Numbers 31:1-54
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.a
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.b
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,c 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,d and there lacketh not one man of us.
50 We have therefore brought an oblation for the LORD, what every man hath gotten,e 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 offeringf 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.
The Old Testament Book of Numbers
In the Desert
Numbers
Marion Adams
Chapter 31
*Israel’s war against the country called Midian – Numbers 31:1-12
v1 The *LORD said to Moses, v2 ‘Punish the *Midianites. Punish them for what they did to *Israel. After you have done this, you will die.’
v3 Moses said to the *Israelites, ‘Prepare some of your men for a war. The *LORD wants to punish the *Midianites. v4 Each *tribe must send 1000 men to fight them in a battle.’
v5 Each *tribe chose 1000 men. So 12 000 men prepared for the battle.
v6 Moses sent these men to fight in the battle. There were 1000 men from each *tribe. Phinehas went with them. He was the son of Eleazar the priest. Phinehas brought with him some *sacred objects from *God’s Tent. Also, he brought the *trumpets to give signals during the battle.
v7 The *Israelites did what the *LORD had ordered Moses to do. They fought against the *Midianites. The *Israelites killed all the men. v8 This included the 5 kings of the country called Midian. They were called Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba. Also, the *Israelites killed Balaam, Beor’s son, with a sword.
v9 The *Israelites *captured all the female *Midianites and their children. They took all the *Midianites’ cows and sheep. They took everything else that the *Midianites owned. v10 The *Israelites burned all the *Midianites’ towns and their camps. v11 Then the *Israelites’ soldiers gathered together all the *spoils that they had taken from the *Midianites. They gathered together the prisoners and the animals, too. v12 The soldiers brought everything back to Moses, Eleazar the priest and the rest of the *Israelites. The *Israelites’ camp was on the plains of the country called Moab. It was by the Jordan river, opposite the city called Jericho.
Verses 1-2 Numbers chapter 25 describes how the *Midianites had caused the *Israelites to *worship the *Midianites’ god Baal, at Peor. This was a very serious *sin. The *Midianites had acted with the *Moabites then. And the *Midianites also acted with the *Moabites in chapter 22, when they asked Balaam to *curse *Israel. Therefore, the *Midianites were *Israel’s enemies.
This chapter begins with God’s command to Moses to attack and to defeat the *Midianites. These were those *Midianites who lived in the areas near to Moab. God had already told Moses to oppose the *Midianites after the incident at Peor (Numbers 25:16-18). Here, in chapter 31, it was the right time for Moses to carry out God’s command. This would be Moses’ last battle before he died.
Verses 3-6 Each *tribe chose 1000 men to fight in *Israel’s army. Some *tribes were bigger than other *tribes. But this showed that all the *Israelites united to fight this war.
This was a war on behalf of God. He had ordered it. This type of war was called a *holy war. Therefore, it was right that Phinehas the priest led the army in the battle. He brought *sacred objects from *God’s Tent to show that God was with the *Israelites.
Verse 7 There were rules for what should happen in a *holy war. It was a rule that the soldiers had to kill all their male enemies. Their enemies were those *Midianites who lived in the areas near to the country called Moab. But the war did not affect the *Midianites who lived elsewhere. The *Midianites continued to be a powerful enemy many years later (Judges Chapter s 6 to 8).
Verse 8 Probably, the 5 kings were the leaders that Balak contacted earlier (Numbers 22:4). Zur may have been Cozbi’s father (Numbers 25:15). Balaam died, too. This was his punishment because he had plotted against the *Israelites (see Numbers chapter 25). He had used the *Moabites and the *Midianites to do this. So in the end, he did not die in the manner that he had wanted (Numbers 23:10). In fact, his greedy desire for money was the cause of his death!
Verses 9-12 *Israel’s army destroyed the *Midianites’ towns and camps completely. They took all the *Midianites’ possessions and animals. They *captured the women and children. And they took everything back to their camp. Perhaps they intended that the women should become their wives. Perhaps they wanted the women to work as servants or slaves. Or perhaps they just wanted to have sex with the women.
*Israel’s army returns to the camp – Numbers 31:13-24
v13 Moses, Eleazar the priest and the other leaders of the *Israelites met the army outside the camp. v14 Moses was angry with the commanders and the leaders of the army who had returned from the battle. v15 He said, ‘You should not have let the women live! v16 These women followed Balaam’s advice. They invited our people to *worship the false god Baal at Peor. Because of these women, the *Israelites were not loyal to the *LORD. This was why a disease killed many of the *LORD’s people. v17 Now you must kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has had sex. v18 But do not kill the young women who have never had sex. You may keep these women for yourselves.
v19 All soldiers who have killed anyone must stay outside the camp for 7 days. Also, anyone who has touched a dead body must stay outside the camp for 7 days. On the third (3rd) and the seventh (7th) days, you must make yourselves and your prisoners *clean. You must do this by means of a special ceremony. v20 Then, you must wash your clothes. Also, you must wash anything that people have made with the skin of animals, goats’ hair, or wood.’
v21 Then Eleazar the priest spoke to the soldiers who had fought in the battle. He said, ‘The *LORD gave these rules to Moses. v22-23 You must put metals that will not burn into a hot fire. This will make them *clean. I am referring to metals such as gold, silver, *bronze, iron, tin or lead (different types of metal). Then you must put water on the metal to make it *clean also. This is the special water that makes things *clean. Also, you must splash this special water on anything that would burn, in order to make it *clean. v24 During the seventh (7th) day, you must wash your clothes. Then you will be *clean. Afterwards, you can enter the camp.’
