Numbers 31

1 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

2 `Execute the vengeance of the sons of Israel against the Midianites -- afterwards thou art gathered unto thy people.'

3 And Moses speaketh unto the people, saying, `Be ye armed some of you for the host, and they are against Midian, to put the vengeance of Jehovah on Midian;

4 a thousand for a tribe -- a thousand for a tribe, to all the tribes of Israel -- ye do send to the host.'

5 And there are given out of the thousands of Israel a thousand for a tribe, twelve thousand armed ones of the host;

6 and Moses sendeth them, a thousand for a tribe, to the host, them and Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, to the host; and the holy vessels, and the trumpets of the shouting, in his hand.

7 And they war against Midian, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses, and slay every male;

8 and the kings of Midian they have slain, besides their pierced ones, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian; and Balaam son of Beor, they have slain with the sword.

9 And the sons of Israel take captive the women of Midian, and their infants; and all their cattle, and all their substance, and all their wealth they have plundered;

10 and all their cities, with their habitations, and all their towers, they have burnt with fire.

11 And they take all the spoil, and all the prey, among man and among beast;

12 and they bring in, unto Moses, and unto Eleazar the priest, and unto the company of the sons of Israel, the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto the camp, unto the plains of Moab, which [are] by Jordan, [near] Jericho.

13 And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the company, go out to meet them, unto the outside of the camp,

14 and Moses is wroth against the inspectors of the force, chiefs of the thousands, and chiefs of the hundreds, who are coming in from the host of the battle.

15 And Moses saith unto them, `Have ye kept alive every female?

16 lo, they -- they have been to the sons of Israel, through the word of Balaam, to cause a trespass against Jehovah in the matter of Peor, and the plague is in the company of Jehovah.

17 `And now, slay ye every male among the infants, yea, every woman known of man by the lying of a male ye have slain;

18 and all the infants among the women, who have not known the lying of a male, ye have kept alive for yourselves.

19 `And ye, encamp ye at the outside of the camp seven days -- any who hath slain a person, and any who hath come against a pierced one, ye cleanse yourselves on the third day, and on the seventh day -- ye and your captives;

20 and every garment, and every skin vessel, and every work of goats' [hair], and every wooden vessel, ye yourselves cleanse.'

21 And Eleazar the priest saith unto the men of the host who go in to battle, `This [is] the statute of the law which Jehovah hath commanded Moses:

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

23 every thing which may go into fire, ye cause to pass over through fire, and it hath been clean; only, with the water of separation it is cleansed, and all that may not go into fire, ye cause to pass over through water;

24 and ye have washed your garments on the seventh day, and have been clean, and afterwards ye come in unto the camp.'

25 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

26 `Take up the sum of the prey of the captives, among man and among beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the fathers of the company;

27 and thou hast halved the prey between those handling the battle who go out to the host and all the company;

28 and thou hast raised a tribute to Jehovah from the men of war, who go out to the host, one body out of five hundred, of man, and of the herd, and of the asses, and of the flock;

29 from their half ye do take, and thou hast given to Eleazar the priest -- the heave-offering of Jehovah.

30 `And from the sons of Israel's half thou dost take one possession out of fifty, of man, of the herd, of the asses, and of the flock, of all the cattle, and thou hast given them to the Levites keeping the charge of the tabernacle of Jehovah.'

31 And Moses doth -- Eleazar the priest also -- as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.

32 And the prey, the residue of the spoil which the people of the host have spoiled, is of the flock six hundred thousand, and seventy thousand, and five thousand;

33 and of the herd two and seventy thousand;

34 and of asses one and sixty thousand;

35 and of human beings -- of the women who have not known the lying of a male -- all the persons [are] two and thirty thousand.

36 And the half -- the portion of those who go out into the host -- the number of the flock is three hundred thousand, and thirty thousand, and seven thousand and five hundred.

37 And the tribute to Jehovah of the sheep is six hundred five and seventy;

38 and the herd [is] six and thirty thousand, and their tribute to Jehovah [is] two and seventy;

39 and the asses [are] thirty thousand and five hundred, and their tribute to Jehovah [is] one and sixty;

40 and the human beings [are] sixteen thousand, and their tribute to Jehovah [is] two and thirty persons.

41 And Moses giveth the tribute -- Jehovah's heave-offering -- to Eleazar the priest, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.

