Numbers 31

Numbers 31:1-12

**IV. THE LAST EVENTS IN TRANS-JORDAN (Numbers 31; Numbers 32; Numbers 33:1-42)

A. ATTACK UPON THE MIDIANITES vv. 1-12 TEXT**

Numbers 31:1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2. Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people. 3. 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. Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye 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. 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. And they warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses: and they slew all the males. 8. 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. 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. And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire. 11. And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts. 12. 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 Isreal, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho.

PARAPHRASE

Numbers 31:1. Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, Execute the full vengeance of the Children of Israel upon the Midianites; afterward, you shall be gathered unto your people. 3. And Moses spoke unto the people, saying, Arm men from among you for the conflict, and let them go forth against Midian and avenge the Lord on Midian. 4. You shall send to the war one thousand men from each tribe, throughout all the tribes of Israel. 5. So twelve thousand armed men were brought out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, for the battle. 6. And Moses sent them to the battle, a thousand from each tribe, they and Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest, to the battle, with the holy instruments and the trumpets and his hand to blow. 7. And they fought against Midian as the Lord had commanded Moses: and they killed all the males. 8. And they killed the kings of Midian, besides the others who were slain: Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the five kings of Midian; they also killed Balaam, the son of Peor, with the sword. 9. And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captive, along with their little ones; and all their cattle and all their flocks and all their goods. 10. Then they burned all the cities where they lived, as well as their camps, with fire. 11. And they took all the loot, and all the prey, both of man and beast. 12. And they brought the captives and the prey and the loot to Moses and 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 opposite Jericho.

COMMENTARY

God had earlier commanded the attack upon the Midianites (Numbers 25:17), citing their prostitution of Israel at Peor (Numbers 25:18). We have no way of determining exactly how long this interval had been, but in the meanwhile the census had been taken to establish the basis for Israel’s army. When the attack was finally made, it seems to have been quite unexpected, and the victory was total. One thousand men from each of the tribes constituted the attacking army, and they were accompanied by Phinehas, the son of the high priest, who took with him certain holy instruments, whose identity is not known, along with the trumpets.

In the battle, all malesapparently the adultswere killed, along with the five kings or chiefs of Midian. Along with these five prominent men is mentioned the fact that Balaam, son of Beor, was a victim of the same attack. It would seem that Balaam had remained in the area, had attached himself unto the Midianites, and counseled the Midianites to tempt Israel into idolatry (Numbers 31:16). His death may have been the result of judicial execution rather than from the battle itself (see PC p. 400).

Following the overwhelming victory comes the matter of dividing the spoils of conquest. The women are taken prisoners, along with all children. The cattle, here meaning beasts of burden, and their domesticated flocks are confiscated, along with all of their goods. The cities were burned next. Since the Midianites were a nomadmic people, it is very possible that these cities had originally belonged either to the Moabites or the Amorites, and that they had been captured by Sihon. The KJ word castle is not justified in the text; the term means simply camps. The booty now was brought before Moses and Eleazar, as well as the congregation, in their camp in Moab for disposition. Since the battle had been ordered by the Lord, the warriors were not to look upon the occasion as one of personal exploitation of the victims. God Himself must guide this next important step.

Why was the annihilation of so great a number of the Midianites ordered? Not because they were the only idolatrous people with whom Israel came into contact; nor were the Israelites to become international moral policemen to enforce Divine laws of conduct. The reason, simply put, is that Midian had made an unprovoked, crafty, and successful attack upon God’s people, and had brought thousands of them to a shameful death. The motive which prompted the attack upon them was not horror of their sins, nor fear of their contamination, but vengeance; Midian was smitten avowedly -to avenge the children of Israel-’ (Numbers 31:2) who had fallen through Baal-Peor, and at the same time -to avenge the Lord-’ (Numbers 31:3), who had been obliged to slay his own people, (PC, p. 403.) A final word is appropriate. We would be logically in error to apply twentieth-century, or even Christian, moral standards to the actions commanded at Moses-’ time. The treatment of the Midianite women and children was, by the standards of his day, most merciful, and is a step toward that ethic God would have all men reach through His Sonto stir a national conscience against atrocities and, ultimately and ideally, to eliminate war altogether. If men fail to reach this goal, it is due not to a failure in God’s plan or a lowering of His goals, but to the continuing rebellious and inhumane attitudes and acts of His rebellious creature.

