CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
Numbers 31
Chapter 31 of 36
Chapter Overview
What happens in Numbers 31
God commands Israel to take revenge on the Midianites for leading the people into sin at Peor. An army of 12,000 Israelite soldiers defeats Midian and returns with a large amount of captured goods. Detailed instructions are given for dividing the plunder and purifying the soldiers and their spoils.
Scripture
Numbers 31
War Against Midian
Study note
God told Moses that this would be one of his final acts as leader. Israel sent 1,000 soldiers from each tribe, totaling 12,000 warriors. Phinehas the priest went with them carrying holy items and trumpets. They defeated the five kings of Midian and also killed Balaam, the prophet who had advised the Midianites to tempt Israel into sin.
1 The Lord told Moses, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 "Carry out vengeance on the Midianites for what they did to the Israelites. After that, you will die and join your ancestors." Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.
3 So Moses told the people, "Prepare some of your men for battle. Send them against Midian to carry out the Lord's judgment." 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 "Each of the twelve tribes must provide 1,000 fighting men." Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war.
5 So 1,000 men were recruited from each tribe, creating an army of 12,000 soldiers ready for battle. So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.
6 Moses sent them off to war — 1,000 from each tribe. Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest went with them. He carried the sacred objects and the signal trumpets. 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 They attacked Midian just as the Lord had commanded Moses, and killed every man. And they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew all the males.
8 Among the dead were the five kings of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. 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 The Israelites took the Midianite women and children captive. They also seized all the cattle, flocks, and valuables. 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 They burned every Midianite town and camp to the ground. And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire.
11 They gathered up all the captured goods and prisoners, both people and animals. And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts.
12 They brought everything back to Moses and Eleazar the priest. They brought it to the whole Israelite group at the camp. The camp was on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho. 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.
Moses Responds to the Army
Study note
When the army returned, Moses was angry that they had spared some of the Midianite women. He reminded the officers that these were the very women who had led Israel into sin at Peor, causing the plague that killed 24,000 people. Moses also gave instructions about purification, because contact with the dead made a person ceremonially unclean.
13 Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the group leaders went outside the camp. They went to meet the army coming back. And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp.
14 Moses was angry with the army officers. He was angry with the leaders of thousands and of hundreds. They had just come back from battle. 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 "Why have you let all the women survive?" Moses demanded. And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?
16 "These are the exact women who, following Balaam's advice, lured the Israelites into sinning against the Lord at Peor. That is what triggered the plague among the Lord's people." 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 execute every boy and every woman who has been with a man." Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.
18 "But spare the young girls who have not been with a man." But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.
19 "Everyone who killed someone or touched a dead body must stay outside the camp for seven days. Purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and the seventh day." 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 "Also clean every piece of clothing. Clean every leather item. Clean anything made of goat hair. Clean anything made of wood." And purify all your raiment, and all that is made of skins, and all work of goats' hair, and all things made of wood.
Purifying the Plunder
Study note
Eleazar the priest gave additional instructions about purifying the items taken in battle. Metal objects that could survive fire, such as gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead, had to be passed through fire and then through the water of purification. Items that could not survive fire had to be washed with water.
21 Eleazar the priest told the soldiers who had gone to battle, "Here is the rule from the law the Lord gave Moses:" 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 "Any item made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, or lead --" Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead,
23 "anything that can withstand fire -- must be passed through fire to make it clean. But it must also be purified with the cleansing water. Items that cannot withstand fire must be washed in water instead." 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 "On the seventh day, wash your clothes, and you will be clean. Then you may come back into the camp." And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye shall come into the camp.
Dividing the Plunder
Study note
God told Moses to count everything that was captured and divide it into two equal halves: one half for the soldiers who fought, and one half for the rest of the community. From the soldiers' half, one out of every 500 of each kind was given to the Lord through Eleazar the priest. From the community's half, one out of every 50 was given to the Levites. The captured goods were enormous, including 675,000 sheep, 72,000 cattle, and 61,000 donkeys.
