Numbers 31:4-14

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

5 And there were levied out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand by tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.

6 And 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.

7 And they warred against Midian, as Jehovah had commanded Moses, and slew all the males.

8 And 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.

9 And 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;

10 and all their cities in their settlements and all their encampments they burned with fire.

11 And they took all the booty, and all the prey, of man and of cattle;

12 and 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.

13 And Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the princes of the assembly went forth to meet them outside the camp.

14 And 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;

Numbers 31:4-14 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]. Or 'instruments of the sanctuary.'
• [b]. Or 'and.'
• [c]. Lit. 'captivity.'