QUESTIONS AND RESEARCH ITEMS

What was the basic reason for God’s ordering the attack upon the Midianites?

Why had He not done similarly to the Moabites or the Amorites?

Who accompanied the army, and with what implements?

Tell who was killed in the ensuing battle.

Who were spared initially?

Why had the cities probably not been built originally by the Midianites?

Discuss the ethical question of the annihilation of the Midianites. Why is it a fallacy to apply contemporary standards of the actions here?

Numbers 31:13-20

B. INSTRUCTIONS FOR THEIR DISPOSAL vv. 13-20 TEXT

Numbers 31:13. And Moses and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp. 14. 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. And Moses said unto them, Have ye 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 there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord. 17. Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. 18. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. 19. 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. And purify all your raiment, and all that is made of skins, and all work of goats-’ hair, and all things made of wood.

PARAPHRASE

Numbers 31:13. And Moses and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation went out to meet them outside the camp. 14. And Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who had come from the battle. 15. And Moses said to them, Have you spared all the women alive? 16. Behold, these caused the children of Israel to revolt against the Lord through the counsel of Balaam, in the matter of Peor; and there was a plague of the Lord among the congregation. 17. Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man by lying with him. 18. But all the girls who have not lain with a man you are to keep alive unto yourselves. 19. Stay outside of the camp seven days, anyone who has killed another person, and anyone who has touched a corpse; purify both yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day. 20. And you shall purify every garment and every item of leather and all work of goats-’ hair, and all things made of wood.

COMMENTARY

The anger of Moses, Eleazar and other leaders of the people is not difficult to understand. When they learned that the very most involved members of the Midianite tribe who had earlier corrupted Israel had been spared, their reaction was spontaneously to disapprove. These were the very women who induced the people of God to sin flagrantly, both in committing whoredom and in subscribing to orgiastic religious rituals before the pagan gods. To spare them would be an affront to the very God who had ordered the extermination of the offending tribe. Moses-’ decision is immediate, and his orders are to the point. He first rebukes those who were responsible for the situation, then he gives the reason for his displeasure. Then they are told what they must do: kill every male child and every woman who has had intercourse with a man. Only virgins, of whatever age, are to be spared. The male children are to be exterminated in order to bring Midian to extinction. The women who have had sexual experience are to be killed to prevent further seduction of the Israelites; and, as we may now conclude from present knowledge of the ravages of sexually-oriented diseases, to prevent a further infestation of God’s people in a manner all too familiar from the past.

Why, then, were the virgins spared? Unlike many of their contemporary nations, the Hebrews were not slave traders. They were permitted servants, with numerous laws in the Mosaic code to govern the practice. But in this instance it seems correct to assume that many of the Midianites married into the nation of Israel, since any children born to such a union would have been considered Israelites; and they are not yet living under the circumstances which would have prohibited the marriages. Nevertheless, both soldiers and captives were required to remain outside the camp for one week. During the time, they are to follow exactly the strictures of Num 19:11 ff., in order that they might be ceremonially clean when they reentered the camp. Even their clothing and anything made of skin, goats-’ hair or wool, must likewise be made clean. The directions specify that only those who have actually killed another, or have touched a corpse, are involved. Even the captives themselves are to undergo the ritual cleansing before they may be admitted into the assembly of Israel.

QUESTIONS AND RESEARCH ITEMS

Give the causes for the anger of Moses and Eleazar when Israel’s warriors returned from their battle with the Midianites.

Relate Moses-’ instructions as to how the captives were to be treated. What was to happen to the different kinds of prisoners?

Why was it reasonable to spare only the virgins among the Midianites?

What eventually became of those Midianite women?

For what reason and for what length of time were some of the soldiers not permitted to return to camp?

