Moses, typically portrayed as the meek lawgiver who intercedes for Israel's mercy, here commands divine vengeance with uncharacteristic military authority before his death.
Numbers 31
War against the Midianites
1The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
2“Avenge the children of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.”
3Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for war, that they may go against Midian, to execute the LORD’s vengeance on Midian.
4You shall send one thousand out of every tribe, throughout all the tribes of Israel, to the war.”
5So there were delivered, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.
6Moses sent them, one thousand of every tribe, to the war with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand.
7They fought against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses. They killed every male.
8They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword.
9The children of Israel took the women of Midian captive with their little ones; and all their livestock, all their flocks, and all their goods, they took as plunder.
10All their cities in the places in which they lived, and all their encampments, they burned with fire.
11They took all the captives, and all the plunder, both of man and of animal.
12They brought the captives with the prey and the plunder, to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan at Jericho.
13Moses and Eleazar the priest, with all the princes of the congregation, went out to meet them outside of the camp.
14Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who came from the service of the war.
15Moses said to them, “Have you saved all the women alive?
16Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and so the plague was among the congregation of the LORD.
17Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him.
18But all the girls, who have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.
19“Encamp outside of the camp for seven days. Whoever has killed any person, and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves on the third day and on the seventh day, you and your captives.
20You shall purify every garment, and all that is made of skin, and all work of goats’ hair, and all things made of wood.”
21Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who went to the battle, “This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded Moses.
22However the gold, and the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead,
23everything that may withstand the fire, you shall make to go through the fire, and it shall be clean; nevertheless it shall be purified with the water for impurity. All that doesn’t withstand the fire you shall make to go through the water.
24You shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you shall be clean. Afterward you shall come into the camp.”
25The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
26“Count the plunder that was taken, both of man and of animal, you, and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the fathers’ households of the congregation;
27and divide the plunder into two parts: between the men skilled in war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation.
28Levy a tribute to the LORD of the men of war who went out to battle: one soul of five hundred; of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys, and of the flocks.
29Take it from their half, and give it to Eleazar the priest, for the LORD’s wave offering.
30Of the children of Israel’s half, you shall take one drawn out of every fifty, of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys, and of the flocks, of all the livestock, and give them to the Levites, who perform the duty of the LORD’s tabernacle.”
31Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.
32Now the plunder, over and above the booty which the men of war took, was six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep,
33seventy-two thousand head of cattle,
34sixty-one thousand donkeys,
35and thirty-two thousand persons in all, of the women who had not known man by lying with him.
36The half, which was the portion of those who went out to war, was in number three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep;
37and the LORD’s tribute of the sheep was six hundred seventy-five.
38The cattle were thirty-six thousand, of which the LORD’s tribute was seventy-two.
39The donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred, of which the LORD’s tribute was sixty-one.
40The persons were sixteen thousand, of whom the LORD’s tribute was thirty-two persons.
41Moses gave the tribute, which was the LORD’s wave offering, to Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.
42Of the children of Israel’s half, which Moses divided off from the men who fought
43(now the congregation’s half was three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep,
44thirty-six thousand head of cattle,
45thirty thousand five hundred donkeys,
46and sixteen thousand persons),
47even of the children of Israel’s half, Moses took one drawn out of every fifty, both of man and of animal, and gave them to the Levites, who performed the duty of the LORD’s tabernacle, as the LORD commanded Moses.
48The officers who were over the thousands of the army, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, came near to Moses.
49They said to Moses, “Your servants have taken the sum of the men of war who are under our command, and there lacks not one man of us.
50We have brought the LORD’s offering, what every man found: gold ornaments, armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make atonement for our souls before the LORD.”
51Moses and Eleazar the priest took their gold, even all worked jewels.
52All the gold of the wave offering that they offered up to the LORD, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred fifty shekels.
53The men of war had taken booty, every man for himself.
54Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the Tent of Meeting for a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD.
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Theme
God commands Moses to execute divine vengeance against the Midianites for their role in leading Israel into idolatry at Peor. Israel's army of 12,000 warriors defeats Midian completely, killing all males including King Balaam, and taking women, children, and livestock as plunder. Moses angrily corrects the commanders for sparing the women who had seduced Israel, ordering the execution of all males and non-virgin women while establishing purification rituals for the warriors and their spoils.
Context
This chapter fulfills God's earlier judgment against Midian for their seduction of Israel at Peor (chapters 25) and represents Moses' final military campaign before his death.
Key Themes
Outline
- 1-6 Divine Command for War God orders Moses to avenge Israel against Midian, and Moses assembles 12,000 warriors led by Phinehas.
- 7-12 Complete Victory Israel destroys Midian entirely, killing all males including five kings and Balaam, while taking captives and plunder.
- 13-18 Moses' Correction Moses angrily rebukes the commanders for sparing the women who caused Israel's sin at Peor.
- 19-24 Purification Requirements Eleazar establishes ritual purification procedures for warriors, captives, and all spoils of war.
