1 Chronicles 28:3

28:3 But God said to me, ‘You must not build a temple to honor me, ¹  for you are a warrior and have spilled blood.’

Numbers 31:20

31:20 You must purify each garment and everything that is made of skin, everything made of goat’s hair, and everything made of wood.” ² 

Numbers 31:24

31:24 You must wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you will be ceremonially clean, and afterward you may enter the camp.’”

Numbers 31:1

The Midianite War

31:1 ³ The Lord spoke to Moses:

Numbers 5:3

5:3 You must expel both men and women; you must put them outside the camp, so that ⁴  they will not defile their camps, among which I live.”

¹ tn Heb “for my name.”

² sn These verses are a reminder that taking a life, even if justified through holy war, still separates one from the holiness of God. It is part of the violation of the fallen world, and only through the ritual of purification can one be once again made fit for the presence of the Lord.

³ sn This lengthy chapter records the mobilization of the troops (vv. 1-5), the war itself (vv. 6-13), the death of the captive women (vv. 14-18), the purification of the nations (vv. 19-24), and the distribution of the spoils (vv. 25-54). For more detail, see G. W. Coats, “Moses in Midian,” JBL 92 (1973): 3-10; and W. J. Dumbrell, “Midian – a Land or a League?” VT 25 (1975): 323-37.

⁴ tn The imperfect tense functions here as a final imperfect, expressing the purpose of putting such folks outside the camp. The two preceding imperfects (repeated for emphasis) are taken here as instruction or legislation.