Verses 13-18 Probably, the soldiers expected Moses to praise them because they had defeated the *Midianites. Instead, he was angry. This was because the soldiers had brought back the women. And it was the women who had caused the *Israelites to *worship the *Midianites’ false god (Numbers 25:16-18).
It seems that, before the battle, Moses had ordered the soldiers to kill all the *Midianites. But the soldiers had not done this. So Moses ordered them to kill the women and their sons immediately. He allowed the young girls who had not had sex to live. They had not caused the *Israelites to *sin at Peor. So they could marry the male *Israelites. Or they could work for the *Israelites. Then they would learn to follow the *Israelites’ religion and to *worship the one real God.
This may seem cruel to us. But this was a *holy war. God had ordered the *Israelites to punish the *Midianites. The *Midianites were guilty because they had persuaded the *Israelites to *reject God. The *Israelites were God’s special people. So they had to keep themselves *clean and holy because God is *holy completely.
Therefore, it was a very serious *sin to *worship false gods. The *Midianites had caused the *Israelites to do this. So the *Midianites had caused God to punish them by means of this *holy war. That was why the *Midianite women had to die. The *Israelites had to carry out God’s punishment against the *Midianites for what happened at Peor. The *Israelites had suffered God’s punishment already (Numbers 25:9).
However, we must remember that Jesus taught us to love our enemies. Jesus showed his love for his enemies when he forgave them. He did not fight when they hurt him. He died on their behalf. So we know that we must never use the idea of a *holy war to attack our enemies. *Holy wars happened only until the *Israelites had *settled into the *Promised Land.
Verses 19-24 Anyone who had touched a dead body was *unclean (Numbers 19:11-13). So the soldiers and their prisoners had to remain outside the camp during 7 days. During the third (3rd) and the seventh (7th) days, both the soldiers and their prisoners had to wash themselves. Also, they had to wash their clothes and anything that they had used during the battle. Eleazar told them to put metal objects into fire. Then, the soldiers had to put special water on these metals. This ceremony made these metal objects *clean. After 7 days, the soldiers could enter the camp.
Moses divides the *spoils – Numbers 31:25-54
v25 The *LORD said to Moses, v26 ‘Make a list of the *spoils. You, Eleazar the priest and the other leaders must count everything that the soldiers took from the *Midianites. Include the prisoners and the animals. v27 Divide the *spoils into two equal parts. Give one part to the soldiers who fought in the battle. Give the other part to the rest of the people. v28-29 Take one out of every 500 prisoners from the soldiers’ share. Also, take one out of every 500 cows, *donkeys, sheep and goats. Give them to Eleazar the priest. They are a special gift to the *LORD, like a tax. v30 Take one out of every 50 prisoners from the people’s share. Also, take one out of every 50 cows, *donkeys, sheep, goats and other animals. Give them to Levi’s *tribe who look after *God’s Tent.’ v31 Moses and Eleazar the priest obeyed the *LORD’s instructions.
v32-35 They made a list of everything that the soldiers had taken from the *Midianites. There were 675 000 sheep, 72 000 cows, 61 000 *donkeys and 32 000 young women. These were the young women who had never had sex.
v36-47 The half share that belonged to the soldiers was 337 500 sheep and goats, 36 000 cows, 30 500 *donkeys and 16 000 young women. From the soldiers’ half share, Moses gave to Eleazar the priest: 675 sheep and goats, 72 cows, 61 *donkeys and 32 women. These belonged to the *LORD.
The people’s half share was the same as the soldiers’ half share. There were 337 500 sheep and goats, 36 000 cows, 30 500 *donkeys and 16 000 young women. From the people’s half share, Moses took one out of every 50 prisoners and animals. He gave them to Levi’s *tribe who looked after *God’s Tent. The *LORD had told Moses to do this.
v48 The commanders and leaders of the army went to Moses. v49 They said, ‘Sir, we have counted our soldiers. Not one soldier is missing. v50 So we want to give a payment to the *LORD. We ask him to forgive us and to make us *clean. We want to give to him all the gold jewellery that we took from the *Midianites.’ (Jewellery is the name for precious metal objects that people wear, such as rings.)
v51 So Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold jewellery from the commanders and leaders of the army. v52 Its total weight was nearly 200 *kilograms. This gold was a gift to the *LORD. v53 These objects did not include the objects that the soldiers had kept for themselves. v54 Moses and Eleazar put the gold into *God’s Tent. This gold was a memorial in front of the *LORD. (A memorial is an object that reminds people or God about an important event.)
