Numbers 31

The LORD spoke to Moses and said,

1And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

2"Pay back the Midianites for what they did to the people of Israel. After that, you will die and join your people who have died before you."

2Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.

NoteThe Midianites were a group of tent-dwelling and herding peoples ranging over the deserts east and south of Canaan, sometimes trading, sometimes raiding. Genesis traces them to Midian, a son of Abraham by Keturah, so the biblical writers understood them as distant relatives of Israel. The word translated "pay back" (Hebrew *naqam*) means punishment exacted by a rightful authority for a wrong already done, not a private grudge.

3So Moses said to the people, "Get some of your men ready for war. Send them against the Midianites to carry out the LORD's payback on Midian.

3And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the LORD of Midian.

Note"Carry out the LORD's payback on Midian" reflects a Hebrew phrase that treats the offense at Peor (see verse 16) as committed against the LORD himself, so the punishment is described as his rather than Israel's.

4Send a thousand men to the war from each tribe of Israel."

4Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war.

5So a thousand men were provided from each tribe of Israel, out of all their thousands: twelve thousand men armed for war.

5So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.

NoteThe Hebrew word for "thousand" (*elef*) is also the name of a military and clan unit, so "out of all their thousands" can mean either the numerical thousands of men or the army's organized companies.

6Moses sent them to the war, a thousand from each tribe. He sent with them Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, who carried the holy objects from the worship tent and the trumpets used to give signals.

6And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy instruments, and the trumpets to blow in his hand.

NotePhinehas was the son of Eleazar the high priest and grandson of Aaron. He is the man who, in the earlier incident at Peor (Numbers 25), killed an Israelite man and the Midianite woman with him and so stopped the plague, which is why he is the priest sent on this particular campaign. The "holy objects" translate a vague Hebrew phrase ("the holy things" or "holy vessels"); it may mean equipment from the sanctuary, or the priestly objects used for seeking a decision from God. The trumpets are the two silver trumpets of Numbers 10, blown to muster the camp, signal a march, and sound the alarm in battle.

7They fought against the Midianites, just as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they killed every male.

7And they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew all the males.

8Along with the others who were killed, they killed the kings of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.

8And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.

NoteBalaam was the foreign seer of Numbers 22–24, hired by Balak of Moab to curse Israel; he blessed them instead. Verse 16 reflects a tradition that he afterwards advised the Midianite and Moabite women in the affair at Peor. Zur, one of the five kings, is named in Numbers 25:15 as the father of Cozbi, the Midianite woman killed by Phinehas.

9The people of Israel took the Midianite women and their children as captives. They also took as plunder all their herds, all their flocks, and all their goods.

9And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods.

10They burned down all the cities where the Midianites had lived, and all their camps.

10And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire.

NoteThe word behind "camps" (KJV "goodly castles") is uncertain. It seems to mean a ring of tents or huts enclosed by a wall, the kind of fortified encampment used by herding peoples, as distinct from a walled town.

11They carried off everything they had taken, both people and animals.

11And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts.

12They brought the captives, the animals, and the goods to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the whole community of Israel, at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan River, across from Jericho.

12And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho.

NoteThe plains of Moab were the flat stretch of the Jordan valley on the east bank, opposite Jericho. This is Israel's last camp before crossing the river, and the setting for everything from Numbers 22 to the end of Deuteronomy.

13Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the community went out to meet them outside the camp.

13And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp.

NoteThe leaders go out rather than waiting inside because the returning army is ritually unclean from contact with the dead and cannot enter the camp yet (see verse 19).

14Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, who were coming back from the battle.

14And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle.

NoteIsrael's army is described as organized in units of a thousand and of a hundred, each with its own commander, the structure of civil and military leadership set out in Exodus 18.

15He said to them, "Have you let all the women live?

15And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?

16Look, these are the women who followed Balaam's advice and led the people of Israel to be unfaithful to the LORD in what happened at Peor, so that a deadly sickness struck the LORD's people.

16Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.

Note"What happened at Peor" refers to Numbers 25, where Israelite men at Shittim joined Moabite and Midianite women in the worship of the local god, Baal of Peor, and a plague killed twenty-four thousand people. "Unfaithful" translates a word used both for breaking faith with God and for a wife's adultery.

17So now kill every boy among the children, and kill every woman who has slept with a man.

17Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.

18But keep alive for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.

18But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.

Note"Keep alive for yourselves" means the girls became part of Israelite households, as servants or eventually as wives. Deuteronomy 21:10–14 sets out rules for marrying a woman taken captive in war.

19And you yourselves must stay outside the camp for seven days. Anyone who has killed a person, and anyone who has touched a dead body, must be made clean on the third day and on the seventh day, along with your captives.

19And do ye abide without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify both yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day.

NoteUnder the law of Numbers 19, anyone who killed a person or touched a corpse, a grave, or even a tent where someone had died became ritually unclean for seven days and had to stay outside the camp. Being unclean is a matter of ceremonial status, not guilt or dirt: it barred a person from the sanctuary until the set washings on the third and seventh days were done.

20Make clean every piece of clothing, everything made of leather, everything made of goat hair, and everything made of wood."

20And purify all your raiment, and all that is made of skins, and all work of goats’ hair, and all things made of wood.

NoteCloth, leather, goat hair (woven into tent cloth and sacking) and wood are the porous materials, which absorb uncleanness and so must be washed rather than burned or melted.

21Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into the battle, "This is the rule in the law that the LORD commanded Moses:

21And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war which went to the battle, This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses;

22Only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead,

22Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead,

23that is, everything that can stand up to fire, must be put through the fire, and then it will be clean. Even so, it must also be made clean with the water used for cleansing. Everything that cannot stand up to fire must be put through the water.

23Every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean: nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go through the water.

Note"The water used for cleansing" is the mixture described in Numbers 19: spring water combined with the ashes of a red heifer burned outside the camp, sprinkled on a person or object to remove the uncleanness that came from contact with the dead.

24On the seventh day you must wash your clothes, and then you will be clean. After that you may come into the camp."

24And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye shall come into the camp.

25The LORD spoke to Moses and said,

25And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

26"You, Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the families of the community are to count everything that was taken, both people and animals.

26Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the chief fathers of the congregation:

27Then divide what was taken into two parts, one for the soldiers who went out to battle and one for the rest of the community.

27And divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war upon them, who went out to battle, and between all the congregation:

NoteSplitting captured goods evenly between the men who fought and those who stayed behind was a known custom in Israel; David later makes it a standing rule after a raid (1 Samuel 30:24–25).

28From the soldiers who went out to battle, set aside a payment for the LORD: one out of every five hundred, whether people, cattle, donkeys, or sheep.

28And levy a tribute unto the Lord of the men of war which went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep:

NoteA "payment" here is a levy or tax taken off the top of the soldiers' share before they keep the rest, one animal or person in five hundred, a fifth of one percent.

29Take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest as a gift lifted up and presented to the LORD.

29Take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, for an heave offering of the LORD.

Note"A gift lifted up and presented" translates the Hebrew *terumah*, literally something raised or set apart from a larger quantity and handed over to the sanctuary. It is the standard word for a contribution given to the priests.

30From the half that belongs to the people of Israel, take one out of every fifty, whether people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, or any other animals. Give them to the Levites, who take care of the LORD's worship tent."

30And of the children of Israel’s half, thou shalt take one portion of fifty, of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the flocks, of all manner of beasts, and give them unto the Levites, which keep the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.

NoteThe Levites were the tribe set apart to carry, guard, pitch and service the worship tent. They were not priests, only Aaron's line served at the altar, but they did the tribe's practical and guard duties and, owning no territory, lived on shares like this one.

31So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD had commanded Moses.

31And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.

