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Numbers 31:14
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Return from the War

12 Then they brought the captives, the booty, and the spoil to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Israel, to the camp in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho.
13 And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation, went to meet them outside the camp.
14 But Moses was angry with the officers of the army, with the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, who had come from the battle.
15 And Moses said to them: “Have you kept aall the women alive?  
16 Look, athese women caused the children of Israel, through the bcounsel of Balaam, to trespass against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and cthere was a plague among the congregation of the Lord.  
17 Now therefore, akill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately.  
18 But keep alive afor yourselves all the young girls who have not known a man intimately.  
Commentaries:
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown
<< Numbers 31:13   Numbers 31:15 >>


Numbers 31:14-18

And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host—The displeasure of the great leader, though it appears the ebullition of a fierce and sanguinary temper, arose in reality from a pious and enlightened regard to the best interests of Israel. No order had been given for the slaughter of the women, and in ancient war they were commonly reserved for slaves. By their antecedent conduct, however, the Midianitish women had forfeited all claims to mild or merciful treatment; and the sacred character, the avowed object of the war (Numbers 31:2-3), made their slaughter necessary without any special order. But why "kill every male among the little ones"? It was designed to be a war of extermination, such as God Himself had ordered against the people of Canaan, whom the Midianites equalled in the enormity of their wickedness.




Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing Numbers 31:14:

Numbers 31:48-54

 

<< Numbers 31:13   Numbers 31:15 >>

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