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
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
2
“Avenge the children of Israel for the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.” ​
3
Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian, to execute the LORD’s vengeance on Midian. ​
4
Of every tribe one thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, you shall 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
Moses sent them, one thousand of every tribe, to the war, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the shofars for the alarm in his hand. ​

The Battle and the Spoils Taken

7
They fought against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses. They killed every male. ​
8
They 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. ​
9
The 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.
10
All their cities in the places in which they lived, and all their encampments, they burnt with fire.
11
They took all the captives, and all the plunder, both of man and of animal.
12
They brought the captives, and 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.

Moses Orders Further Execution and Purification

13
Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went out to meet them outside of the camp.
14
Moses 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. ​
15
Moses said to them, “Have you 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 so the plague was among the congregation of the LORD. ​
17
Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him. ​
18
But all the girls, who have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.
19
“Encamp outside of the camp 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. ​
20
As to every garment, and all that is made of skin, and all work of goats’ hair, and all things made of wood, you shall purify yourselves.”
21
Eleazar 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:
22
however the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead,
23
everything 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. ​
24
You shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you shall be clean. Afterward you shall come into the camp.”

The Division of the Spoils

25
The 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;
27
and divide the plunder into two parts: between the men skilled in war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation. ​
28
Levy 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. ​
29
Take it from their half, and give it to Eleazar the priest, for the LORD’s wave offering.
30
Of 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.” ​
31
Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.
32
Now the plunder, over and above the booty which the men of war took, was six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep,
33
and seventy-two thousand head of cattle,
34
and sixty-one thousand donkeys,
35
and thirty-two thousand persons in all, of the women who had not known man by lying with him. ​
36
The half, which was the portion of those who went out to war, was in number three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep:
37
and the LORD’s tribute of the sheep was six hundred seventy-five.
38
The cattle were thirty-six thousand; of which the LORD’s tribute was seventy-two.
39
The donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred; of which the LORD’s tribute was sixty-one.
40
The persons were sixteen thousand; of whom the LORD’s tribute was thirty-two persons.
41
Moses gave the tribute, which was the LORD’s wave offering, to Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.
42
Of 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,
44
and thirty-six thousand head of cattle,
45
and thirty thousand five hundred donkeys,
46
and sixteen thousand persons),
47
even 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.

Voluntary Atonement Offering

48
The officers who were over the thousands of the army, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, came near to Moses.
49
They 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. ​
50
We have brought the LORD’s offering, what every man has gotten, of jewels of gold, armlets, and bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make atonement for our souls before the LORD.” ​
51
Moses and Eleazar the priest took their gold, even all worked jewels.
52
All 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.
53
The men of war had taken booty, every man for himself.
54
Moses 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. ​

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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