32What was left of the plunder the soldiers had taken came to 675,000 sheep,

32And the booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had caught, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep,

Note"Sheep" translates a general word for small livestock, covering both sheep and goats. The figures that follow are laid out so that each share matches the fractions commanded in verses 28 and 30 exactly.

3372,000 cattle,

33And threescore and twelve thousand beeves,

3461,000 donkeys,

34And threescore and one thousand asses,

35and 32,000 people in all, women who had never slept with a man.

35And thirty and two thousand persons in all, of women that had not known man by lying with him.

36The half that went to those who had gone to war came to 337,500 sheep,

36And the half, which was the portion of them that went out to war, was in number three hundred thousand and seven and thirty thousand and five hundred sheep:

37and the LORD's share of the sheep was 675.

37And the LORD’s tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and fifteen.

38The cattle were 36,000, and the LORD's share of them was 72.

38And the beeves were thirty and six thousand; of which the LORD’s tribute was threescore and twelve.

39The donkeys were 30,500, and the LORD's share of them was 61.

39And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred; of which the LORD’s tribute was threescore and one.

40The people were 16,000, and the LORD's share of them was 32 people.

40And the persons were sixteen thousand; of which the LORD’s tribute was thirty and two persons.

41Moses gave that share, which was the gift lifted up and presented to the LORD, to Eleazar the priest, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

41And Moses gave the tribute, which was the LORD’s heave offering, unto Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.

42This was the half belonging to the people of Israel, which Moses had set apart from the share of the men who had fought.

42And of the children of Israel’s half, which Moses divided from the men that warred,

43The half that belonged to the community came to 337,500 sheep,

43(Now the half that pertained unto the congregation was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep,

4436,000 cattle,

44And thirty and six thousand beeves,

4530,500 donkeys,

45And thirty thousand asses and five hundred,

46and 16,000 people.

46And sixteen thousand persons;)

47From this half belonging to the people of Israel, Moses took one out of every fifty, both people and animals, and gave them to the Levites, who took care of the LORD's worship tent, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

47Even of the children of Israel’s half, Moses took one portion of fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites, which kept the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.

48Then the officers who were over the army's units, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, came to Moses

48And the officers which were over thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses:

49and said to him, "We, your servants, have counted the soldiers under our command, and not one man of ours is missing.

49And they said unto Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war which are under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us.

NoteCounting fighting men was regarded as risky: Exodus 30:12 requires each man counted in a census to pay a ransom "so that no plague will come on them." The officers report a count with no losses and immediately bring the gold, which is why the gift is described in the next verse as making things right for their lives.

50So we have brought a gift for the LORD. Each man has brought the gold objects he got: armbands, bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces. We bring them to make things right for ourselves before the LORD."

50We have therefore brought an oblation for the LORD, what every man hath gotten, of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and tablets, to make an atonement for our souls before the LORD.

NoteThe exact sense of several of these Hebrew words for gold ornaments is uncertain; they cover armbands worn on the upper arm, bangles, signet or nose rings, earrings, and pendants or beads worn at the neck. "To make things right" translates a word meaning a ransom or covering price paid for a life.

51So Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, all of it worked into jewelry.

51And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels.

52All the gold that the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds gave to the LORD weighed 16,750 shekels.

52And all the gold of the offering that they offered up to the LORD, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels.

NoteA shekel was a weight, not a coin, coined money did not yet exist. It was roughly two-fifths of an ounce, about eleven and a half grams, so 16,750 shekels is somewhere near 420 pounds, or 190 kilograms, of gold.

53(Each of the soldiers had taken plunder for himself.)

53(For the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.)

54Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds and brought it into the tent where the people met with God, so it would be a reminder for the people of Israel before the LORD.

54And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of the congregation, for a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD.

Note"A reminder before the LORD" describes an object deposited in the sanctuary so that the event it stands for is kept permanently in view, the same idea as the engraved stones on the high priest's shoulders in Exodus 28:12.