Numbers 31
Big idea: The reckoning with Midian, and the hardest chapter in the book to read. A thousand men from each tribe go out with Phinehas, the sanctuary vessels and the trumpets; they kill every male, take the women and children captive, burn the cities — and among the slain is Balaam son of Beor, who could not curse Israel and taught Midian how to seduce them instead. Moses is angry that the women who engineered Peor were spared, and gives an order the text records without softening. Then the aftermath is handled with meticulous care: seven days outside the camp for everyone who killed or touched a corpse, metal passed through fire, plunder counted and divided in half between soldiers and congregation, with a tribute to Yahweh from each. And the officers report a thing they cannot explain — there lacks not one man of us — and bring their gold as atonement.
Chapter 31 secures the eastern frontier by war. Chapter 32 asks who will live there.
31:1–12 — A thousand from every tribe
Avenge the children of Israel on the Midianites; afterward you shall be gathered to your people. Moses tells the people to arm men to execute Yahweh's vengeance on Midian — one thousand out of every tribe. Twelve thousand are delivered, armed for war, and Moses sends them with Phinehas son of Eleazar, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand. They fight as Yahweh commanded and kill every male, including the five kings of Midian — Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba — and Balaam son of Beor with the sword. They take the women and little ones captive with all the livestock and goods as plunder, burn all their cities and encampments, and bring the captives and plunder to Moses, Eleazar and the congregation at the camp in the plains of Moab.
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Avenge the children of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.” 3 Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for war, that they may go against Midian, to execute Yahweh’s vengeance on Midian. 4 You shall send one thousand out of every tribe, throughout all the tribes of Israel, to the war.” 5 So there were delivered, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6 Moses sent them, one thousand of every tribe, to the war with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand. 7 They fought against Midian, as Yahweh 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 burned with fire. 11 They took all the captives, and all the plunder, both of man and of animal. 12 They brought the captives with 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.
31:13–24 — Purify yourselves, and everything you touched
Moses, Eleazar and all the princes go out to meet them outside the camp, and Moses is angry with the officers: have you saved all the women alive? These are the ones who caused Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass in the matter of Peor, so that the plague was among the congregation. His order follows, recorded without comment. Then the purification: encamp outside the camp seven days; whoever has killed any person or touched any slain must purify himself on the third day and the seventh, along with the captives, and purify every garment, everything of skin, all work of goats' hair, and everything of wood. Eleazar adds the rule for metal: gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin and lead — everything that withstands fire goes through the fire and is clean, and is still purified with the water for impurity; whatever does not withstand fire goes through the water. Wash your clothes on the seventh day, and afterward come into the camp.
13 Moses and Eleazar the priest, with 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 Yahweh in the matter of Peor, and so the plague was among the congregation of Yahweh. 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 for 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 You shall purify every garment, and all that is made of skin, and all work of goats’ hair, and all things made of wood.” 21 Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who went to the battle, “This is the statute of the law which Yahweh has commanded Moses. 22 However the gold, and the silver, the bronze, 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.”
31:25–47 — Divided in two
Count the plunder, both of man and animal, and divide it into two parts: between the men skilled in war who went out to battle, and all the congregation. From the soldiers' half, levy a tribute to Yahweh of one soul out of five hundred — of persons, cattle, donkeys and flocks — given to Eleazar for Yahweh's wave offering. From the congregation's half, take one out of every fifty and give them to the Levites who perform the duty of the tabernacle. Moses and Eleazar do as commanded. The totals: 675,000 sheep, 72,000 cattle, 61,000 donkeys and 32,000 persons. The soldiers' half was 337,500 sheep (tribute 675), 36,000 cattle (72), 30,500 donkeys (61), 16,000 persons (32) — and Moses gives the tribute to Eleazar. From the congregation's identical half, Moses takes one out of every fifty and gives them to the Levites.
25 Yahweh 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 Yahweh 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 Yahweh’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 Yahweh’s tabernacle.” 31 Moses and Eleazar the priest did as Yahweh 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 seventy-two thousand head of cattle, 34 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 Yahweh’s tribute of the sheep was six hundred seventy-five. 38 The cattle were thirty-six thousand, of which Yahweh’s tribute was seventy-two. 39 The donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred, of which Yahweh’s tribute was sixty-one. 40 The persons were sixteen thousand, of whom Yahweh’s tribute was thirty-two persons. 41 Moses gave the tribute, which was Yahweh’s wave offering, to Eleazar the priest, as Yahweh 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 thirty-six thousand head of cattle, 45 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 Yahweh’s tabernacle, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
31:48–54 — There lacks not one man of us
The officers over the thousands come near to Moses and say: your servants have taken the sum of the men of war under our command, and there lacks not one man of us. We have brought Yahweh's offering, what every man found — gold ornaments, armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings and necklaces — to make atonement for our souls before Yahweh. Moses and Eleazar take their gold, all worked jewels; the total of the wave offering from the captains of thousands and hundreds was 16,750 shekels. The men of war had taken booty, every man for himself. And Moses and Eleazar bring the officers' gold into the Tent of Meeting for a memorial for the children of Israel before Yahweh.
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 Yahweh’s offering, what every man found: gold ornaments, armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make atonement for our souls before Yahweh.” 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 Yahweh, 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 Yahweh.
Scripture text: World English Bible (public domain).