Verses 25-47 It was the custom to share the *spoils between the soldiers and the people who did not fight. Only 12 000 *Israelites fought in this battle. But there were 601 730 men who could fight in *Israel’s army (26:51). And of course, there were women and children too. Clearly, the soldiers who actually fought in the battle deserved their reward. But the people who remained in the camp would receive something too.
God told Moses to share the *spoils equally between the soldiers and the people. Then, both the soldiers and the people had to give a part of their share to the priests and to Levi’s *tribe. When they gave this to the priests and their helpers, they were giving it to God really.
The priests received one five-hundredth (that is, one part out of 500) of the soldiers’ share. Levi’s *tribe received one-fiftieth (that is, one part out of 50) of the people’s share. When the soldiers and the people gave their gifts, they were thanking God. He had protected them all and he had helped them to defeat their enemies.
Verses 48-54 It seems that each share included animals and prisoners only. The soldiers had kept the gold and other precious things for themselves. But they brought to Moses all the gold jewellery that they had taken. (Jewellery is the name for precious metal objects that people wear, such as rings.)
God had kept every soldier safe. Not one soldier had died (verse 49). After the people had counted the soldiers, it was essential to make this payment to God (compare Exodus 30:11-16). The soldiers had to fight and to kill. Although God had ordered this, still the act made them *unclean. Also, they were responsible for what they had done.
They had to make a special payment, called the ‘atonement payment’. An atonement payment was like the money that people had to pay after the *census in Exodus 30:11-16. The soldiers had received mercy that they did not deserve from God. (Mercy is kindness to someone who deserves punishment.) God allowed them to live. They had to give a payment to show that they realised this. If they did not do this, they would be guilty of *sin.
Moses and Eleazar put this gold in *God’s Tent as a memorial (an object that reminds people or God about an important event). God would remember about the atonement payment. The people had spilled human blood when they had killed the *Midianites. But they had paid the atonement payment. So God would have mercy on the *Israelites. (Mercy is kindness to someone who deserves punishment.) They should not be happy because of the death of their enemies, even during a war.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. In Hebrew, it is Yahweh. This name means something like ‘I am’ or ‘always alive’.
Lord ~ one who rules. God is the Lord who rules everyone.
Hebrew ~ the language of the *Jews.
sacred ~ special for God. ‘Sacred’ means that something is separate from other things, for God’s purposes only.
capture ~ 1. to catch a person and to make that person your prisoner. 2. To take something from an enemy and to possess it.
spoils ~ things that soldiers take from their enemies after they have defeated them.
worship ~ to give honour to God and to thank him. Sometimes, people worship false gods.
sin ~ the nature of all people since Adam chose not to obey God. People’s lives are not acceptable to God because of sin. ‘Sins’ are states, attitudes and acts that are not acceptable to God. A person sins whenever that person is guilty of a sin.
curse ~ a declaration that something bad will happen. In the early books of the Bible, a curse was a type of prophecy from God. This prophecy described something bad that would happen in the future. To curse means to speak this prophecy.
prophecy/prophecies ~ words and messages from God.
holy ~ what God is like. God’s character: perfect, completely good with nothing bad in it. Separate from sin.
sin ~ the nature of all people since Adam chose not to obey God. People’s lives are not acceptable to God because of sin. ‘Sins’ are states, attitudes and acts that are not acceptable to God. A person sins whenever that person is guilty of a sin.
clean ~ in the Jewish religion, this means something or someone that God accepts. People had to be clean in order to approach *God’s Tent. People had to be clean to be in the Israelites’ camp. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.
Jewish ~ the word that describes a *Jew or anything that belongs to the *Jews.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.
unclean ~ in the Jewish religion, an unclean person could not go near to *God’s Tent or into the Israelites’ camp, depending on the type of uncleanness. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.
uncleanness ~ the state of something that is unclean.
bronze ~ a kind of metal.
reject ~ not to accept or not to believe in someone or something.
holy ~ what God is like. God’s character: perfect, completely good with nothing bad in it. Separate from sin.
sin ~ the nature of all people since Adam chose not to obey God. People’s lives are not acceptable to God because of sin. ‘Sins’ are states, attitudes and acts that are not acceptable to God. A person sins whenever that person is guilty of a sin.
settle ~ to decide to stay in a place and to make a home there.'Promised Land ~ the country that God promised to give to Abraham and his *descendants.
unclean ~ in the Jewish religion, an unclean person could not go near to *God’s Tent or into the Israelites’ camp, depending on the type of uncleanness. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.
Jewish ~ the word that describes a *Jew or anything that belongs to the *Jews.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.
uncleanness ~ the state of something that is unclean.
clean ~ in the Jewish religion, this means something or someone that God accepts. People had to be clean in order to approach *God’s Tent. People had to be clean to be in the Israelites’ camp. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.
kilogram ~ 1000 grams.
gram ~ a measurement of weight today. 28 grams make one ounce. 1000 grams make one kilogram.
census ~ an official list which records the number of people in a particular place.