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31:1 Locutusque est Dominus ad Moysen, dicens :
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
A.M. 2553, A.C. 1451.
31:2 Ulciscere prius filios Israel de Madianitis, et sic colligeris ad populum tuum.
*H Revenge first the children of Israel on the Madianites, and so thou shalt be gathered to thy people.


Ver. 2. Madianites. The five princes, (v. 8,) had joined Sehon, in his attack upon the Hebrews. Jos. xiii. 21. They had united with the Moabites against them, and had been most active in perverting the people of God. They had even the wicked Balaam still among them, who was bent upon destruction; so that God saw the measure of their crimes was full, their provocations unsufferable, and he was pleased to let Moses be witness of their just punishment. This he would effect with a very small force, v. 5. H. — This war of religion was terminated about a month before the death of Moses.

31:3 Statimque Moyses : Armate, inquit, ex vobis viros ad pugnam, qui possint ultionem Domini expetere de Madianitis.
And Moses forthwith said: Arm of you men to fight, who may take the revenge of the Lord on the Madianites.
31:4 Mille viri de singulis tribubus eligantur ex Israel qui mittantur ad bellum.
Let a thousand men be chosen out of every tribe of Israel to be sent to the war.
31:5 Dederuntque millenos de singulis tribubus, id est, duodecim millia expeditorum ad pugnam :
And they gave a thousand of every tribe, that is to say, twelve thousand men well appointed for battle.
31:6 quos misit Moyses cum Phinees filio Eleazari sacerdotis, vasa quoque sancta, et tubas ad clangendum tradidit ei.
*H And Moses sent them with Phinees the son of Eleazar the priest, and he delivered to him the holy vessels, and the trumpets to sound.


Ver. 6. Trumpets. These are the holy vessels just specified, though some believe that he carried the ark, which was done in some wars. Jos. vi. 1. 1 K. iv. 5. Priests always sounded the trumpet. Deut. xx. 2. Phinees was appointed general of this expedition to reward him for his zeal against the fornicators. C. — Or Josue headed the army, as he did on other occasions, though his name be not here specified. The tribe of Levi was not obliged to go to battle, and therefore only twelve tribes send each 1000. Josue had been elected general by God, so that it was not necessary to mention his name. Salien.

31:7 Cumque pugnassent contra Madianitas atque vicissent, omnes mares occiderunt,
And when they had fought against the Madianites and had overcome them, they slew all the men.
31:8 et reges eorum, Evi, et Recem, et Sur, et Hur, et Rebe, quinque principes gentis : Balaam quoque filium Beor interfecerunt gladio.
*H And their kings Evi, and Recem, and Sur, and Hur, and Rebe, five princes of the nation: Balaam also the son of Beor they killed with the sword.


Ver. 8. Recem; by which name Petra, the capital of Arabia Petrea, is known. This petty king probably took his title from this city, over which he presided. C. — All the five had been, perhaps, tributary to Sehon. Jos. xiii. 21. H. — Sur, the wretched parent of Cozbi. C. xxv. 15. C. — Balaam. Some think he was a native of Madian, though he had resided in Mesopotamia. He had either stopped in this country, or hearing of the calamities of the Hebrews, had returned to receive the reward of his pernicious counsel. Thus he was overtaken by God's just judgment, and he fell into the pit which his avarice had dug for him. C. xxiv. 25. H. — Probably he was busy with his incantations; for this sort of men is generally cowardly. He had no sword. C. xxii. 29. Salien.

* Footnote * Josue 13 : 21 And all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdoms of Sehon king of the Amorrhites, that reigned in Hesebon, whom Moses slew with the princes of Madian: Hevi, and Recem, and Sur and Hur, and Rebe, dukes of Sehon inhabitants of the land.
31:9 Ceperuntque mulieres eorum, et parvulos, omniaque pecora, et cunctam supellectilem : quidquid habere potuerant depopulati sunt :
*H And they took their women, and their children captives, and all their cattle, and all their goods: and all their possessions they plundered:


Ver. 9. Possessions. Lit. "all that they could, they plundered." It seems they did not advance very far into the country; or many saved themselves by flight; for we find the Madianites soon powerful enough to enslave the Hebrews. Judg. vi. 1.

31:10 tam urbes quam viculos et castella flamma consumpsit.
*H And all their cities, and their villages, and castles, they burned.


Ver. 10. Castles. Heb. tiroth, means also, "palaces, or shepherds' huts." C.

