Numbers31

The LORD commanded Moses to avenge Israel upon the Midianites, leading to a war where 12,000 Israelites, accompanied by Phinehas, slew all Midianite males, including their kings and Balaam, and took extensive spoil. Moses, angered that the women who caused Israel to sin at Peor were spared, ordered the killing of all male children and non-virgin women. Following purification rites, the vast spoil was meticulously divided between the warriors and the congregation, with specific tributes allocated to the priests and Levites.

The Lord Commands Vengeance on Midian

1
ADONAI said to Moshe,
2
"On behalf of the people of Isra'el, take vengeance on the Midyanim. After that, you will be gathered to your people." ​
3
Moshe said to the people, "Equip men from among yourselves for war. They are to go and fight Midyan, in order to carry out ADONAI's vengeance on Midyan. ​
4
You are to send to the war a thousand men from every one of Isra'el's tribes."
5
So out of the thousands of people in Isra'el, a thousand armed men from each tribe, 12,000 altogether, were mustered for war.
6
Moshe sent them, a thousand from each tribe, to the war; he sent them and Pinchas the son of El'azar the cohen to the war, with the holy utensils and the trumpets for sounding the alarm in his care. ​

The Battle and the Spoils Taken

7
They fought against Midyan, as ADONAI had ordered Moshe, and killed every male. ​
8
They killed the kings of Midyan along with the others who were slain - Evi, Rekem, Tzur, Hur and Reva, the five kings of Midyan. They also killed Bil'am the son of B'or with the sword. ​
9
The people of Isra'el took captive the women of Midyan and their little ones, and they took as booty all their cattle, flocks and other goods.
10
They set fire to all their cities in the areas where they lived and all their camps.
11
They took all the booty, all the people and animals they had captured,
12
and brought the captives, booty and spoil to Moshe, El'azar the cohen and the community of Isra'el in the camp on the plains of Mo'av by the Yarden across from Yericho.

Moses Orders Further Execution and Purification

13
Moshe, El'azar the cohen and all the community leaders went to meet them outside the camp.
14
But Moshe was angry with the army officers, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds coming in from the battlefield. ​
15
Moshe asked them, "You let the women live?
16
Why, these are the ones who - because of Bil'am's advice -caused the people of Isra'el to rebel, breaking faith with ADONAI in the P'or incident, so that the plague broke out among ADONAI's community! ​
17
Now kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has ever slept with a man. ​
18
But the young girls who have never slept with a man, keep alive for yourselves.
19
Pitch your tents outside the camp for seven days. Whoever has killed a person or touched the corpse of someone slain, purify yourselves on the third and seventh days, you and your captives. ​
20
Also purify every garment, whether of skin or goat's hair, and everything made of wood."
21
El'azar the cohen said to the soldiers who had gone to the front, "This is the regulation from the Torah which ADONAI has ordered Moshe.
22
Even though gold, silver, brass, iron, tin and lead
23
can all withstand fire, so that you are indeed to purify everything made of these materials by having them pass through fire; nevertheless they must also be purified with the water for purification. Everything that can't withstand fire you are to have go through the water. ​
24
On the seventh day you are to wash your clothes, and you will be clean; after that you may enter the camp."

The Division of the Spoils

25
ADONAI said to Moshe,
26
"Take all the booty, both people and animals, you, El'azar the cohen and the leaders of clans in the community;
27
and divide the booty into two parts: half for the experienced soldiers who went out to battle, and half for the rest of the community. ​
28
From the portion of the soldiers who went out to battle, levy a tax for ADONAI consisting of one-five-hundredth of the persons, cattle, donkeys and sheep; ​
29
take it from their half and give it to El'azar the cohen as a portion set apart for ADONAI.
30
From the half that goes to the people of Isra'el, you are to take one-fiftieth of the persons, and of the cattle, donkeys and sheep, that is, of all the livestock; and give them to the L'vi'im taking care of the tabernacle of ADONAI." ​
31
Moshe and El'azar the cohen did as ADONAI had ordered Moshe.
32
The booty, over and above the portion which the soldiers took, came to 675,000 sheep,
33
72,000 cattle,
34
61,000 donkeys,
35
and 32,000 persons in all, consisting of the women who had never slept with a man. ​
36
The half which was the portion of the soldiers who went out to fight, numbered 337,500 sheep,
37
of which ADONAI's tribute was 675;
38
36,000 cattle, of which ADONAI's tribute was seventy-two;
39
30,500 donkeys, of which ADONAI's tribute was sixty-one;
40
and 16,000 persons, of whom ADONAI's tribute was thirty-two persons.
41
Moshe gave the tribute set apart for ADONAI to El'azar the cohen, as ADONAI had ordered Moshe.
42
From the half that went to people of Isra'el, which Moshe separated from that of the men who had gone to fight -
43
now the community's half consisted of 337,500 sheep,
44
36,000 cattle,
45
30,500 donkeys
46
and 16,000 persons -
47
from the people of Isra'el's half, Moshe took one-fiftieth of the persons and animals and gave them to the L'vi'im taking care of the tabernacle of ADONAI, as ADONAI had ordered Moshe.

