Chapter Thirty-One
Apparently, a few Bible commentators either do not believe in God or are incapable of accepting the fact that God is all powerful, all knowing, and omnipresent, as some believe that this chapter is all fiction. While it is true that the Bible does use fictional stories, such as the parables taught by Jesus, this chapter is not some form of “spiritual lesson,” it is a historic event with real historic people. The names of the kings are not only found elsewhere in the Bible, but they can be found in secular sources as well. The entire Bible is God’s Word, it doesn’t just contain God’s Word, it is God’s Word, and it represents what truly happened.
Vengeance on Midian
31:1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.” 3 So 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 You shall send a thousand from each of the tribes of Israel to the war.” 5 So there were provided, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6 And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand from each tribe, together with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand. 7 They warred against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses, and 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. And they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword. 9 And the people of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones, and they took as plunder all their cattle, their flocks, and all their goods. 10 All their cities in the places where they lived, and all their encampments, they burned with fire, 11 and took all the spoil and all the plunder, both of man and of beast. 12 Then they brought the captives and the plunder and the spoil to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the people of Israel, at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
As a result of the partially successful attempt of the Midianites to bring down Israel through Balaam’s suggested plan of seduction and corruption, that led many of the Israelites to worship Baal of Peor resulting in 24,000 being killed in judgment, God wanted to avenge the people of Israel (see Numbers 25:1-18).
Moses has 1,000 men from each tribe arm themselves and prepare for war. The twelve thousand were then led by Phinehas who was accompanied with the vessels of the Tabernacle (possibly including the Urim and Thummim, some believe that included the Ark of the Covenant, see Joshua chapter six, however there is no indication that the Levites had participated) and the trumpets used for signaling (see Numbers 10:10).
They went to war against Midian and killed every male, including each of the five kings. They also killed Balaam who apparently was still in Midian. The men captured the children and women and took as plunder all their belongings and their livestock. All their cities, structures and any other place they were living in were destroyed with fire. Afterwards, they brought their spoils back to Moses, Eleazar, and to the people of Israel who were still camped on the plains of Moab.
31:13 Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the chiefs of the congregation went to meet them outside the camp. 14 And Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, who had come from service in the war. 15 Moses said to them, “Have you let all the women live? 16 Behold, these, on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came 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 young girls who have not known man by lying with him keep alive for yourselves. 19 Encamp outside the camp seven days. Whoever of you has killed any person and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day. 20 You shall purify every garment, every article of skin, all work of goats’ hair, and every article of wood.”
Moses, Eleazar, and the Israelite chiefs went to meet the men returning from battle. When Moses saw that they captured the women instead of executing them, he became angry. He asked them why and then reminded them that it was these women, who, following Balaam’s advice, caused the people to turn away from YWHW resulting in the plague that killed so many of the Israelites.
Moses then instructed them to kill all the male children and every woman who had intercourse with a man. All the young woman who did not have any sexual relationships with any man are not to be killed and can be kept as slaves or potential wives. Which begs the question, how can someone determine if a woman is a virgin or not? Perhaps through the process outlined in Numbers 5:11-31 used to determine marital faithfulness. The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel on the book of Numbers (Bemidbar) offers this process as a form of a lie detector:
Now, therefore, slay every male among the children, and every woman who hath known a man; but every female child you shall stand before the Crown of Holiness, (the priest’s tiara,) and look upon her: she who is not a virgin will be pallid in the face, but she who is a virgin child will blush in the face, like fire; them you shall spare. But as for you, abide without the camp seven days; whoever hath slain a man, or touched the dead, you shall sprinkle on the third; and on the seventh day, both you and your captives, and every garment, and whatever is made of skin, goats’ hair, horn, or bone, and every vessel of wood, you shall sprinkle.[1]
After everything was done and the executions were over, they were to remain outside the camp for seven days. Those that killed any person or came in contact with anyone killed, they were to purify themselves, and the captive women, on the third day and on the seventh day (see Numbers 19:1-22). They were also required to wash and purify every garment and everything they had made of leather, goat hair, or wood.
31:21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the men in the army who had gone to battle: “This is the statute of the law that the LORD has commanded Moses: 22 only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead, 23 everything that can stand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it shall be clean. Nevertheless, it shall also be purified with the water for impurity. And whatever cannot stand the fire, you shall pass through the water. 24 You must wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you shall be clean. And afterward you may come into the camp.”
Eleazar reminded, and perhaps informed for the first time, the men who had gone into battle about the purification process that God revealed to Moses and Aaron many years earlier. Some believe that since the unique phrase, “statute of the law,” is only used one other location and, that is in the same chapter the process of purification was introduced (see Numbers 19:1-22, note verse two), that this is a continuation, or expansion, of that same law.
Everything they brought back from battle needed to be purified. Those items that could withstand fire (specifically gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead) needed to be passed through fire as well as be purified using the water for impurity (see Numbers 19:1-10). The text does not give any details regarding the passing through fire, some point out that through melting, impurities can be burned off, however, heating to the point of melting is not implied. It is interesting to note that the apostle Paul references that Christians will be judged, not for entrance to heaven as Jesus did all the work for salvation, but to evaluate the effectiveness of every believer’s effort following Jesus. Each Christian’s effort for Jesus will be revealed by fire (see 1 Corinthians 3:10-15).