31:11 Et tulerunt praedam, et universa quae ceperant tam ex hominibus quam ex jumentis,
And they carried away the booty, and all that they had taken both of men and of beasts.
31:12 et adduxerunt ad Moysen, et Eleazarum sacerdotem, et ad omnem multitudinem filiorum Israel : reliqua autem utensilia portaverunt ad castra in campestribus Moab juxta Jordanem contra Jericho.
And they brought them to Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and to all the multitude of the children of Israel. But the rest of the things for use they carried to the camp on the plains of Moab, beside the Jordan over against Jericho.
31:13 Egressi sunt autem Moyses et Eleazar sacerdos, et omnes principes synagogae, in occursum eorum extra castra.
*H And Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the princes of the synagogue went forth to meet them without the camp.


Ver. 13. Camp. They had sent news of their victory, and of the plunder which they were bringing to the camp, (H.) to be divided equally among their fellow soldiers, when they were met by Moses, &c. who came to congratulate with them, and to examine how they executed their commission, as well as to admonish them to be purified before they entered the camp, v. 19. C.

31:14 Iratusque Moyses principibus exercitus, tribunis, et centurionibus qui venerant de bello,
And Moses being angry with the chief officers of the army, the tribunes, and the centurions that were come from the battle,
31:15 ait : Cur feminas reservastis ?
*H Said: Why have you saved the women?


Ver. 15. Women. They had received no positive orders respecting them, and it was customary to spare their lives. But these dissolute women had rendered themselves unworthy of such indulgence, (C.) and the sight of them raised the just indignation of Moses, who was afraid lest their manners should corrupt the victors. H.

31:16 nonne istae sunt, quae deceperunt filios Israel ad suggestionem Balaam, et praevaricari vos fecerunt in Domino super peccato Phogor, unde et percussus est populus ?
*H Are not these they, that deceived the children of Israel by the counsel of Balaam, and made you transgress against the Lord by the sin of Phogor, for which also the people was punished?


Ver. 16. The sin of Phogor. The sin committed in the worship of Beelphegor. Ch. — Many of the prostitutes had returned home, being terrified at the slaughter of their queen, Cozbi. H.

31:17 ergo cunctos interficite quidquid est generis masculini, etiam in parvulis : et mulieres, quae noverunt viros in coitu, jugulate :
*H Therefore kill all that are of the male sex, even of the children: and put to death the women, that have carnally known men.


Ver. 17. Of children. Women and children, ordinarily speaking, were not to be killed in war. Deut. xx. 14. But the great lord of life and death was pleased to order it otherwise in the present case, in detestation of the wickedness of this people, who by the counsel of Balaam, had sent their women amongst the Israelites on purpose to draw them from God. Ch. — Only those who were under twelve would be thus reserved; and as their tender minds might yet receive the impressions of virtue, by a proper education, they might, one day, be married by some of the Hebrews. The boys were all slain, either because they might be inclined to resent the injury done to their relations, or because they were all consecrated to Beelphegor; the first-born to be his priests, the rest to be victims, if necessary, to avert any evil. For "the heathens in cold blood," says Paine, "offered their children in sacrifice to Baalpeor." It was on this account, that the killing of all the first-born in Egypt, was felt so terribly, as the people could not lawfully approach their gods. Forbes. — Moses did not reserve the girls for the purpose of debauchery, as Paine ignorantly pretends; for that was contrary to his own laws, nor did he wantonly kill the innocent, which he also strictly forbade, and which he would have been still more afraid to do, if he had been an impostor. But he preserved the lives of those girls who might be presumed innocent, and who might live to do good, while he took the revenge of the Lord (v. 3,) upon the rest. H.

* Footnote * Judges 21 : 12 And there were found of Jabes Galaad four hundred virgins, that had not known the bed of a man, and they brought them to the camp in Silo, into the land of Chanaan.
31:18 puellas autem et omnes feminas virgines reservate vobis :
But the girls, and all the women that are virgins save for yourselves:
31:19 et manete extra castra septem diebus. Qui occiderit hominem, vel occisum tetigerit, lustrabitur die tertio et septimo.
*H And stay without the camp seven days. He that hath killed a man, or touched one that is killed, shall be purified the third day and the seventh day.


Ver. 19. Shall be. Heb. "purify yourselves and your captives on the," &c. The girls, and all the booty, might probably be rendered unclean by the presence of a corpse, &c. C. xix. 14.