Voluntary Atonement Offering

48
The officers in charge of the thousands who fought, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, approached Moshe
49
and said to him, "Your servants have counted all the soldiers under our command, and not one of us is missing. ​
50
We have brought an offering for ADONAI, what every man has obtained in the way of gold jewelry -armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings and belts -to make atonement for ourselves before ADONAI." ​
51
Moshe and El'azar the cohen accepted their gold, all the jewelry.
52
All the gold in this gift which the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds set apart for ADONAI weighed 420 pounds.
53
For the soldiers had taken booty, every man for himself.
54
Moshe and El'azar the cohen took the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds and brought it into the tent of meeting as a reminder for the people of Isra'el before ADONAI. ​

Study Notes for Numbers 31

Verse 2

This command serves as divine judgment against Midian for their deliberate role in the Baal-Peor incident (Num. 25). God links this act of vengeance directly to Moses’ impending death, making it his final major military assignment.

Verse 3

Moses frames the conflict as avenging the LORD, emphasizing that this is a punitive, theological war against those who led Israel into idolatry and sexual sin, not merely a territorial dispute.

Verse 6

Phinehas, who previously demonstrated zeal in stopping the plague at Peor (Num. 25), leads the contingent, underscoring the religious nature of this mission. The 'holy instruments' likely refer to sacred objects or the trumpets used for signaling the assembly and battle.

Verse 7

The execution of 'all the males' indicates a policy of complete eradication of the male population, reflecting the severity of Midian’s offense against God’s covenant people.

Verse 8

The execution of Balaam settles his fate. Although he was a prophet who blessed Israel, his malicious counsel (see V. 16) led directly to the Baal-Peor apostasy, resulting in his death during this divine judgment.

Verse 14

Moses’ anger stems from the officers’ failure to recognize the spiritual danger posed by the Midianite women who were the central agents of temptation and sin at Peor (Num. 25).

Verse 16

This verse explicitly links the captured women and Balaam’s strategy to the plague and apostasy at Baal-Peor, justifying the immediate and severe judgment that follows.

Verse 17

The distinction between adult women ('known man') and female children is based on culpability. The command targets those responsible for the previous spiritual corruption, eliminating the source of future temptation.

Verse 19

The returning soldiers and their captives required seven days of ritual purification because of their contact with the dead, demonstrating the necessity of cleansing even after a divinely sanctioned holy war.

Verse 23

The purification of spoil reflected practical and ritual concerns. Durable items (metals) were cleansed by fire, while the 'water of separation' (mixed with red heifer ashes, Num. 19) was necessary to remove defilement from death.

Verse 27

The spoils are divided equally into two halves: one for the 12,000 fighting men and one for the entire remaining congregation, establishing a precedent for equitable sharing of war gains.

Verse 28

The tribute levied on the soldiers’ half is extremely small (1 in 500), designated as a 'heave offering' for the priests (Eleazar), acknowledging God's direct hand in the victory.

Verse 30

The congregation’s half contributes a larger portion (1 in 50) to the Levites, who were responsible for the service of the Tabernacle and relied on communal support.

Verse 35

The inventory of 32,000 female children highlights the scope of the operation and the immense quantity of non-combatant spoil taken, which would be integrated into the Israelite community.

Verse 49

The report of zero casualties among the 12,000 men is astonishing and serves as the ultimate proof of divine protection and approval of the campaign.

Verse 50

The officers offer gold jewelry for 'atonement for our souls.' Even without casualties, they recognized the need for purification and dedication after dealing with death and taking spoil in a holy war.

Verse 54

The gold was placed in the Tabernacle as a 'memorial,' permanently recording the miraculous, casualty-free victory and the faithfulness of the officers and men.

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