Numbers 31:39-49

39 And asses, thirty thousand and five hundred, and the tribute to the Lord, sixty-one:

40 and the persons, sixteen thousand, and the tribute of them to the Lord, thirty-two souls.

41 And Moses gave the tribute to the Lord, the heave-offering of God, to Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses;

42 from the half belonging to the children of Israel, whom Moses separated from the men of war.

43 And the half from the sheep, belonging to the congregation, was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand and five hundred.

44 And the oxen, thirty-six thousand;

45 asses, thirty thousand and five hundred;

46 and persons, sixteen thousand.

47 And Moses took of the half belonging to the children of Israel the fiftieth part, of men and of cattle, and he gave them to the Levites who keep the charges of the tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.

48 And all those who were appointed to be officers of thousands of the host, captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, approached Moses, and said to Moses,

49 Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war with us, and not one is missing.

Numbers 31:39-49 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 31

This chapter contains an order to make war upon Midian, which was accordingly done, Nu 31:1-12, but Moses was wroth, because they saved the women alive, who, through the counsel of Balaam, had been the cause of sin, and of the plague for it in Israel, and therefore orders them, and the male children, to be slain, Nu 31:13-18, and then directs to the purification of the soldiers, their captives and spoil, Nu 31:19-24, and by the command of God an account is taken of the prey, and a division of it made between the soldiers and the congregation, and out of each part a tribute is levied for the Lord, Nu 31:25-31 and the sum of the whole booty is given, Nu 31:32-35 and of the part which belonged to the soldiers, and of the tribute given to the Lord, Nu 31:36-41 and of the part which belonged to the children of Israel, Nu 31:42-47 and besides the above tribute to the Lord, the officers made a voluntary oblation out of their spoil, both by way of gratitude for sparing their lives, and to make atonement for their souls, Nu 31:48-54.

Footnotes

• [a]. the one out of the fifty.