Numbers 31:40-50

40 and 16,000 persons, of whom ADONAI's tribute was thirty-two persons.

41 Moshe gave the tribute set apart for ADONAI to El'azar the cohen, as ADONAI had ordered Moshe.

42 From the half that went to people of Isra'el, which Moshe separated from that of the men who had gone to fight -

43 now the community's half consisted of 337,500 sheep,

44 36,000 cattle,

45 30,500 donkeys

46 and 16,000 persons -

47 from the people of Isra'el's half, Moshe took one-fiftieth of the persons and animals and gave them to the L'vi'im taking care of the tabernacle of ADONAI, as ADONAI had ordered Moshe.

48 The officers in charge of the thousands who fought, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, approached Moshe

49 and said to him, "Your servants have counted all the soldiers under our command, and not one of us is missing.

50 We have brought an offering for ADONAI, what every man has obtained in the way of gold jewelry -armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings and belts -to make atonement for ourselves before ADONAI."

Numbers 31:40-50 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.