War against the Midianites
31:1–31:54 narrative narration solemn
God commands Moses to wage war against the Midianites as divine vengeance, resulting in their complete defeat and the distribution of spoils according to prescribed laws.
person_contrast
Moses, typically portrayed as the meek lawgiver who intercedes for Israel's mercy, here commands divine vengeance with uncharacteristic military authority before his death.
Insights
Cross-References
Connected passages across Scripture
Numbers 31:6 2 references
Numbers 31:8 3 references
Lexicals 3
Joshua 13:21 Lexical
all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses struc…
Joshua 13:22 Lexical
The children of Israel also killed Balaam the son of Beor, the soothsayer, with the sword, among the rest of their slain…
Numbers 22:29 Lexical
Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have mocked me, I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would have kille…
Numbers 31:9 5 references
Lexicals 5
Genesis 34:29 Lexical
and all their wealth. They took captive all their little ones and their wives, and took as plunder everything that was i…
Deuteronomy 20:14 Lexical
but the women, the little ones, the livestock, and all that is in the city, even all its plunder, you shall take for plu…
Esther 8:11 Lexical
In those letters, the king granted the Jews who were in every city to gather themselves together and to defend their liv…
Numbers 32:26 Lexical
Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock shall be there in the cities of Gilead;
Joshua 1:14 Lexical
Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall live in the land which Moses gave you beyond the Jordan; but you…
Numbers 31:12 5 references
Lexicals 5
Numbers 26:63 Lexical
These are those who were counted by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who counted the children of Israel in the plains of Mo…
Numbers 26:3 Lexical
Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,
Numbers 22:1 Lexical
The children of Israel traveled, and encamped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho.
Joshua 13:32 Lexical
These are the inheritances which Moses distributed in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan at Jericho, eastward.
Numbers 36:13 Lexical
These are the commandments and the ordinances which the LORD commanded by Moses to the children of Israel in the plains…
Numbers 31:13 5 references
Lexicals 5
Numbers 32:2 Lexical
Then the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the princ…
Numbers 27:2 Lexical
They stood before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, at the door of the…
Numbers 19:3 Lexical
You shall give her to Eleazar the priest, and he shall bring her outside of the camp, and one shall kill her before his…
Numbers 15:35 Lexical
The LORD said to Moses, “The man shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him with stones outside…
Numbers 15:36 Lexical
All the congregation brought him outside of the camp, and stoned him to death with stones, as the LORD commanded Moses.
Numbers 31:14 1 reference
Numbers 31:16 2 references
Numbers 31:17 1 reference
Numbers 31:19 5 references
Lexicals 5
Amos 4:10 Lexical
“I sent plagues among you like I did Egypt. I have slain your young men with the sword, and have carried away your horse…
Numbers 19:19 Lexical
The clean person shall sprinkle on the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day. On the seventh day, he shall pu…
Numbers 19:12 Lexical
He shall purify himself with water on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean; but if he doesn’t purify…
Numbers 19:16 Lexical
“Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain with a sword, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall…
1 Kings 20:29 Lexical
They encamped opposite each other for seven days. Then on the seventh day the battle was joined; and the children of Isr…
Numbers 31:20 5 references
Lexicals 5
Leviticus 11:32 Lexical
Anything they fall on when they are dead shall be unclean; whether it is any vessel of wood, or clothing, or skin, or sa…
Leviticus 13:52 Lexical
He shall burn the garment, whether the warp or the woof, in wool or in linen, or anything of leather, in which the plagu…
Leviticus 13:49 Lexical
if the plague is greenish or reddish in the garment, or in the leather, or in the warp, or in the woof, or in anything m…
Leviticus 13:53 Lexical
“If the priest examines it, and behold, the plague hasn’t spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or…
Leviticus 13:57 Lexical
and if it appears again in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in anything of skin, it is spreading. You…
Numbers 31:22 5 references
Lexicals 5
Ezekiel 22:20 Lexical
As they gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the middle of the furnace, to blow the fire on it, to melt it, s…
Ezekiel 22:18 Lexical
“Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me. All of them are bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the middle of th…
Ezekiel 27:12 Lexical
“‘“Tarshish was your merchant by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches. They traded for your wares with silver,…
Joshua 6:24 Lexical
They burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only they put the silver, the gold, and the vessels of bronze an…
1 Chronicles 29:7 Lexical
and they gave for the service of God’s house of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand darics, of silver ten thousa…
Numbers 31:24 5 references
Lexicals 5
Leviticus 13:34 Lexical
On the seventh day, the priest shall examine the itch; and behold, if the itch hasn’t spread in the skin, and its appear…
Leviticus 13:6 Lexical
The priest shall examine him again on the seventh day. Behold, if the plague has faded and the plague hasn’t spread in t…
Leviticus 14:9 Lexical
It shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows. He shall s…