42 And of the sons of Israel's half, which Moses halved from the men who war --

43 and the company's half is, of the flock three hundred thousand, and thirty thousand, seven thousand and five hundred;

44 and of the herd six and thirty thousand;

45 and of asses thirty thousand and five hundred;

46 and of human beings sixteen thousand --

47 Moses taketh from the sons of Israel's half the one possession from the fifty, of man and of beast, and giveth them to the Levites keeping the charge of the tabernacle of Jehovah, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.

48 And the inspectors whom the thousands of the host hath, (heads of the thousands and heads of the hundreds), draw near unto Moses,

49 and they say unto Moses, `Thy servants have taken up the sum of the men of war who [are] with us, and not a man of us hath been missed;

50 and we bring near Jehovah's offering, each that which he hath found, vessels of gold -- chain, and bracelet, seal-ring, [ear]-ring, and bead -- to make atonement for ourselves before Jehovah.'

51 And Moses receiveth -- Eleazar the priest also -- the gold from them, every made vessel,

52 and all the gold of the heave-offering which they have lifted up to Jehovah is sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels, from heads of the thousands, and from heads of the hundreds;

53 (the men of the host have spoiled each for himself);

54 and Moses taketh -- Eleazar the priest also -- the gold from the heads of the thousands and of the hundreds, and they bring it in unto the tent of meeting -- a memorial for the sons of Israel before Jehovah.

Numbers 31 Commentary

Chapter 31

War with Midian. (1-6) Balaam slain. (7-12) Those slain who caused sin. (13-38) Purification of the Israelites. (39-24) Division of the spoil. (25-47) Offerings. (48-54)

Verses 1-6 All who, without commission from God, dare to execute private revenge, and who, from ambition, covetousness, or resentment, wage war and desolate kingdoms, must one day answer for it. But if God, instead of sending an earthquake, a pestilence, or a famine, be pleased to authorize and command any people to avenge his cause, such a commission surely is just and right. The Israelites could show such a commission, though no persons now can do so. Their wars were begun and carried on expressly by Divine direction, and they were enabled to conquer by miracles. Unless it can be proved that the wicked Canaanites did not deserve their doom, objectors only prove their dislike to God, and their love to his enemies. Man makes light of the evil of sin, but God abhors it. This explains the terrible executions of the nations which had filled the measure of their sins.

Verses 7-12 The Israelites slew the Kings of Midian. They slew Balaam. God's overruling providence brought him thither, and their just vengeance found him. Had he himself rightly believed what he had said of the happy state of Israel, he would not have thus herded with the enemies of Israel. The Midianites' wicked wiles were Balaam's projects: it was just that he should perish with them, ( Hosea 4:5 ) . They took the women and children captives. They burnt their cities and castles, and returned to the camp.

Verses 13-18 The sword of war should spare women and children; but the sword of justice should know no distinction, but that of guilty or not guilty. This war was the execution of a righteous sentence upon a guilty nation, in which the women were the worst criminals. The female children were spared, who, being brought up among the Israelites, would not tempt them to idolatry. The whole history shows the hatefulness of sin, and the guilt of tempting others; it teaches us to avoid all occasions of evil, and to give no quarter to inward lusts. The women and children were not kept for sinful purposes, but for slaves, a custom every where practised in former times, as to captives. In the course of providence, when famine and plagues visit a nation for sin, children suffer in the common calamity. In this case parents are punished in their children; and for children dying before actual sin, full provision is made as to their eternal happiness, by the mercy of God in Christ.

Verses 19-24 The Israelites had to purify themselves according to the law, and to abide without the camp seven days, though they had not contracted any moral guilt, the war being just and lawful, and commanded by God. Thus God would preserve in their minds a dread and detestation of shedding blood. The spoil had been used by Midianites, and being now come into the possession of Israelites, it was fit that it should be purified.

Verses 25-47 Whatever we have, God justly claims a part. Out of the people's share God required one in fifty, but out of the soldiers' share only one in five hundred. The less opportunity we have of honouring God with personal services, the more should we give in money or value.

Verses 48-54 The success of the Israelites had been very remarkable, so small a company overcoming such multitudes, but it was still more wonderful that not one was slain or missing. They presented the gold they found among the spoils, as an offering to the Lord. Thus they confessed, that instead of claiming a reward for their service, they needed forgiveness of much that had been amiss, and desired to be thankful for the preservation of their lives, which might justly have been taken away.

Chapter Summary

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.