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Numbers
Chapter 31
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1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou
be gathered unto thy people.
3 And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto
the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the LORD of
Midian.
4 Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall
ye send to the war.
5 So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of
every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.
6 And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and
Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy
instruments, and the trumpets to blow in his hand.
7 And they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses;
and they slew all the males.
8 And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were
slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings
of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.
9 And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and
their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all
their flocks, and all their goods.
10 And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their
goodly castles, with fire.
11 And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of
beasts.
12 And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto
Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the
children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by
Jordan near Jericho.
13 And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the
congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp.
14 And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains
over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle.
15 And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?
16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of
Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and
there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.
17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every
woman that hath known man by lying with him.
18 But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with
him, keep alive for yourselves.
19 And do ye abide without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed
any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify both
yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day.
20 And purify all your raiment, and all that is made of skins, and all
work of goats' hair, and all things made of wood.
21 And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war which went to the
battle, This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded
Moses;
22 Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the
lead,
23 Every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the
fire, and it shall be clean: nevertheless it shall be purified with the
water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go
through the water.
24 And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be
clean, and afterward ye shall come into the camp.
25 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
26 Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast,
thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the chief fathers of the
congregation:
27 And divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war
upon them, who went out to battle, and between all the congregation:
28 And levy a tribute unto the LORD of the men of war which went out to
battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the
beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep:
29 Take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, for an
heave offering of the LORD.
30 And of the children of Israel's half, thou shalt take one portion of
fifty, of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the flocks,
of all manner of beasts, and give them unto the Levites, which keep the
charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.
31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.
32 And the booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had
caught, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand
sheep,
33 And threescore and twelve thousand beeves,
34 And threescore and one thousand asses,
35 And thirty and two thousand persons in all, of women that had not
known man by lying with him.
36 And the half, which was the portion of them that went out to war,
was in number three hundred thousand and seven and thirty thousand and
five hundred sheep:
37 And the LORD'S tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore
and fifteen.
38 And the beeves were thirty and six thousand; of which the LORD'S
tribute was threescore and twelve.
39 And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred; of which the
LORD'S tribute was threescore and one.
40 And the persons were sixteen thousand; of which the LORD'S tribute
was thirty and two persons.
41 And Moses gave the tribute, which was the LORD'S heave offering,
unto Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.
42 And of the children of Israel's half, which Moses divided from the
men that warred,
43 (Now the half that pertained unto the congregation was three hundred
thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep,
44 And thirty and six thousand beeves,
45 And thirty thousand asses and five hundred,
46 And sixteen thousand persons;)
47 Even of the children of Israel's half, Moses took one portion of
fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites, which
kept the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD; as the LORD commanded
Moses.
48 And the officers which were over thousands of the host, the captains
of thousands, and captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses:
49 And they said unto Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men
of war which are under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us.
50 We have therefore brought an oblation for the LORD, what every man
hath gotten, of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings,
and tablets, to make an atonement for our souls before the LORD.
51 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all
wrought jewels.
52 And all the gold of the offering that they offered up to the LORD,
of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was
sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels.
53 (For the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.)
54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of
thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of the
congregation, for a memorial for the children of Israel before the
LORD.
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Commentary for Numbers 31
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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)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.
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, #Ho 4:5|. They took the women and
children captives. They burnt their cities and castles, and returned to
the camp.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.
View more commentaries for this chapter:
Pulpit Gill's Ellicott
Discussion for Numbers 31
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How much gold was plundered after the battle with the Midianites?
* (*) 16750 Shekels
* ( ) 100 Shekels
* ( ) 2000 Shekels
* ( ) 24500 Shekels
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