31:20 Et de omni praeda, sive vestimentum fuerit, sive vas, et aliquid in utensilia praeparatum, de caprarum pellibus, et pilis, et ligno, expiabitur.
And of all the spoil, every garment, or vessel, or any thing made for use, of the skins, or hair of goats, or of wood, shall be purified.
31:21 Eleazar quoque sacerdos ad viros exercitus, qui pugnaverunt, sic locutus est : Hoc est praeceptum legis, quod mandavit Dominus Moysi :
Eleazar also the priest spoke to the men of the army, that had fought, in this manner: This is the ordinance of the law, which the Lord hath commanded Moses:
* Footnote * Leviticus 6 : 28 And the earthen vessel, wherein it was sodden, shall be broken: but if the vessel be of brass, it shall be scoured, and washed with water.
* Footnote * Leviticus 11 : 33 But an earthen vessel, into which any of these shall fall, shall be defiled: and therefore is to be broken.
* Footnote * Leviticus 15 : 11 Every person whom such a one shall touch, not having washed his hands before, shall wash his clothes: and being washed with water, shall be unclean until the evening.
31:22 aurum, et argentum, et aes, et ferrum, et plumbum, et stannum,
Gold, and silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin,
31:23 et omne, quod potest transire per flammas, igne purgabitur : quidquid autem ignem non potest sustinere, aqua expiationis sanctificabitur :
*H And all that may pass through the fire, shall be purified by fire, but whatsoever cannot abide the fire, shall be sanctified with the water of expiation:


Ver. 23. Expiation, with which even the vessels which had been through the fire, were to be purified, or washed, as the Heb. Sept. &c. observe. C. — Moses perhaps gave this ordinance by word of mouth, on this occasion, (M.) though something similar be prescribed before. Lev. vi. 28. xi. 33. xv. 12.

31:24 et lavabitis vestimenta vestra die septimo, et purificati postea castra intrabitis.
And you shall wash your garments the seventh day, and being purified, you shall afterwards enter into the camp.
31:25 Dixit quoque Dominus ad Moysen :
And the Lord said to Moses:
31:26 Tollite summam eorum quae capta sunt, ab homine usque ad pecus, tu et Eleazar sacerdos et principes vulgi :
Take the sum of the things that were taken both of man and beast, thou and Eleazar the priest and the princes of the multitude:
31:27 dividesque ex aequo praedam inter eos qui pugnaverunt egressique sunt ad bellum, et inter omnem reliquam multitudinem.
*H And thou shalt divide the spoil equally, between them that fought and went out to the war, and between the rest of the multitude.


Ver. 27. Equally. Those who had been in battle, had about a 50th part more than the rest. They gave the first-fruits to the priests, while those in the camp presented theirs to the Levites. Other rules were afterwards observed. See 1 K. xxx. 24. 2 Mac. viii. 28. The Rabbins assign the greatest share to the king, (Seld. Jur. vi. 16,) and Homer gives the largest portion to the general; after which the rest was equally divided, and even the absent partook. The gods were not forgotten. So also among the Hebrews, Syrians, &c. the general make an equal division. David assigns a part of the booty for sacred uses, 1 Par. xxvi. 26. See Ex. xv. 9. C.

31:28 Et separabis partem Domino ab his qui pugnaverunt et fuerunt in bello, unam animam de quingentis, tam ex hominibus quam ex bobus et asinis et ovibus,
And thou shalt separate a portion to the Lord from them that fought and were in the battle, one soul of five hundred as well of persons as of oxen and asses and sheep.
31:29 et dabis eam Eleazaro sacerdoti, quia primitiae Domini sunt.
And thou shalt give it to Eleazar the priest, because they are the firstfruits of the Lord.
31:30 Ex media quoque parte filiorum Israel accipies quinquagesimum caput hominum, et boum, et asinorum, et ovium, cunctorum animantium, et dabis ea Levitis, qui excubant in custodiis tabernaculi Domini.
Out of the moiety also of the children of Israel thou shalt take the fiftieth head of persons, and of oxen, and asses, and sheep, and of all beasts, and thou shalt give them to the Levites that watch in the charge of the tabernacle of the Lord.
31:31 Feceruntque Moyses et Eleazar sicut praeceperat Dominus.
And Moses and Eleazar did as the Lord had commanded.
31:32 Fuit autem praeda, quam exercitus ceperat, ovium sexcenta septuaginta quinque millia,
*H And the spoil which the army had taken, was six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep,


Ver. 32. Spoil. Heb. "the remains of the spoil," which had not been consumed by the 12,000. C.