Numbers 19:19 Lexical
The clean person shall sprinkle on the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day. On the seventh day, he shall pu…
Leviticus 14:8 Lexical
“He who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and bathe himself in water; and he shall b…
Numbers 31:28 5 references
Lexicals 5
Genesis 34:28 Lexical
They took their flocks, their herds, their donkeys, that which was in the city, that which was in the field,
Genesis 12:16 Lexical
He dealt well with Abram for her sake. He had sheep, cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkey…
Genesis 24:35 Lexical
The LORD has blessed my master greatly. He has become great. The LORD has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, m…
1 Samuel 27:9 Lexical
David struck the land, and saved no man or woman alive, and took away the sheep, the cattle, the donkeys, the camels, an…
Genesis 47:17 Lexical
They brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, and for the flocks, and f…
Numbers 31:30 5 references
Lexicals 5
Numbers 1:53 Lexical
But the Levites shall encamp around the Tabernacle of the Testimony, that there may be no wrath on the congregation of t…
1 Chronicles 5:21 Lexical
They took away their livestock: of their camels fifty thousand, and of sheep two hundred fifty thousand, and of donkeys…
1 Samuel 27:9 Lexical
David struck the land, and saved no man or woman alive, and took away the sheep, the cattle, the donkeys, the camels, an…
Exodus 9:3 Lexical
behold, the LORD’s hand is on your livestock which are in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on th…
Genesis 12:16 Lexical
He dealt well with Abram for her sake. He had sheep, cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkey…
Numbers 31:32 3 references
Lexicals 3
Numbers 26:22 Lexical
These are the families of Judah according to those who were counted of them, seventy-six thousand five hundred.
Numbers 2:4 Lexical
His division, and those who were counted of them, were seventy-four thousand six hundred.
Numbers 1:27 Lexical
those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Judah, were seventy-four thousand six hundred.
Numbers 31:36 5 references
Lexicals 5
2 Chronicles 35:7 Lexical
Josiah gave to the children of the people, of the flock, lambs and young goats, all of them for the Passover offerings,…
Job 1:3 Lexical
His possessions also were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female do…
Numbers 3:22 Lexical
Those who were counted of them, according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward, even those who wer…
Ezra 2:67 Lexical
their camels, four hundred thirty-five; their donkeys, six thousand seven hundred twenty.
Daniel 12:12 Lexical
Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred thirty-five days.
Numbers 31:37 1 reference
Numbers 31:38 4 references
Lexicals 4
Numbers 7:85 Lexical
each silver platter weighing one hundred thirty shekels, and each bowl seventy; all the silver of the vessels two thousa…
Numbers 1:27 Lexical
those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Judah, were seventy-four thousand six hundred.
Numbers 2:4 Lexical
His division, and those who were counted of them, were seventy-four thousand six hundred.
Numbers 26:22 Lexical
These are the families of Judah according to those who were counted of them, seventy-six thousand five hundred.
Numbers 31:39 3 references
Lexicals 3
Ezra 2:67 Lexical
their camels, four hundred thirty-five; their donkeys, six thousand seven hundred twenty.
Numbers 3:50 Lexical
from the firstborn of the children of Israel he took the money, one thousand three hundred sixty-five shekels, according…
Numbers 26:27 Lexical
These are the families of the Zebulunites according to those who were counted of them, sixty thousand five hundred.
Numbers 31:43 5 references
Lexicals 5
Job 1:3 Lexical
His possessions also were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female do…
Exodus 38:25 Lexical
The silver of those who were counted of the congregation was one hundred talents and one thousand seven hundred seventy-…
2 Chronicles 35:7 Lexical
Josiah gave to the children of the people, of the flock, lambs and young goats, all of them for the Passover offerings,…
Ezra 2:67 Lexical
their camels, four hundred thirty-five; their donkeys, six thousand seven hundred twenty.
Daniel 12:12 Lexical
Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred thirty-five days.
Numbers 31:45 1 reference
Numbers 31:47 1 reference
Numbers 31:50 2 references
Numbers 31:51 1 reference
Numbers 31:52 5 references
Lexicals 5
Exodus 38:26 Lexical
a beka a head, that is, half a shekel, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for everyone who passed over to those w…
Ezra 8:25 Lexical
and weighed to them the silver, the gold, and the vessels, even the offering for the house of our God, which the king, h…
Numbers 2:31 Lexical
“All who were counted of the camp of Dan were one hundred fifty-seven thousand six hundred. They shall set out last by t…
2 Chronicles 35:8 Lexical
His princes gave a free will offering to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel,…
2 Chronicles 30:24 Lexical
For Hezekiah king of Judah gave to the assembly for offerings one thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep; and the princ…
Numbers 31:54 4 references
Lexicals 4
Exodus 30:16 Lexical
You shall take the atonement money from the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the Tent of Meet…
Numbers 27:2 Lexical
They stood before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, at the door of the…
Joshua 19:51 Lexical
These are the inheritances, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the…
Numbers 19:4 Lexical
Eleazar the priest shall take some of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle her blood toward the front of the Tent of…
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