Numbers 31:6-13

Campaign Against the Midianites

31:6 So Moses sent them to the war, one thousand from every tribe, with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, who was in charge ¹  of the holy articles ²  and the signal trumpets. 31:7 They fought against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses, and they killed every male. ³  31:8 They killed the kings of Midian in addition to those slain – Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba – five Midianite kings. ⁴  They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. ⁵ 

31:9 The Israelites took the women of Midian captives along with their little ones, and took all their herds, all their flocks, and all their goods as plunder. 31:10 They burned ⁶  all their towns ⁷  where they lived and all their encampments. 31:11 They took all the plunder and all the spoils, both people and animals. 31:12 They brought the captives and the spoils and the plunder to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the Israelite community, to the camp on the plains ⁸  of Moab, along the Jordan River ⁹  across from Jericho. ¹⁰  31:13 Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the community went out to meet them outside the camp.

[31:6]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text uses the idiom that these “were in his hand,” meaning that he had the responsibility over them.

[31:6]  ² sn It is not clear what articles from the sanctuary were included. Tg. Ps.-J. adds (interpretively) “the Urim and Thummim.”

[31:7]  ³ sn Many modern biblical scholars assume that this passage is fictitious. The text says that they killed every male, but Judges accounts for the Midianites. The texts can be harmonized rather simply – they killed every Midianite who was in the battle. Midianite tribes and cities dotted the whole region, but that does not mean Israel went and killed every single one of them. There apparently was a core of Midianites whom Balaam had influenced to pervert Israel.

[31:8]  ⁴ sn Here again we see that there was no unified empire, but Midianite tribal groups.

[31:8]  ⁵ sn And what was Balaam doing among the Midianites? The implication is strong. This pagan diviner had to submit to the revealed will of God in the oracles, but he nonetheless could be hired. He had been a part of the attempt to destroy Israel that failed; he then apparently became part of the plan, if not the adviser, to destroy them with sexual immorality and pagan ritual.

[31:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “burned with fire.”

[31:10]  ⁷ tn The ban applied to the encampments and forts of this group of Midianite tribes living in the region of Moab.

[31:12]  ⁸ tn Or “steppes.”

[31:12]  ⁹ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[31:12]  ¹⁰ tn Again this expression, “the Jordan of Jericho,” is used. It describes the intended location along the Jordan River, the Jordan next to or across from Jericho.