killed the kings of Midian upon those being slain: Evi and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: and they killed Balaam, son of Beor, with the sword. 9And the sons of Israel will take captive the women of Midian and their little ones, and all their cattle, and all their possessions, and they plundered all their strength. 10And their cities with their dwellings, and all their walls they burnt in fire. 11And they will take all the plunder and all the spoil, in man and in cattle. 12And they will bring to Moses and to Eleazar the priest, and to the assembly of the sons of Israel, the captivity and the spoil and the plunder, to the camp to the desert of Moab, which is by Jordan of Jericho. 13And Moses and Eleazar the priest, and all the chiefs of the assembly will come forth to their meeting without the camp. 14And Moses will be angry against the officers of the army, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds coming from the war of the battle. 15And Moses will say to them, Preserved ye alive every female? 16Behold, they were to the sons of Israel by the word of Balaam for separating treacherously against Jehovah, concerning the word of Peor; and there will be a smiting in the assembly of Jehovah. 17And now kill every male among the little ones; and every woman know in man by the bed of a male, do ye kill. 18And all the little ones among the women who knew not the bed of a male, preserve ye alive for yourselves. 19And encamp ye without the camp seven days: every one killing a soul, and every one touching upon the wounded, ye shall be purified in the third day, and in the seventh day, ye and your captivity. 20And every garment and every vessel of skin, and every work of goats' hair, and every vessel of wood, ye shall purify. 21And Eleazar the priest will say to the men of war coming from the battle, This the law of instruction which Jehovah commanded Moses: 22Only the gold and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead, 23Every thing which shall come through fire ye shall make pass through fire, and it was cleansed: only with the water of uncleanness shall it be purified: and all which will not come through the fire ye shall make pass through the water. 24And wash ye your garments in the seventh day, and be purified, and afterwards ye shall come into the camp. 25And Jehovah will speak to Moses, saying, 26Take the head of the spoil of the captivity, in man and in cattle, thou and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the fathers of the assembly 27And divide the spoil between them taking hold of the battle, going forth to war, and between all the assembly: 28And cast a tribute to Jehovah from the men of the battle going forth to war: one soul from five hundred, from the men and from the oxen, and from the asses, and from the sheep: 29Ye shall take from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest, an offering of Jehovah. 30And from the sons of Israel's half thou shalt take one taking from fifty, from the men, from the oxen, from the asses, and from the sheep, from all the cattle, and give them to the Levites watching the watches of the dwelling of Jehovah. 31And Moses will do, and Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses. 32And the remainder of the spoil plundered which the people of war plundered, will be six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep, 33And the oxen two and seventy thousand, 34And the asses, one and sixty thousand, 35And the souls of man, from the women which knew not the bed of a male all the souls, two and thirty thousand. 36And half of the portion of those having gone forth in the war, the Numbers of the sheep will be three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred. 37And the tribute to Jehovah will be from the sheep, six hundred five and seventy. 38And the oxen, six and thirty thousand; and their tribute to Jehovah, two and seventy. 39And the asses thirty thousand and five hundred; and their tribute to Jehovah, one and sixty. 40And the souls of man, sixteen thousand; and their tribute to Jehovah, two and thirty souls. 41And Moses will give the tribute, an offering of Jehovah, to Eleazar the priest, as Jehovah commanded Moses. 42And from the sons of Israel's half which Moses divided from the men having warred, 43(And the assembly's half from the sheep, will be three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand five hundred, 44And the oxen, six and thirty thousand, 45And the asses, thirty thousand and five hundred, 46And the souls of man, sixteen thousand;) 47Moses will take from the sons of Israel's half, one taking from fifty, from man and from cattle, and he will give them to the Levites watching the watches of the tent of Jehovah; as Jehovah commanded Moses. 48And there will come near to Moses the officers which are over the thousands of the war, captains of thousands and captains of hundreds: 49And they will say to Moses, Thy servants took the head of the men of the battle which are in our hand, and a man was not missed from us. 50And we will bring an offering to Jehovah, what each found, vessels of gold, armbands, and bracelets, rings, ear-rings, and globules of gold, to expiate for our souls before Jehovah. 51And Moses will take, and Eleazar the priest, all the gold from them, all the vessels of work. 52And all the gold of the offering which they lifted up to Jehovah, will be sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels, from the captains of thousands and from the captains of hundreds. 53The men of war plundered each for himself. 54And Moses will take, and Eleazar the priest, the gold from the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and they will bring it to the tent of appointment, a remembrance for the sons 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.