War Against the Midianites
Numbers 31YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “Avenge the children of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you will be gathered to your people.”
Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Y’all must arm men from among y’all for war, so that they may go against Midian, to bring YHWH’s vengeance to Midian. Y’all are to send one thousand from every tribe of Israel to the war.” So there were delivered, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 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. They fought against Midian, as YHWH commanded Moses. They killed every male. 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. 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. All their cities in the places in which they lived, and all their encampments, they burned with fire. They took all the captives, and all the plunder, both of man and of animal. 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. Moses and Eleazar the priest, with all the leaders of the congregation, went out to meet them outside of the camp. 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. Moses said to them, “Have y’all allowed all the women to live? Look, these people, through the counsel of Balaam, caused the children of Israel to commit trespass against YHWH in the matter of Peor, so that the plague came among the congregation of YHWH. So now therefore y’all must kill every male among the children, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him. But all the girls who have not known man by lying with him, y’all are to keep alive for yourselves.
“Any of y’all who has killed a person, or touched any of the dead must remain outside of the camp for seven days. On the third day and on the seventh day, y’all are to purify yourself y’all’s captives. Y’all must purify every garment, and all that is made of skin, and all work of goats’ hair, and all things made of wood.”
Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who went to the battle, “This is the statute of the law which YHWH has commanded Moses. However the gold, and the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead, everything that may withstand the fire, y’all are to pass through the fire, and it will be clean. It must be purified with the water for impurity. Anything that cannot withstand the fire y’all are to pass through the water. On the seventh day, y’all are to wash y’all’s clothes and then y’all will be clean. Afterward y’all may enter the camp.”
Dividing the Plunder
YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “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; and divide the plunder into two parts: between the men skilled in war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation. Levy a tribute to YHWH 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. Y’all are to take it from their half, and you are to give it to Eleazar the priest as an offering to YHWH. From the children of Israel’s half, you are to 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 YHWH’s tabernacle.”
Moses and Eleazar the priest did as YHWH commanded Moses.
Now the plunder, over and above the booty which the men of war took, was six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep, seventy-two thousand head of cattle, sixty-one thousand donkeys, and thirty-two thousand persons in all, of the women who had not known man by lying with him. The half, which was the portion of those who went out to war, was in number three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep; and YHWH’s tribute of the sheep was six hundred seventy-five. The cattle were thirty-six thousand, of which YHWH’s tribute was seventy-two. The donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred, of which YHWH’s tribute was sixty-one. The persons were sixteen thousand, of whom YHWH’s tribute was thirty-two persons. Moses gave the tribute, which was YHWH’s wave offering, to Eleazar the priest, as YHWH commanded Moses. Of the children of Israel’s half, which Moses divided off from the men who fought (now the congregation’s half was three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, thirty-six thousand head of cattle, thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, and sixteen thousand persons), 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 YHWH’s tabernacle, as YHWH commanded Moses.
The officers who were over the thousands of the army, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, came near to Moses. 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. We have brought YHWH’s offering, what every man found: gold ornaments, armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make atonement for our souls before YHWH.”
Moses and Eleazar the priest took their gold, even all worked jewels. All the gold of the wave offering that they offered up to YHWH, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred fifty shekels.+31:52 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces, so 16,750 shekels is about 167.5 kilograms or about 368.5 pounds. The men of war had taken booty, every man for himself. 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 YHWH.