Numbers 31:44 — Word Study
WLCוּבָקָ֕ר שִׁשָּׁ֥ה וּשְׁלֹשִׁ֖ים אָֽלֶף׃
BSA36,000 {}shêsh cattlebâqâr [oxen, beeves, domesticated animals for work or sacrifice]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וּבָקָ֕ר | and cattle | Conjunction, noun common both singular absolute |
| שִׁשָּׁ֥ה | six | Adj |
| וּשְׁלֹשִׁ֖ים | and thirty | Conjunction |
| אָֽלֶף׃ | thousand |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | 36,000 cattle, |
| KJV | And thirty and six thousand beeves, |
| ASV | and thirty and six thousand oxen, |
| YLT | and of the herd six and thirty thousand; |
| WEB | thirty-six thousand head of cattle, |
| BBE | And thirty-six thousand oxen, |
Where they part company is in the details of the enumeration, but all agree on the number and type of livestock.
The sentence is straightforward, presenting a simple enumeration of livestock.
2 commentators on this verse
Jamieson, Cambridge & more — read them ›
clause
subjectבָּקָר
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Numbers 31:44
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — Enumeration of Spoilsgenerated
Numbers 31:44 is part of a passage that details the spoils taken by the Israelites after a battle. The verse specifically lists the number of cattle among the captured goods, emphasizing the wealth and resources acquired during the conflict. This enumeration serves to highlight the abundance provided to the Israelite community following their victory.
Cross References
The Key Word — בָּקָר, u.va.Kargenerated
The noun בָּקָר (baqar) means 'cattle' and specifically refers to domesticated animals such as oxen. It is derived from a root that relates to cattle and can denote both individual animals and a collective group. The parsing shows it as a common noun in the singular form, indicating its use in a general sense to refer to livestock.
In this verse, it signifies the number of cattle taken as spoils, which were important for agricultural work and sacrificial practices, as seen in other contexts like 1 Kings 8:63.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, so the BSB is the wording every comparison below is made against.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The structure of the verse centers around the noun phrase בָּקָ֕ר, cattle, which serves as the subject of the enumeration. The numeral phrase 36,000 directly modifies the subject, indicating the quantity of cattle.
The syntax is straightforward, with the number preceding the noun, which is typical in Hebrew for clarity in counting.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates בָּקָר as βόες (boes), which also means 'cattle.' This choice reflects a direct correspondence to the Hebrew term, maintaining the focus on livestock.
This consistency suggests that the translators aimed to preserve the meaning and significance of the cattle in the context of the spoils.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Numbers 31:44 lists the number of cattle taken as spoils after a battle, totaling 36,000. This verse is part of a larger account of the spoils collected, emphasizing the resources gained by the Israelites.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
In this context, 'cattle' refers to domesticated animals like oxen that were used for work or sacrifice.
The number of cattle signifies the wealth and resources gained by the Israelites, which were important for their community and religious practices.
This verse is part of a detailed enumeration of spoils taken after a battle, showcasing God's provision for the Israelites.
Yes, cattle are frequently mentioned in the Bible, often in the context of sacrifices and agricultural life, such as in 1 Kings 8:63.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What does the number of cattle taken tell us about the Israelites' victory?
- How can we see God's provision in our own lives today?
- In what ways can we use our resources for work and sacrifice, similar to the cattle in this verse?
- What other biblical passages discuss the significance of livestock?
Commentators on this verse — 2 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Numbers 31:44 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryAnd 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: No JFB commentary on these verses.
Read Robert Jamieson on Numbers 31 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges25–54. The apportionment of the spoil. Those who fought and those who remained behind were to receive equal shares. This was an ancient custom, which was traced to the action of David (1 Samuel 30:24 f.). But before the appropriation by individuals, a religious tax was to be paid. The fighters were to pay from their share 1/500th to the priests, and the others 1/50th to the Levites. Such a tax is not mentioned elsewhere in the O.T., but perhaps, like the foregoing regulation, it had an ancient custom behind it. Mohammed, whose religion was ultimately based on the O.T., enjoined a similar tax of 1/5th (Koran viii. 42, cited by Gray).
Read Cambridge on Numbers 31 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
36,000 cattle,
thirty-six thousand head of cattle,
36,000 cattle,
36,000 cattle,
Tyndale line
And thirty and six thousand beeves,
and thirty and six thousand oxen,
and thirty and six thousand beeves,
And thirty and six thousand beeves,
And sixe and thirtie thousand beeues,
Strictly literal
and thirty-six thousand oxen,
and of the herd six and thirty thousand;
and thirty-six thousand of the herd;
And beef-cattle, thirty and six thousand,
thirty-six thousand oxen,
From the Latin
And out of the thirty-six thousand oxen,
Simplified
36,000 cattle,
And thirty-six thousand oxen,
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text is confirmed by the Septuagint and the Samaritan Pentateuch, which agree word for word. The Dead Sea Scrolls also align closely, though one word is partly restored, indicating some damage to the text.
וּבָקָ֕ר שִׁשָּׁ֥ה וּשְׁלֹשִׁ֖ים אָֽלֶף׃
4 of the 4 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
ובקר שׁשׁה ושׁלשׁים אלף
Agrees with the Masoretic Text here, word for word.