Compare the treatment given these captives by Israel with that normally given to prisoners of war in other contemporary societies.

Suggest any reasons you can for requiring the Israelites to purify even the garments and other such items before bringing them into camp.

Numbers 31:21-24

C. PURIFICATION OF THE SOLDIERS AND THE BOOTY vv. 21-24 TEXT

Numbers 31:21, 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. Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead, 23. Everything 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. And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye shall come into the camp.

PARAPHRASE

Numbers 31:21. Then Eleazar the priest said to the warriors who had gone to the battle, This is the statute of the Law which the Lord commanded Moses: 22. only the gold and silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin and the lead, 23. everything which can stand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it shall be clean. But whatever does not pass through the fire you shall pass through the water. 24. And you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and be clean; afterwards you may enter the camp.

COMMENTARY

In recognizing that this is the earliest instance of the high priest declaring to the people what the law of God as delivered to Moses was, and then applying and enlarging that law to meet the present circumstances, (PC, p. 400), we should also recognize the circumstances under which such a declaration was made. As the account moves inexorably toward the time of the death of Moses, more responsibility has already been shared with Joshua, and it is only reasonable that such a sharing should occur in another area in which Moses has carried a singular responsibilitya responsibility which will be an inherent part of the duties of the succeeding high priests. This fact alone is hardly sufficient to prove that the passage is a later interpolation.

All those metals which can be purified by fire are to undergo this method of treatment; materials which would not survive this process are to be washed thoroughly with water. The metals named here: gold, silver, bronze, tin, iron and lead were well known to ancient people; all of them were refined, and all could be purified by the fires; so it was ordered. The process of washing would have included all skins, clothing, and woven fabrics of any kind. Even aside from the fact that the order is given for ceremonial purposes, no better precautionary measures could have been taken to insure curtailment of any transmissible diseases. In a day when men did not know anything of this fact, and of the part which either clothing or materials of any other kind could play in spreading unwanted germs and infestations, it was a part of God’s divine protection of His people to order such a cleansing. Their own clothing must be washed on the final day of the quarantine, as the final act of compliance; following this, life might be resumed in its normal course.

QUESTIONS AND RESEARCH ITEMS

Why were the metal items and all other articles of booty to be subjected to the ritual of cleansing?

Explain the part of Eleazar in presenting the instructions to Israel.

Why did Moses himself not deliver the instructions?

Find other instances where the Israelites were required to make similar compliances with God’s orders.

Numbers 31:25-54

D. DIVISION OF THE BOOTY vv. 25-54 TEXT

Numbers 31:25. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 26. 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. 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. 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 it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, for a heave offering of the Lord. 30. 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 given them unto the Levites, Which keep the charge of the tabernacle of the Lord. 31. And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses. 32. 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. And threescore and twelve thousand beeves, 34. And threescore and one thousand asses, 35. And thirty and two thousand persons in all, of women that had not known man by lying with him. 36. 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. And the Lord’s tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and fifteen. 38. And the beeves were thirty and six thousand; of which the Lord’s tribute was threescore and twelve. 39. And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred; of which the Lord’s tribute was threescore and one. 40. And the persons were sixteen thousand; of which the Lord’s tribute was thirty and two persons. 41. And Moses gave the tribute, which was the Lord’s heave offering, unto Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses. 42. And of the children of Israel’s half, which Moses divided from the men that warred, 43. (now the half that pertained unto the congregation was three thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep, 44. And thirty and six thousand beeves, 45. And thirty thousand asses and five hundred, 46. And sixteen thousand persons,) 47. Even of the children of Israel’s half, Moses took one portion of fifty, both of men and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites, which kept the charge of the tabernacle of the Lord: as the Lord commanded Moses.

48. And the officers which were over thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses: 49. 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. 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. And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels. 52. 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. (For the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.) 54. 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.

