Numbers 31:27

27 Divide what was taken into two equal parts, one part for the soldiers and the other part for the rest of the community.

Numbers 31:27 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 31:27

And divide the prey into two parts
Into two equal parts, both the number of the people and of the cattle, when taken:

between them that took the war upon them, and went out to battle;
the soldiers; and by this it appears that they went voluntarily and cheerfully:

and between all the congregation;
so that the part of them that went to battle, and of those that stayed in the camp, were alike, and which in process of time became a statute and ordinance, ( 1 Samuel 30:24 1 Samuel 30:25 ) ( Psalms 68:12 ) .

Numbers 31:27 In-Context

25 The Lord said to Moses,

26 "You and Eleazar, together with the other leaders of the community, are to count everything that has been captured, including the prisoners and the animals.

27 Divide what was taken into two equal parts, one part for the soldiers and the other part for the rest of the community.

28 From the part that belongs to the soldiers, withhold as a tax for the Lord one out of every five hundred prisoners and the same proportion of the cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats.

29 Give them to Eleazar the priest as a special contribution to the Lord.