[ובקר] ששה ושלושים אלף
2 words on the leather — 1 partly restored, 1 supplied entire by an editor.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Numbers 31:44
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
בָּקַר (baqar) refers to cattle, specifically oxen and herds, and can denote individual animals or a collective group. It is derived from a root meaning related to cattle and encompasses various forms such as beef cattle and oxen used for plowing. The term appears in contexts discussing livestock in the Old Testament.
בָּקַר 182 n.m. cattle, herd, ox
base
H1241 בָּקַר cattle, herd, ox
1241 baqar baw-kawr'
from 1239; beef cattle or an animal of the ox family of
either gender (as used for plowing); collectively, a herd:--
beeve, bull (+ -ock), + calf, + cow, great (cattle), + heifer,
herd, kine, ox.
see HEBREW for 01239
בָּקָר (ba.qar) — cattle.
1) cattle, herd, oxen, ox
1a) cattle (generic pl. but sing. in form-coll)
1b) herd (particular one)
1c) head of cattle (individually)
Conj | N-cs — Conjunction · noun common both singular absoluteHC/Ncbsa
kat'-'-l (behemah, "a dumb beast"; miqneh, "a possession" from qanah, "to acquire" (compare Arabic qana', "to acquire," and Greek kienos, "beast," and plural ktenea, "flocks," from ktaomai, "to acquire," flocks being both with the Homeric peoples and with the patriarchs an important form of property; compare English "fee"); tso'n "small cattle," "sheep" or goats (compare Arabic da'n, "sheep"); seh, a single sheep or goat (compare Arabic shah); mela'khah, "property," from la'akh, "to minister" (compare Arabic malakah and mulk, "property," from malak, "to possess"); meri' "fatling" (1Ki 19); thremma (Joh 4:12), "cattle," i.e. "that which is nourished," from trepho, "to nourish"; baqar, "kine," "oxen" (compare Arabic baqar, "cattle"); shor, tor (Da 4:25), tauros (
Cattle
Abounded in the Holy Land. To the rearing and management of them the inhabitants chiefly devoted themselves (Deut. 8:13; 12:21; 1 Sam. 11:5; 12:3; Ps. 144:14; Jer. 3:24). They may be classified as,
(1.) Neat cattle. Many hundreds of these were yearly consumed in sacrifices or used for food. The finest herds were found in Bashan, beyond Jordan (Num. 32:4). Large herds also pastured on the wide fertile plains of Sharon. They were yoked to the plough (1 Kings 19:19), and were employed for carrying burdens (1 Chr.…
[BULL, BULLOCK].
The Hebrew word שֵׁשׁ, transliterated as shesh, means 'six' and can function as both a cardinal and ordinal number, indicating the sixth position. It is a primitive number that signifies an excess beyond five, as noted in the entries. The Aramaic equivalent is שֵׁת (shet).
שֵׁשׁ, שִׁשָּׁה 216 n.m. et f. six
base
H8337 שֵׁשׁ, שִׁשָּׁה six
8337 shesh shaysh
masculine shishshah {shish-shaw'}; a primitive number; six
(as an overplus (see 7797) beyond five or the fingers of the
hand); as ord. sixth:--six((-teen, -teenth)), sixth.
see HEBREW for 07797
שֵׁשׁ (shesh) — six.
1) six
1a) six (cardinal number)
1b) sixth (ordinal number)
1c) in combination with other numbers
Aramaic equivalent: shet (שֵׁת "six" H8353)
Adj — AdjHAcbsa
שְׁלֹשִׁים (*shlowshiym*) means 'thirty' and can also refer to 'thirtieth' as an ordinal number. It is an indeclinable noun and is derived from the root word for 'three.' The entries indicate that it is used in various contexts, but there are no significant disagreements among the lexicons.
שְׁלֹשִׁים (very seldom שְׁלוֹשִׁים, שְׁלֹשִׁם) 174 n.indecl. thirty
bef. n. sg.
as ordin.
base
H7970 שְׁלֹשִׁים (very seldom שְׁלוֹשִׁים, שְׁלֹשִׁם) n. indecl. thirty . bef. n. sg.
. as ordin.
7970 shlowshiym shel-o-sheem'
or shloshiym {shel-o-sheem'}; multiple of 7969; thirty; or
(ordinal) thirtieth:--thirty, thirtieth. Compare 7991.
see HEBREW for 07969
see HEBREW for 07991
שְׁלֹשִׁים (she.lo.shim) — thirty.
thirty, thirtieth
Aramaic equivalent: te.la.tin (תְּלָתִין "thirty" H8533)
HC/Acmpa — ConjunctionHC/Acmpa
אֶ֫לֶף (eleph) means 'thousand' in Hebrew. It can refer to the numeral itself or denote a company or clan, particularly a group of men under one leader. The word is built from the concept of a thousand, and it is associated with the ox's head, which is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
אֶ֫לֶף n.m. thousand
base
H505 אֶ֫לֶף thousand
505 'eleph eh'-lef
prop, the same as 504; hence (the ox's head being the first
letter of the alphabet, and this eventually used as a numeral)
a thousand:--thousand.
see HEBREW for 0504
אֶ֫לֶף (e.leph) — thousand.
: thousand
1) a thousand
1a) as numeral
2) a thousand, company
2a) as a company of men under one leader, troops
אֶ֫לֶף (e.leph) — thousand: clan.
: clan
1) a thousand
1a) as numeral
2) a thousand, company
2a) as a company of men under one leader, troops
HAcbsa — HAcbsa
thou'-zand ('eleph; chilioi).
See NUMBER.