PARPAHRASE

Numbers 31:25. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, You and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the fathers-’ households of the congregation shall take a count of the loot which was taken, of both man and animal; 27. and divide the loot between the warriors who went out into battle and all the congregation. 28. And you shall levy a tax for the Lord from the warriors who went out to battle, one in five hundred of the people and of the cattle, and of the donkeys and of the sheep; 29. take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest, as an offering to the Lord. 30. And from the half belonging to the children of Israel you shall take one of each fifty of the people, of the cattle, of the donkeys and of the sheep, from all the animals, and give them to the Levites who keep charge of the Tabernacle of the Lord. 31. So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses. 32. And the booty which remained from the loot which the warriors had taken was 675,000 sheep, 33. and 72,000 cattle, 34. and 61,000 donkeys; 35. and of people, of the women who had not lain with a man, the total number of women was 32,000. 36. And the half which was the allotment of those who went to war was the following: the number of sheep was 337,500, 37. and the Lord’s tax of the sheep was 675, 38. and the number of cattle was 36,000, from which the Lord’s tax was 72. 39. And there were 30,500 donkeys, from which the Lord’s tax was 61. 40. And there were 16,000 people, from whom the Lord’s levy was 32 people. 41. And Moses gave the tax which was the Lord’s offering to Eleazar the priest, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 42. And from the half belonging to the children of Israel, which Moses received from the men who had gone to war 43. (now the congregation’s half was 337,500 sheep, 44. and 36,000 cattle, 45. and 30,500 donkeys; 46. and there were 16,000 people), 47. and from the half belonging to the children of Isreal, Moses took one chosen from every fifty, of both man and animals, and gave them to the Levites who kept charge of the Tabernacle of the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

48. Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, came to Moses. 49. And they said to Moses, Your servants have taken a census of the warriors who are under our command, and not one man is missing. 50. So we have brought as an offering to the Lord what each man found, items of gold, jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and belts, to make atonement for our souls before the Lord. 51. Then Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, all kinds of wrought jewelry. 52. And all the gold of the offering which they offered up to the Lord from the captains of the hundreds was 16,750 shekels. 53. (Now the warriors had taken loot, every man for himself.) 54. Now Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it to the Tent of Meeting as a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord.

COMMENTARY

Everything taken in war against the Midianites was first divided into two equal portions. These were shared alike by those who had gone to battle and those who had not. David would later base his distribution of loot from war upon this principle (see 1 Samuel 30:24 ff.): it is implicit in Joshua’s words to the people when the two and one-half tribes settled east of the Jordan (Joshua 22:8).

When the equal division was completed, the booty was assessed for a tribute unto the Lord. One-fifth of one percent of that which was designated for the warriors was to be given Eleazar for a heave offering unto the Lord. The same portion was taken from those given the congregation, and these portions were taken for the Levites. Although the total portions taken were identical, the proportions differed greatly: .2% of the soldiers-’ booty, but 2% of the booty of the people. This would recognize the active service of the warriors. If the number of animals taken seems large, let the later reference of Jdg 6:3-5 be considered, where the Midianites-’ herds and flocks are compared to grasshoppers in multitude, and their camels are said to have been without number.

The soldiers were obviously pleased with their rewards (Numbers 31:49); and an even more intriguing item is the note that not one man was missing from their ranks. This latter fact has been attributed to the protection of God, to the lack of resistance from the Midianites, and to the full obedience and sound faith of the participants. The passage does not assign a cause.

A number of items of jewelry appear in the detailing of the booty. We should not wonder that a nomadic people possessed such items, since this was a custom of antiquity among the Bedouins, whose jewelry represented the total of their wealth, apart from their flocks. The Israelites themselves had produced a sufficient quantity to more than provide for the necessities of construction of the Tabernacle. All of the gold so taken was given to the Lord, and was doubtless used to support the tabernacle services.

QUESTIONS AND RESEARCH ITEMS

Compare the amount of booty allocated to the soldiers with that shared by the people.

On what basis were the soldiers allowed the greater shares?

What explanations have been offered for the fact that not one of the Israelite soldiers was lost in this battle? Defend the one you accept.

Is it reasonable to believe that a nomadic people could have as much gold as Israel took from the Midianites? Explain your answer.