Those things that cannot stand fire, things that are either flammable or can be damaged in fire, are to be passed through the water for impurity. Everyone’s clothing was to be washed on the seventh day. After the purification process was completed, they were allowed back into the Israelite camp.
31:25 The LORD said to Moses, 26 “Take the count of the plunder that was taken, both of man and of beast, you and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the congregation, 27 and divide the plunder into two parts between the warriors who went out to battle and all the congregation. 28 And levy for the LORD a tribute from the men of war who went out to battle, one out of five hundred, of the people and of the oxen and of the donkeys and of the flocks. 29 Take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest as a contribution to the LORD. 30 And from the people of Israel’s half you shall take one drawn out of every fifty, of the people, of the oxen, of the donkeys, and of the flocks, of all the cattle, and give them to the Levites who keep guard over the tabernacle of the LORD.” 31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.
God instructed Moses to count the plunder from the Midianite battle, including man (Hebrew ‘ā·ḏām’,[2] referring to humans, in this case not the men as they were executed) and livestock. The counting was to be done by him, Eleazar and the leaders of the people, possibly to avoid any doubt regarding fairness. The plunder was to be divided into two equal parts, one for those that went to battle, and the other for the rest of the people. One out of every 500 items counted from men of war’s tribute allocation was to be given to Eleazer as a contribution to YHWH. One out of every 50 counted, including the people, oxen, donkeys, flocks, and cattle, from the other half set aside for the people, are to be given to the Levites who guard the Tabernacle. Moses and Eleazar did as God instructed.
31:32 Now the plunder remaining of the spoil that the army took was 675,000 sheep, 33 72,000 cattle, 34 61,000 donkeys, 35 and 32,000 persons in all, women who had not known man by lying with him. 36 And the half, the portion of those who had gone out in the army, numbered 337,500 sheep, 37 and the LORD’s tribute of sheep was 675. 38 The cattle were 36,000, of which the LORD’s tribute was 72. 39 The donkeys were 30,500, of which the LORD’s tribute was 61. 40 The persons were 16,000, of which the LORD’s tribute was 32 persons. 41 And Moses gave the tribute, which was the contribution for the LORD, to Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.
The inventory of the plunder was significant. The total count of spoil brought back from the battle was: 675,000 sheep (believed to include goats), 72,000 cattle, 61,000 donkeys, and 32,000 virgin women. The half that was given to the warriors included 337,500 sheep, 36,000 cattle, 30,500 donkeys, and 16,000 women, which rendered 675 sheep, 72 cattle, 61 donkeys, and 32 women as a contribution to YHWH given to Eleazar.
31:42 From the people of Israel’s half, which Moses separated from that of the men who had served in the army— 43 now the congregation’s half was 337,500 sheep, 44 36,000 cattle, 45 and 30,500 donkeys, 46 and 16,000 persons— 47 from the people of Israel’s half Moses took one of every 50, both of persons and of beasts, and gave them to the Levites who kept guard over the tabernacle of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.
The same amount was given to the people of Israel. Using the ratio given to Moses of one out of fifty counted was to be given to the Levites who guarded the Tabernacle, they would have received 6,750 sheep, 720 cattle, 610 donkeys, and 320 women.
31:48 Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, came near to Moses 49 and said to Moses, “Your servants have counted the men of war who are under our command, and there is not a man missing from us. 50 And we have brought the LORD’s offering, what each man found, articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and beads, to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD.” 51 And Moses and Eleazar the priest received from them the gold, all crafted articles. 52 And all the gold of the contribution that they presented to the LORD, from the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, was 16,750 shekels. 53 (The men in the army had each taken plunder for himself.) 54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tent of meeting, as a memorial for the people of Israel before the LORD.
Then came remarkable news, a miracle had occurred during their battle, not a single Israelite lost their life, all were accounted for! This must have astonished the officers as they now approach Moses to give him the news and to bring an offering to YHWH. They brought things that were made of gold, including arm bands, bracelets, rings, earrings, and pendants, to make atonement for themselves. The Hebrew verb ‘ḵǎp·pēr’,[3] meaning “to cover,” is appropriately translated as ‘atonement’.[4] These military officers recognized that God protected them and their men and now were offering a voluntary ‘ransom’ for their lives in thanksgiving.
Moses and Eleazar accepted the articles from the various commanders, which in total was 16,750 shekels of gold (estimated to be over 400 pounds). The gold was brought to the Tabernacle as a memorial for the people of Israel (those that died in the plague) before YHWH. These offerings were from the officers who recognized the miracle that took place; the other men took plunder for themselves, who, at this time may not have been aware of God’s protection.
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[1] Etheridge, J. W. (Trans.). (1862–1865). The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan ben Uzziel on the Pentateuch; With the Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum: From the Chaldee (Nu 31). London: Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts.; Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, and Green.
[2] Strong’s Hebrew 120.
[3] Strong’s Hebrew 3722.
[4] See commentary under Genesis 6:14-16; Exodus 25:17; 29:36-37; Leviticus 14:10-20.