25 The Lord told Moses, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
26 "You, Eleazar the priest, and the family heads must count everything. Count all that was taken. Count both people and animals." 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 "Split the captured goods into two equal parts. Give one half to the soldiers who fought. Give the other half to the rest of the community." 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 "From the soldiers' share, collect a tribute for the Lord. Take one out of every 500. Do this for people, cattle, donkeys, and sheep." 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 this tribute from the soldiers' half and hand it over to Eleazar the priest as the Lord's share." Take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, for an heave offering of the LORD.
30 "From the community's half, take one out of every 50, whether people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, or other animals. Give these to the Levites who maintain the Lord's tabernacle." 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 Moses and Eleazar the priest carried out the Lord's instructions. And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.
32 Here is what remained from the plunder the soldiers had taken: 675,000 sheep, 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 72,000 cattle, And threescore and twelve thousand beeves,
34 61,000 donkeys, And threescore and one thousand asses,
35 and 32,000 women who had not been with a man. And thirty and two thousand persons in all, of women that had not known man by lying with him.
36 The soldiers' half came to: 337,500 sheep, 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 with the Lord's tribute being 675 sheep; And the LORD's tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and fifteen.
38 36,000 cattle, with the Lord's tribute being 72; And the beeves were thirty and six thousand; of which the LORD's tribute was threescore and twelve.
39 30,500 donkeys, with the Lord's tribute being 61; And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred; of which the LORD's tribute was threescore and one.
40 and 16,000 people, with the Lord's tribute being 32 persons. And the persons were sixteen thousand; of which the LORD's tribute was thirty and two persons.
41 Moses gave the tribute -- the Lord's share -- to Eleazar the priest, exactly as the Lord had directed. And Moses gave the tribute, which was the LORD's heave offering, unto Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.
42 This was from the other half, which belonged to the rest of the Israelites. Moses had set it apart from the soldiers' share. And of the children of Israel's half, which Moses divided from the men that warred,
43 the community's half came to: 337,500 sheep, (Now the half that pertained unto the congregation was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep,
44 36,000 cattle, And thirty and six thousand beeves,
45 30,500 donkeys, And thirty thousand asses and five hundred,
46 and 16,000 people. And sixteen thousand persons;)
47 From the community's half, Moses took one out of every 50 people and animals. He gave them to the Levites who maintained the Lord's tabernacle. He did this just as the Lord had told him. 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.
A Voluntary Offering of Gold
Study note
The military officers reported an amazing fact: not a single Israelite soldier had died in the battle. In gratitude, they brought a voluntary offering of gold jewelry to the Lord. The gold from the officers totaled 16,750 shekels. Moses and Eleazar placed it in the tabernacle as a memorial for Israel before the Lord.
48 The army leaders came to Moses. These were the officers over thousands and hundreds. And the officers which were over thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses:
49 They reported, "Sir, we counted every soldier under our command. Not a single man is missing." 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 "So we are presenting an offering to the Lord from the gold items we captured in battle: armlets, bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces. This offering is to make things right before the Lord for our lives." 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 Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted all the skillfully crafted gold items from them. And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels.
52 The total weight of gold presented by the officers as an offering to the Lord was 16,750 shekels. 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 The common soldiers had each kept plunder for themselves. (For the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.)
54 Moses and Eleazar took the gold from the officers. They placed it in the tent of meeting to remind the Lord about the people of Israel. 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.
Key Themes
Themes in Numbers 31
God's judgment on those who lead others into sinThe cost of compromisePurification after conflictGenerous giving from victory
Apply This Today
Living Numbers 31
The war against Midian was specifically about accountability for the sin at Peor. Those who lead others into sin face the most severe judgment. After victory, the soldiers needed purification, reminding us that even necessary conflicts leave marks that need God's healing.
Go Deeper
Study Numbers in Covenant Path
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