31:33 boum septuaginta duo millia,
Seventy-two thousand oxen,
31:34 asinorum sexaginta millia et mille :
Sixty-one thousand asses:
31:35 animae hominum sexus feminei, quae non cognoverant viros, triginta duo millia.
And thirty-two thousand persons of the female sex, that had not known men.
31:36 Dataque est media pars his qui in praelio fuerant, ovium trecenta triginta septem millia quingentae :
And one half was given to them that had been in the battle, to wit, three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep:
31:37 e quibus in partem Domini supputatae sunt oves sexcentae septuaginta quinque :
Out of which, for the portion of the Lord, were reckoned six hundred seventy five sheep.
31:38 et de bobus triginta sex millibus, boves septuaginta et duo :
And out of the thirty-six thousand oxen, seventy-two oxen:
31:39 de asinis triginta millibus quingentis, asini sexaginta unus :
Out of the thirty thousand five hundred asses, sixty-one asses:
31:40 de animabus hominum sedecim millibus, cesserunt in partem Domini triginta duae animae.
Out of the sixteen thousand persons, there fell to the portion of the Lord, thirty-two souls.
31:41 Tradiditque Moyses numerum primitiarum Domini Eleazaro sacerdoti, sicut fuerat ei imperatum,
*H And Moses delivered the number of the firstfruits of the Lord to Eleazar the priest, as had been commanded him,


Ver. 41. Fruits. Heb. "a heave-offering to," &c. v. 29.

31:42 ex media parte filiorum Israel, quam separaverat his qui in praelio fuerant.
Out of the half of the children of Israel, which he had separated for them that had been in the battle.
31:43 De media vero parte, quae contigerat reliquae multitudini, id est, de ovibus trecentis triginta septem millibus quingentis,
But out of the half that fell to the rest of the multitude, that is to say, out of the three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep,
31:44 et de bobus triginta sex millibus,
And out of the thirty-six thousand oxen,
31:45 et de asinis triginta millibus quingentis,
And out of the thirty thousand five hundred asses,
31:46 et de hominibus sedecim millibus,
And out of the sixteen thousand persons,
31:47 tulit Moyses quinquagesimum caput, et dedit Levitis, qui excubabant in tabernaculo Domini, sicut praeceperat Dominus.
Moses took the fiftieth head, and gave it to the Levites that watched in the tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord had commanded.
31:48 Cumque accessissent principes exercitus ad Moysen, et tribuni, centurionesque, dixerunt :
And when the commanders of the army, and the tribunes and centurions were come to Moses, they said:
31:49 Nos servi tui recensuimus numerum pugnatorum, quos habuimus sub manu nostra : et ne unus quidem defuit.
*H We thy servants have reckoned up the number of the fighting men, whom we had under our hand, and not so much as one was wanting.


Ver. 49. Wanting. Sept. "all were unanimous," (Origen,) and "all answered to their names." Thus God was pleased to shew, that his Providence had directed the battle. H.

31:50 Ob hanc causam offerimus in donariis Domini singuli quod in praeda auri potuimus invenire, periscelides et armillas, annulos et dextralia, ac muraenulas, ut depreceris pro nobis Dominum.
*H Therefore we offer as gifts to the Lord what gold every one of us could find in the booty, in garters and tablets, rings and bracelets, and chains, that thou mayst pray to the Lord for us.


Ver. 50. His own. Gold, and such ornaments as might easily be concealed by the soldiers, where not required to be brought to the common stock to be equally divided. C. — There were 840,000 head of living creatures, including the 32,000 virgins, which were distributed. The gold, which was voluntarily presented to the Lord, amounted to above five talents. Salien. B.C. 1470. — The princes made a voluntary offering of their gold, but the common soldiers retained what each man had gotten. D.

31:51 Susceperuntque Moyses et Eleazar sacerdos omne aurum in diversis speciebus,
And Moses and Eleazar the priest received all the gold in divers kinds,
31:52 pondo sedecim millia septingentos quinquaginta siclos, a tribunis et centurionibus.
In weight sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty sicles, from the tribunes and from the centurions.
31:53 Unusquisque enim quod in praeda rapuerat, suum erat.
For that which every one had taken in the booty was his own.
31:54 Et susceptum intulerunt in tabernaculum testimonii, in monimentum filiorum Israel coram Domino.
And that which was received they brought into the tabernacle of the testimony, for a memorial of the children of Israel before the Lord.
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